₦airaland Forum

bimbola85: Bro,I've been using gtb's master card for all my international transactions.

They charge more than the exchange rate and I can say that anywhere.

Just last week, they charged me #166.32 per $ for all the payments I made and this prompted me to email them over the weekend to ask about their exchange rate. They said #161.50 while they charged more than that.

See the attachment for confirmation.

Hi bimbola.......Wow. I can't help it but shout out loud when I read this. It is a pity I was given a wrong information by the customer service and she has made me seem stupid by bringing forth her erroneous info here. I still have unfinished business around the particular bank area. Can you please forward the email conversation (pm) to me. I will see to it.
Thanks bimbola for bringing this up.

Hi house.........This was advised by Zee and others who are informed about using GTb Master Card for online transaction and even withdrawal when someone arrives the States.
I went to GT and confirmed the above information. You will be charged N420(< $3) for each transaction. You can withdraw maximum of $6000 a day. And I think the most interesting of them is the rate at which you get the dollar; 158.8 at against 165 at the bureau de change.
Activate your master Card with a token if you haven't. It will save you a great deal.
I think this is safer and even more economical.
All the best guys.

Ashigolo: Thanks bro, trust me I know all about that but its jst that my account is not loaded yet, which is why I wanna walk into bank and pay for the flight. Besides that, its a very easy process too. Thanks

Make sure you call to get their current rate so you dont have to over or short pay.
Cheers

Ashigolo: God bless u abundantly bro. God will meet u at every point of your needs. Pls help me with their contact. Thanks

Thanks for the prayers....Tel: +234 1 271 7600. I just got it from their site and you can do same. There are no charges............just a direct deposit into emirates account.

Ashigolo: Sup bro, I'v also booked emirates to jfk for next month but I put the payment on hold. Please how did you go about the money transfer or was it credit card method you used?. I'll appreciate your response.

Call Emirates office to give you their current dollar rate. Then go to any Eco or First bank bt First bank preferable. Pay with the rate Emirates gave you. Then call emirates for confirmation of payment; though they will automatically confirm your payment and issue u an e-ticket to the email you used when paying. Very easy process.......that was how I paid mine.

Mjseun: Hello house, since I didn't get my GRE score card from ETS and I'm scheduled for interview soon, can I go with the gre printed result from my gre page to the interview venue? Thank you for your response.

Ur score care is the printed copy of ur result. ETS no longer send hard copy result to candidates. The VO's are aware. So fire down.

Mjseun: Why not Delta bro? Anything wrong with their airline?

For me I think Delta is cool and going to opt for it when I'm travelling, expensive though!

All international airlines are good but unique in services. Delta is renowned and cool......not a bad choice at all. We gonna share travel experiences.
Al the best.

Graviton2: Emirates is by far the best flight you can take, I took my time to research on the best possible airlines to the US — Emirates came tops, I'll be flying with them even though they are a little more expensive than Qatar. I'm trying to avoid travel discomfort as much as possible

Very correct Graviton........we shall experience it and report accordingly.

zeezahbee: 13hrs, you gonna get bored and you a** gonna weep. From lagos to doh was 7hrs and I was still enjoying it but from doha to barcelona, mehn I nearly fainted and it was jst 6hrs oo. Goodluck sha

Yea Zee......it comes to my mind at times how tiring such a long flight might be. Just 45mins from Abj to Ph na long thing not to talk of 13hrs. However, my aunt championed the whole thing with wyning that her Emirates experience has been the best compared to other airlines.
Let me see how it plays out. My transcript is sure to come.
How is ur stay going? All the best.

Doctoroma: Can anyone tell me if the amount emirates stated online from Lagos to JFK is thesame at their office because all am seeing is business ranging from 5000USD+. Is there no economy booking online or do i have to visit their office and if so kindly help me with their address. Thanks!

There should be economy tickets unless the spaces are filled for the day. There are no difference from what you get online to what you get in their office.......just a detailed search will do. Hope you aint searching via mobile site? And I hope u allowed abt 7-10 days interval b4 the flight. This criteria matters.
What date do u wish to travel, I can take a look n advice you from what I got?

[quote author=Sponge3][/quote]Noth man......u definitely will get filled with ur journey with or without a NLder.
Safe.......Gona read ur POE experience. LOL!

Sponge3: I am using Emirates oo.....who is coming with me. To travel with a nairalanda will be really cool!!!!

Na so bt it depends on departure date. Mine na 31st July. When u traveling?

Datanonymous: Thanks so much sir! I think Emirates will do. How much did u get it for?

I got Lag to JFK for $1057(First bank). Then JFK to Atlanta for $232.5 ( Fidelity bank Visa card)

Datanonymous: Thanks so much, I've actually heard quite a few complains about Arik... The only problem I have with Qatar now is that ive been seeing 2stops flights.thats just too much... Maybe I would go with Emirates

Go for Emirates since u don't like much stops......Me too.I booked Emirates and I bet its gonna be a nice flight experience. Just one stop at dubai before heading 13hrs to JFK.

calmdown: Hello everyone, I will be traveling with Qatar airways through doha and Manchester, I hope I don't need any transit visa whatsoever... Those who have used this route before over to you and also judging from zeezahbee's experience. Thanks in advance!

No u don't unless u want to enter the country like Manchester which I think(if its same itinerary I saw) u got 20hrs of stop, then u gona need it.

olakamal4: hello house..I have only posted once on dis trend..
interview time 7:30am..and it was successful.. took less than 3mins

VO (calm and soft spoken beautiful lady) - good morning..

Me - hi..good morning..

VO - hellooo..(glanced thru de i-20) how and why ASU ( Arizona State University)

Me - I first had about ASU when I attended the Pan African Congress of Mathematicians hosted by National Mathematical Centre (abuja) where I work and afterwards did lots of research via usnews/google... 'then I talked more on de rankings from diff sources.'

VO - how do u intend to pay de lil amount

Me - (de admission 's PhD, tuition waived, health insurance covered, Research assistantship) so I have lil amount (abt $6500) left as stated on my i-20 and since I'm on bonding with NMC (not official) that means I still get my salary for the whole duration and then my uncle will always help too

VO- Ok..come pick up ur visa on Tuesday

Me: thank you

VO - have a nice trip and study

Me - thankiu.

(that was all)

:- truth is : my rehearsal as at yday morning was to say 'I was recommended by a Prof...' buh after I refreshed the NL page yday evening (I do this almost every hour) and since I couldn't print out any of our conversations, I learnt de better trick and den came up with the better truth..

:- this nl trend have always been my prep guide..I refresh de page every hr to see updates and thanks to my friend that gave me de link and thanks to 'always ready and happy to help people' here..God bless U all

Congrats man.......It was indeed a nice interview. All the best

temi4fash: hey bro, u seem to know abt elect/elect.. Wat area is ur speciality?? And is dere a dif btw control in electronics and control in electrical... Sent u a pm

Nop......i studied chemical but did control courses and also did my IT with the instrumentation team in one of the E&P's.
Control n Instrumentation studies is a broad area which can specifically be applied to different industrial processes be it oil n gas, Energy, Pharmaceutical etc.
If u wish to specialize in control n instrumentation, look for skols whose faculty members research area aligns with urs.
All the best bro.

[quote author=stevecrun][/quote]Thanks Steve

stevecrun: i have this same problem..They exempted my middle name and its just my first and last name on the appointment confirmation..and on my passport i have my ist,middle and last name there.

Is this a problem house?

You can give them a call(Check the phone number on their website) and they will rectify it immediately. My appointment had my full name so they should attend to you.

stevecrun: each withdrawal 3usd..

Hi Steve......Thanks for the information. So there is no need of changing currency to travel.
I intend to travel with abt $6k, open an account and deposit the money. So depositing the Naira equivalent in my GTb acct, I can withdraw it just with $3 charge?
Better ideas on how to deal with the account opening and money transfer into the account will be appreciated.

zeezahbee: for gtb card, if yous wipe it at walmart or anywhere, I don't think there's any charges but if you use the ATM u will be charge 420naira, that $3. About the schegen visa iish, maybe they just employed those people because seriously I don't understand. Though they later free evryone but it was somhow

Thanks........Like $3 for each dollar withdrawal or for each transaction. Like a withdrawal of say $10,000 will attract a charge of? If u knw, I will be happy to know. Thanks. Enjoy ur stay.

olumide14: Johnnypaul, I agree with what Rijo advised. As it stands presently, you have applied for a visa three times this year alone and you have been denied each of those times. A number of reasons could be responsible for this. You were either unable to convince your interviewer beyond any reasonable doubt or maybe you appeared desperate. The interviewer has to be very certain that you're going for the purpose you stated but more importantly, that you will be returning to the country! I read something awhile ago on the American Embassy website and the gist of what was said was that consular officers have been trained to make visa decisions based on the interviews applicants have to undergo. In other words, it's one thing to have the necessary documents but it's another to have the ability to be convincing at the interview.

Rijo (or maybe someone else, not so sure) highlighted all the parts where you were asked about the English Intensive Course. Don't you think there must have been a reason why the VO kept harping on that point. The VO probably felt (I can't be sure) it was very unnecessary to have to travel to the US just to learn English when there are fantastic places here where you could do just that.

Here's what I think you should do which someone else has also mentioned. I think you should wait for awhile because applying 4 times in a year will make you appear not just desperate but super-desperate and this could ruin future chances because they just might flag your name. Try and finish your degree here then apply to the US for graduate studies. Alternatively, you could apply to other countries for Bachelor's (at least you'll be out of naija) and return to the US for graduate studies. In short, avoid going to the US embassy for awhile. All the best sir.

Olumide....am delighted you understood my point of view. He probably wudnt reason it this way cos he wishes to leave naija now not later. It doesn't really work that way.
Johnnypaul.....see sb else that have same opinion with what I told you. Pls consider it......it will save you a great deal.
Nice work Olumide.

johnnypaul927: please answer the questions i posted i dont want to loose this opporunity of a life time, and when i study my psychology i know what to do next with my life. i want to study it from the scratch. i have a situation thats needs an urgent answer please

Johnnypaul......if I tell you that I don't understand how you feel, then am not sincere.
I have you the best advice which I think will proffer solution to your current issue. If you expect me to tell you to go back to the embassy now, I wouldn't. You think your missing an opportunity of a life time? I doubt......you labeled it as such.
Its obvious my advise wasn't taken maybe it wasn't wat u expect to her. Well no matter what people tell you here, you are the only person who decides what to do.
Just do it wisely. The embassy has ur record, dnt complicate it.
All the best bro.

zeezahbee: Got to the airport around 1.30pm for a 2.10pm flight, I was the last to check in and I already heard gist about those airport peeps trying to extort people, I didn't pay a dime, I use a ziplock bag to pack my food stuff and it was transparent enough. NOte: don't pack you food stuff in black nylon or bag, get a white transparent pack. So everything was visible enough, I already checked in online before I left home and I even printed my boarding pass so it was easy for them because I picked my seat already. I passed through immigration easily and when the checked my hand bag, I was with my nivea deodorant and they tried to seize it but I just say please please and they said oya go go your flight will move soon so I ran all the way to qatar boarding zone and they checked my bag again, this time they seize the deodorant and left my roll up, the claim it the deodorant is 150ml and they only allow 50ml, my roll on was 50ml, the woman they expect make I bribe am or something, I just bone and told her enjoy the fragrance #wicked me# and I move away slowly. I already met people waiting and in like 5mins everyone boarded and left naija exactly 2.10pm. Inflight entertainment make sense, I watch film sotay eye dey pain me, I cudnt sleep anyways and I was following the map, wine, soft drink, tea, coffee you fit order anytime. Not everyone on the flight were going to US, most were either dubai or qatar or Uk. Seems we were only 3 going to US. In 7hrs plus some mins, we landed at hamad airport, mehn con see as the airport big, before I reach my terminal my leg pain me heeen, we walked for like 20mins so I got to my terminal and bought a qatar pay phone and there was also free unlimited wifi at the airport but my stop over was for 1hrs 50mins and before I blink eye, time Don go and I was called for boarding flight to spain,the flight was different, we took an airport shuttle and we boarded, most people were white anyways but the 2 others were nigerian couple going to the US to have there baby so we were just 3 going from nigeria to US with qatar, the flight wasn't filled up, plenty space and that means plenty food, the chinese guy went to join seat at the back and sleep der, mesef con join seat and sleep, they gave us a small bag that contains brush, toothpaste,eye cover abi wetin dem dey call am sef lol and also eye blocker hehehehe# so it was late and the light might disturb you from sleeping, we landed spain around 7.35am and as we about to check in, I met a dubai girl also going to US to school, immigration didn't stamp us and they ask for schegen visa, they said we can't enter oo, na that time I know say them follow me for naija, them don get me. Me and the girl ran back to see if we can get back on the qatar plane and see if we can talk to them, but they didn't allow us. We kept shouting we are student and they were just speaking spanish, na xo I tell them say I need to board a flight to US in less than 30mins that if I miss my flight, I won't take it nice with them, I said it was the airline that gave connected us to spain and we paid and its none of our business because we paid the bills already, na xo the immigration woman reason with me and check my i20 and passport, I gave her full eye contact to show I was so serious, na xo them carry me go put for one room like that, they collected my school phone number and called, they also called qatar and confirmed and they came and ask me to go meet a guy that followed me to where I will boardto new york. Note : its not qatar that will take you to US, america airline will do. So I got to the america airline and waited for few mins, he be like say them dey use camera monitor us, they thought I fit elope and enter spain. They didn't stamp my visa because I no get schengen visa. Few Mins sha, we were on our way to new york, 8hours journey and it got boring and I was looking skin, my eyes were red but food surplus wella sha. We landed new york exactly 1pm. I went to get my 2 box and I already booked a US airways flight to texas for $298 so I went there straight and those ones said I need to pay $60 for the 2 box, I tot the money for box was included in the $298, well I paid the $60 with my GTBank card, I didn't knw my terminal to board and I was walking about, I went to sit somewhere and was using wifi and borrowed a charger from someone by the time I got to my terminal, them don lock flight door, still I was like them follow me com from nigeria. My flight was for 4.59pm and I got der 4.50pm and the woman was like they board 10mins ahead but she said I shouldn't worry that I will be placed on standby for any available flight, she gave me another ticket without any charges and still same arrival time, so around 6pm, they called my name and I boarded a flight to charlotte and then waited for 30mins and board another to houston and arrive 11.50pm and I went to get trolley, troy is for $5, you slot the $5 into the machine. Note : get more of $5 and $10 before you leave naija, you will need it to pay something and the trolley pulls out automatically so I waited for my box and I went to met one white guy to borrow me his fone to call my friend and he borrow me, so I carry my bag and exit. Well its been interesting since and the weather is so hot, in short the sun for here fit cook beans, 80 degree Fahrenheit(F) No form accent oo, its written all over you that you are JJC so just speak slowly and promise well, no one would laugh at you, our own accent beta sef, if you listen to chinese or india english, you will know you still have hope. Watch their mouth, body movement and follow instruction, don't shout on fone, if you don't know how to use something in the public place, ask questions, they understand you are new and there's always a first time. Abeg no cross road like mad man/woman, cars wait for people here. Take advantage of free wifi in some public place, I used wifi at one restaurant and I spent like one hour there eating and re filling coke. Well for money order, they ask for your state ID, I need to pay money order for something and it was they requested for state ID, the state ID is easy depends on where you are anyways, think they only need your visa and school i20 with admission letter.

Nice experience zeezahbee though u felt bored in between. Not bad generally. Why were dey requesting for schengen visa? I thought you were just on transit? U didn't mention your US POE experience. How did it go? Then the GTb Master Card stuff. If you want to withdraw money in order to open a US bank account, what is the charge? Where there charges associated with the payments you have been making with the card? Finally did u declare u had $500?

femmy10303: not even up to 2 mins


My transcript,
Me:Good morning ma
V.O:are you? ......
Me yes
V.O:What are you going to study?
Me : am pursing my first degree BA in Political Science
V.O: Why the school
Me, :the school curriculum and their past prospect align with my field of study, and with the communications with the professor, i was been assured that my studies is going to be a great one
V.O . keep typing.
shortly she printed a blue paper


the interview was the shortest i ve ever had,
Guru's what is wrong? could this been i have been red flag what could have happen please i need your advice,can i still press on .? or i should quit and chase something else, honestly i have been thinking ,

also my question is there issues like this and latter been given a visa, after 4 denials? need some professional advice

Hey sorry abt ur denials especially the latest......I think I have read on the US embassy site that it is very hard to issue a student an F1 visa after the third denial although cases differ. And yes I think that this ur last denial is just because the VO is concurring with his/her colleagues.
I don't knw ur previous profile and whether it changed. But I will give u a counsel of perfection which is always difficult bt has light at the end of the tunnel.
Try and go to skol anywhere else; Naija or any other country at this time. When ur done, upon returning for Msc in the US, ur application will be judged on a different slate. That is even if u still want to push for Msc in the US; u might hook up with sth better.
Best of luck.

johnnypaul927: Hello House, i want advise from you as i am in a critical situation right now. in the first place, i applied for visitors visa in January to visit my sponsor who has been sponsoring me in seminary (am a seminarian) and she and her sisters are both from New York, not a Nigerian. Then, i was denied. I reapplied again that same month for visitors visa, i was also denied. Then i suggested i go for student visa which i did and got admitted in a private four year college in New York to study Psychology and wrote IELTS of which i got 6.0 and because the school cut is 6.5 i was required to go for a 6-week English Program in an English international school. So the school had to issue me an i20 which is for six weeks and tuition was 5,070 dollars and they also stated in student personal fund 4,000 dollars. I was required to resume there July 14, i booked appointment and went for the interview on the 7th and was denied.

The interview went thus:

Me: Good morning Ma


Visa Officer: Good morning, are you Ameh Paul....

Me: Yes I am Ameh Paul John Agama

Visa Officer: what about this English International School?

Me: I am required by the college I was admitted into to take the 6-weeks intensive English program at the English international school because my English Proficiency score was not up to the cut off mark of the college

Visa Officer: can you tell me about the English School?

Me: I told her that they teach intensive English there, and it’s a Language school where those who did not make good grades in their English Proficiency test are sent to, to improve their English

VO: why this intensive English program?

Me: Like I said, it was required by the college I applied to because of my score in the English test, I had 6.0 in my IELTS English test and the school cut off is.....at this point, she cuts in and asked...

VO: are you working?

Me: No

VO: when did you graduate from school?

Me: I graduated from High school in 2008

VO: what have you been doing since then?

Me: I taught at Rose Ann Nur/Primary School, I taught for two years (2009-2010), I taught basic two and basic four, basic four for extra moral lessons.

VO: types and continue typing....and she faces me and said am sorry but the application cannot be approved at this time, you may reapply and handing me my passport and a letter which they give to all those been denied visa, whether visitor visa, student visa, in short any type of non-immigrant visa.

Now, the school has sent me another i20 through fedex today and this one is from the college and has merit scholarship 14,000 dollars, support from sponsor 31,000 dollars and the total tuition and living expenses is 45,000 dollars. Also, the expected date in the new i20 now is july 28 2014 though classes in the college begin August 25 but the admission director said they put that date so i can go for a shorter English program before the start of school but not to mention the English program in the interview only my bachelor program i applied for which is stated in the i20. Now House, i want to use Uncle's financial statement how much is expected to be in his account? also, can i be granted emergency appointment? can i change most of my information in my ds-160 like i dont know anyone in the USA except my Admission director? can i change or not put things like i have not been to any higher school apart from secondary school because i have been using this seminary info like the name of my school, the class i am in (i am going to Philosophy three now, but want to use this opportunity i have now to go and study psychology with the white women sponsoring me) ? Also can my previous interviews and infos be used in the upcoming one?

please House make una help me am in a real tight situation.

i will really appreciate to hear from you on this. Thanks! bros Ashigolo i sight you

Semi.......I can imagine how you feel now. You really would like to leave the seminary and move on with life especially when it seems more promising (Yankee things).
I don't really know who the white woman sponsor is and the relationship between you both.....not so important anyway.
I will advise you to finish your philosophy and then go for Msc in Psychology. It will give u an edge during ur interview than returning again in this ur situation.
No matter how dry u might be in this stage of ur formation that all you think now is to leave for the states, finish up the rest of these stage and trust me, the next stage will be even more blissful.
Dont forget to pray for a better discernment.
Pacem relinquo vobis

Idazbawz: lol... koboko dey my hand na...

How's prep going?
I won't be using dat wire transfer method in paying my tuition in USA....
Zee is currently using her GTb MasterCard in making payments there, which I initially suggested. I'm opting for dat choice jwoor!

Pls wats the GTb Master Card method?

slimmy05: what am saying about his case is to go with the emails, since he doesn't have the emails like he noted. He can still get a good reasons. There are numerous reasons as to why one chose a school and its not limited by just two paragraphs or statements.

I understand the VO could note that part of the interview session as I am not disputing that.

Correct......He doesn't have the emails as he claimed. As u advised, there are many other reasons to give as to why he chose his skol. And I think he should be disposed to respond to that email issue should any VO brings it up.
Nice job Slimmy.

slimmy05: I never said they don't. I am only saying not all conversations are noted down. They take the wheat and drop the chaff. They don't type down all your response. I can tell you this anytime any day.

Not when they ask you why the school, they they type your reasons? Very wrong. I will keep telling you they don't type those unimportant information.

Slimmy I think we all agree with you. Howwver, Graviton's opinion is that the prof's response is the WHEAT and I quite agree. From all indication, the VO sensed that he might not be honest and they are very much interested in putting down dishonest information.
Anyways,we aint the VO, we are all speculating. I wish it wasn't written down so it doesn't complicate his next interview.

baggylips: Visa delayed this morning at lagos consulate.Here is the excerpts.
Vo.....good morning
Me....good morning ma
Vo....Are u......
Me....yes ma..
After the biometrics..
Vo....how did u get to know about Uhcl?
Me....Actually I got to know about the school when I used prof....research paper in my undergraduate project and I later researched to see that prof.....is a lecturer in the dept of biotechnology of uhcl.i also exchanged emails with him and he encouraged me to come and further in his field.
Vo....do u have the copy of the emails with u?
Me....No...didn't bring it along cos its not one of the requirements for the interview.
Vo.....typing
After typing
Vo.....did u write any test?
Me...yes...I wrote gre and toefl
Vo....let me see ur gre
Me....passes it
Vo....typing
After typing
Vo....i'm sorry...ur visa was not approved....bla bla bla
Me..*bones face*
Me....Thank you*with a wicked smile*
Please experts in the house..what went wrong?

Sorry the denial.........I think the VO wud have given u a chance if u provided an evidence of why u chose the skol. The GRE question u were asked might not even be relevant to the VO again. Bear in mind that the VO has put down why u chose the skol, so if u plan to reschedule for another appointment, go with the mail conversation and prepare more on why the prof's work interest you. I may add: if u didn't really have a communication with the prof, dnt go back with same skol profile(My opinion) cos a different VO wud likely not change his/her mind from the former.
All the best.

Joenice: @Idazbawz, Is Zee your friend? please ask her to watch her mouth. She does not need to insult me here, otherwise i will come hard on her. I studied abroad. I schooled in North America, Asia and Oceania even before she graduated from the university. I saved a friend who was about to be deported home because she reported late to school and so on. I am not her age-mate.

Namesake....pls I am sorry cos you felt offended and u have every right to be. Its a written statement which can easily be misconstrued. I do not justify her statement neither do I condemn it. Eg, if I dey wan with u n I tell u to SHUT UP. It isnt gona be interpreted as insult in all respect. Please view that her wordings in that direction; it will really soothe you a lot.
Remember we all here are pals and age shouldn't be recoursed to so we dnt kill the aim.Let good humor guide us all.
One Love house.

zeezahbee: will do that when am free.
RIJO, the naughty cat

Cat!!!.......U like cats? Truly I dnt like cats.