₦airaland Forum

@Vicjustice thanks for your write up and contrary to what a lot of detractors have written about what i will call your personal travel experience,you basically have hit the nail on the head.

First,and this very important and that is anybody travelling abroad should travel on legitimate papers and in doing this save yourself the hassle of getting the rough treatments from the host country(immigration/police/job discrimination)but sometimes,even with your legitimate papers you still get hostile reception from the locals who in most cases are not happy that most of the lucrative jobs are taken by those considered to be "foreigners" and this is mostly common in the non English speaking European countries and that is why i will never advice anybody to travel to a country where LANGUAGE is a barrier.

I say this as you have to start basically from the scratch I.E learn their language(s) and ways to be fully accepted and integrated into their society.

Comfortability/condition of living in a foreign is subject to different interpretations by different interpretees but the bottom line is no matter how comfortable or integrated one is a foreign land,there is that secret yearnings in the most inner recesses of our minds that we wish we were back home(Nigeria)surrounded by our loved ones,in a familiar terrain and with people with same culture and so this tells me that there is no place like home.

I have read a lot of the commentaries here and find some really educative,others bordered on tribal sentiments,some outrightly funny and some just plainly ignorant as people find it hard to accept the truth and the harsh day to day reality of life Nigerian's in the diaspora face.

@Vicjustice there is a saying in the Eastern part of Nigeria(i am from Sapele Delta State before the tribal Warlords start finding faults in my quote)which goes thus TRAVELLING IS PART OF EDUCATION and for that i take you as an enlightened man.

Let me start from the UK where i did my Post-Graduate study and worked some years ago. I still think the UK is the most diificult place to live in as a Nigerian in Europe for one simple reason and that is the OVER POPULATION OF NIGERIAN'S there and this has its UPS and DOWN side. It is very difficult to see Nigerian's in the UK not sharing a flat,most two bedrooms have 3 families living in it(the living room is converted into a living quarter),especially those living in London as it too expensive to get one to yourself and the toilet cleaning and kitchen sharing arrangement?simply pathetic. Accomodations are a little cheaper for those living in cities outside london but the UK still have one of the most draconian tax system in the world and i think the only thing you don't get taxed for is for going to the toilet.

This guys tax you for having a TV(tv licence),you pay congestion charges for driving through some parts of the city,cant park your car anywhere and most annoying is it is difficult getting a good job there no matter how educated you are so most educated Nigerian's there have taken to HUSTLING(Yahoo/Drugs),cleaning of toilets(KPEKE and this is mostly done by illegal immigrants),Security Guards(my friend who has two Masters Degree from the UK does that now for lack of a Job and the hours/shifts he gets barely sustains him). Far in between you run across Nigerian's who have their own business and doing well or those with good jobs but it is not common anymore.

Life in the United Kingdom could best be termed a FACE-ME-I FACE-YOU life.

@ineh, France is cool and Paris is fun and i use to joke with a friend of mine that Paris is the only place in Europe i will sleep outdoors with my two eyes closed in the street as an African. It is a very common sight in the night to see blacks sleeping in front of all the shops when they are closed for lack of where to sleep. The difference between France and the UK is that you find much of people from the Francophone African countries than the Anglophone countries there and there are hundreds of this African's LITERARILY sleeping in NYLON TENTS somewhere between Gare du Nord and the Airport in Paris(whenever i visit Paris and taking the train to the town center from the Airport i see them from the train window)one day i curiously asked the hotel porter why the French Govt dont take drastic action against them and his reply to me was THAT IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO DEPORT THEM,AND MOST OF THEM ARE IN PARIS TRYING TO GET TO THE UK through the Eurostar Train and after they get tired from lack of Job in Paris or do not succeed in crossing over to the UK,they usually go to some other European countries. There are no Jobs in France and strange as this may sound i usually don't run into Nigerian's there a lot as the few who usually get the French Visa usually proceed from there to Spain,italy,Germany and those other Schengen countries.

@proo212,Germany is not racist?are you joking?if Germany is not Racist then i am Baba Suwe.

Germany is the most racist place on this EARTH and i should know better as my job takes me to Germany (in the Hamburg area)sometimes and i can go on to give you a million instances but for lack of time i will copy and paste my last experiences from another write up i put in on Nairaland some weeks ago at the Frankfurt Airport.

*Two Saturdays ago, on my way back from Nigeria(Lufthansa)i did the transit thing in Germany to and fro from the States and this was my first time flying through Frankfurt as i usually go straight to Nigeria. Immediately i got off the transit bus into the building i was stopped by this German Custom guy who asked for my Passport, i brought out my passport and gave it to him. Next question was where are you going to?i said the US and his next question was how long did you stay in Nigeria and i replied one week. Next question what do you do? and so i am thinking this is getting interesting.

Next question?how did you become an American Citizen?and i asked him are you serious?and his answer yes and my reply to him is you are not serious.


Ordinarily if this questions were to arise at all it will be if i am entering Germany and have to go through their immigration and custom, but by law somebody transiting and in the transit hall is assumed by law not to be in the country he or she is transiting from but maybe this guy dont know that but about educating him soon.

Anyway, i told him vaguely what i did without going into details and still this guy was delaying me from catching my flight and it was not until he asked me how much i had for spending in the US that i knew this guy was out for trouble. First Sir, i am carrying an American passport which does not call for that question. Two, you are delaying me from catching my flight and Three i need to use the rest room real quick but still he was holding on to my passport and his body language was all set for trouble and so he called two other guys,me and three of them in an empty hall way.

It was at that point i brought out my ID which identified me and the nature of my job in the US(I work for the US Govt mildly put something bordering on National Security)and requested to speak to their supervisor,and this was where the fears came into their eyes as they thought this was another Nigerian guy holding a foreign passport they could push around but are now seeing they might be starting something with the US and German Govt which might spell trouble for them.

I am telling you this so that you will know this guys did not care about my US PASSPORT as they were hell bent on delaying and pushing me around for no reason and i will bet you my next tax returns that a White man holding the same American Passport i am holding will not be delayed and asked how much he has to spend in the US and how he became an American Citizen,really?.

It was while using the rest room that it hit me i got that treatment because i am a Nigerian and that is why i filed a formal complaint there and in the US when i got back.

If you are a Nigerian holding any foreign passport and still have an accent 5 out of 10 times you get the rough treatment at most port of entry in the world and i should know because i travel a lot*


@kood i find your story unbelieveable that there are American's living and working in Europe illegally and the first thing that came to my mind was that if there is such PERSON then he must be running away from the LAW in the United States.

American's are not that rich but an average American who can afford a ticket to Europe usually lives a moderate life and will prefer living in the United States and will only go out if it is a legitimate job related and even the Jobless one's will prefer living in the US and be getting their Jobless/Welfare check every friday than going to another man's land to hide from the law,and there is one thing American's have which a lot of others lack and that is PRIDE and will not descent so low as to hiding in other countries. It is just simply UN-AMERICAN.

Canada is okay.

My best advice for people wanting to live outside Nigeria should first try the United States and if it does not work then should try Canada,though life is not ROSY in this two countries but it is far far better than anywhere in the DIASPORA.

JohnBravo,First my advice to you when coming is to bring enough money that would atleast last you for 3 months until you mix up with Nigerian's there or get your self situated and yes there are Good Nigerian's in Dallas as individual experiences may vary,so will not blame those who have had bad experience as there are good and bad people in all Nationality and not just Nigerians.

Dallas is the London(OWAMBE PARTY EVERY WEEKEND) of America and trust me there will come a time you will actually think you are in Lagos.

The best and easiest way of getting an accomodation there is to first fly in,stay in an hotel for a day or two and check out accomodations in the local area you want to live in on CRAIGLIST.

I live in a Southern State too(close to Texas)and know one or two people in Dallas but will not leave my email address here as i learnt my lesson 3 weeks ago after leaving my email address on Nairaland and i get an average of 20 SCAM emails in a day even till today.

Wish you luck as you start a new life here.

(1)Copy of her Naturalization or US passport
(2)Letter inviting you stating your relationship i.e family(better if her maiden surname is the same as yours)
(3)Letter to the Consular Officer in Nigeria stating she has invited you.

This should be okay, but if she wants to make it more solid.

(4)If she lives in her house she should include a copy of her property deed which would indicate she owns a place and can accomodate,

(5)Copy of her work place ID especially if she has a good paying job or works for the US Govt i.e Military

With the aforementioned things you should get your Visa easily unless of course they find faults in any document you submit, but if your stuff is genuine then the visa is yours.

@dell_net don't never said you can come into the US without inspection. What i said was that prior to the 2001 bombing the screening methods at the port of entry was easy and that was why people could use another person's papers to come in as all you need was a semblance of resemblance to the owner of the paper but now the Fingerprint thing has stopped that.

This law even applies to people who holds visa free passports to the us like most European and Asian countries.

If your country is a visa free country to the United States and you dont have your country's new biometric passport you are (A)Adviced to go to the American Embassy in your country to apply for VISA(B)get a biometric passport.

They do this because they want your fingerprint information on their system and if you still fly in with your old non biometric passport you are turned back at the US port of entry(be you British,German or anything)i have seen it happen lots of time.

In 2006 on a visit to the UK i lost one very important sensitive document so went to the US Embassy in London to notify them and was surprised to see a lot of British people with British Passport trying to get the US Visa and so i asked one of the staff that i thought the US was Visa free for them and his reply was that THEY PREFER PAYING TO GET A VISA WHICH WAS 50 POUNDS then than PAYING 100 POUNDS for a new passport because they cannot come into the US with the old passport.

@dell_net read my comments again.

I said if you have a record with the US Govt it is bot possible to come back into the US and in this case she was arrested on suspicion of not having her DOCUMENTATIONS(THATS A CRIMINAL RECORD)and the only way she ordinarily would have gotten her papers prior to the arrest would have been if she had left the country back for Nigeria and one of her children FILES for her.

Now that opportunity is closed because she WAS DEPORTED(RECORD)

If you live in the US you will know there are THOUSANDS sent back home everyday(2011 statics alone so far 387,790 )and 80% of this people are hispanics who were have grow up kids in the US who are Citizens but because they were DEPORTED cannot come back.

Don't know the situation with your Aunty but immediately one of her KIDS that is an American turned 21 she should have left for Nigeria and the kid filed her papers for her.

@FAST-LINK

Been on it for some days now as i stay till like 3 a.m Eastern time in the US trying to get a spot but so far no success,will give it some more days of trial and will contact you if no success.

Yes they are stuck, And another thing which i forgot to mention here is that for the fact that her children are Citizens does not guarantee her papers for one simple reason and that is because she has a RECORD with the US Govt and was Forcibly removed(deported)from the US. It is practically impossible and i challenge anybody here who has seen or heard of anybody that was removed from the US and the person comes in again legally. If it was that easy nearly all the Hispanics(especially the Mexicans)who cross the border to have their children here,sometimes 6 or 7 kids who are citizens and get deported back are never given entrance again and instead they tell their kids to go visit their parents. And this is why i said earlier do not get into any kind of trouble in the United States that will make them fingerprint you especially if you dont or have not gotten your papers as you just automatically closed the US Dream on yourself. Most Nigerian's usually leave the US for Canada to pursue their papers since Canada don't have those kind of tight laws. Weeks ago i was on a flight to Nigeria that did the transit thing in Germany and the guy that sat next to me from Germany was coming from Canada and he told me how he wasted 9 years of his life in Florida in the US hiding from the law as he was there illegally but his wife convinced him to leave for Canada and today he has his Canadian papers.

bombing of 2001 i meant.

Unlike other countries in the World where you can come in illegally and later regularise your paper,if you come into the United States illegally even after staying for 100 years you will get deported. You have to show proof on how you came into the US before you change your status,meaning you could have come in as a tourist/student/diplomat or anything and over stay your stuff and as long as you don't get into trouble you are fine and when you want to change your Status maybe after marriage you will just be asked for your 1-94 card and it does not matter of your visa has expired. Now the problem your Aunt and a lot of others have is that they came into the country using another persons passport(ori olori)this is common mostly with the Yoruba's especially in Europe. Now with that,you can come in but cannot file for any papers for yourself and the only way you can get your papers is to go back home or seek asylum. Nobody wants to go back home to pursue their papers and the US asylum system is funny as 80% of people that file are not given and are asked to leave the country,and that my friend is your Aunt's dilemma. And things have become very tough after the bombing of 2011 as they require your fingerprint at the port of entry now(thanks to our muslim brothers)so those people that came in before they started the finger printing are stuck here. Ran into a course mate of mine who left Nigeria immediately after we graduated 1998 in Nigeria without even serving for the US some days ago and the guy is stuck here and regretting it as he came with his brother's paper. This guy is really feeling bad as he can't do anything here(school,work legally,apply or obtain credit,can't travel plus does odd job like selling ice cream and buying cars for people back home to get a little percentage)his father died and was unable to go home. So my advice to anybody planning to travel and disappear is to first try any European country or Canada where everybody that comes in is given papers but the US?hmmm,bad market.

Hold on are you talking of Georgia State in the US?or the Georgia in Europe?i am in Georgia in the US. Just wanted to be sure.

Yeah i live in Georgia whats up?

Thanks bro.
Yes the US Citizenship can be revoked if one commits a crime against the State like terrorism in or out of the US. It can also be revoked if one is convicted of trying to overthrow a foreign Government or if one is convicted of being a foreign spy. Bottom line do not do anything that will be against the interest of the United States which you swore your allegiance to the day you took the oath when you became a citizen. The Native American's are not the White Settlers who came first in the Mayflower ship from the present day UK/IRELAND to Boston but the Cherokees,Apache,Comanche etc. This Native American's although killed to nearly the point of extinction by the White visitors are the ONLY AUTHENTIC AMERICAN'S and cannot be stripped of their citizenship no matter what they do. Funny as it may sound they are also the only ones who you will NEVER say this America is ours as compared to the Whites and Blacks who once upon a time them or their ancestors were immigrant and the joker of the pack are Naturalized African's who are quick to shout their Americaness when it is not necessary. Don't get me wrong,it is cool to be an American but humility is also called for no matter what passport you carry.

HECTORBOSS i did not fill the form, my younger sister filled them up for she and my younger brother. The date part of it when i logged into her account is just blank and she said when she was filling it there was no available dates for many months. Going through the website for the numbers to reach them.

More over some tales from people i have heard is that most embassies usually dont give out visa's in the winter period and thats why i wanted them to come earlier.

Morever, if somebody chooses a date that conflicts with somebody else date i thought the website automatically alerts you to that?anyway about calling and telling them to call the embassy.

Thanks guys.

@imperiouxx thanks, so i called one pf my youngers now and got her password and logged into her account on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ and found this on her page NO APPOINTMENT IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED.

Should have told them to choose the Abuja Office instead of Lagos.

Seeking advice here on what step to take. I invited two of my younger one's in Nigeria to come visit me in the States and after making all payments via the designated bank and booking the appointment on the consular website a date still has not be given to them two months later,at first i was curious because i thought it was automatic and so went through the site myself only to see the fine PRINT that it takes up to 120 days.

Was talking about it to a friend yesterday and he said they can actyally buy an interview date as there are touts who specialize in such stuff and so i asked him where and he said in front of the embassy.

Is this true?anybody knows somebody who have actually gone through this tout route and was not duped?and does it work really?lastly,will need such link if there is one.

120 days is a long time to wait.

UgoBabe it would have been fair you take your time to read all the post from all the contributors before you jump into your logical or illogical conclusions as there was no need for you to start calling people stupid and the rest.

I have carefully gone through all my write ups and did not find where i insulted Nigeria or even Nigerians but you are quick to call me stupid and a prayer for second class treatment which to me is funny but you are entitled to your own opinions but since you are quick to refer to somebody's intellect, i will advice from your typographical and spelling errors, plus how you present yourself has shown on what level of the intellectual and societal table you are in so will not waste my time in trying to make sense or have any intelligent conversation with somebody i consider to be intellectually bankrupt.

My MOTTO in life is that if you don't have anything POSITIVE in LIFE to say about somebody or a topic then keep your NEGATIVITY to yourself.

You just bumped into the room and without making one intellegent statement to buttress any thing, you start throwing insults left and right.

Make one intelligent observation or write up on why you are angry and lets read and see how intelligent you are.

endmoll and Blue Magic i agree with you guys that Nigeria is a failed State,i agree with you that Nigeria is everything bad but Nigeria is also our ancestral home. It will be disrespectful for me to question how mature you guys are, but suffice it to the fact that it is only a child with a short foresight that will be throwing insults to his place of origin just to make a point. Tinubu of Lagos,Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Adams Oshiomole of Edo State are amongst the many who studied outside Nigeria and even lived outside Nigeria for a while and with their wealth of experience they are trying to make changes in Nigeria, so the comments that those claiming to be patriotic should have stayed back home is uncalled for because we can live here and still contribute positively to the Growth of Nigeria.

The World Igbo Congress day was held in Detroit in the US in 2007 and again held in Canada in 2011,so does this mean the Igbo race could not have held this meetings to seek a way forward in addressing the issue of the average igbo man in Nigeria?does this mean by holding their Congress in the Diaspora means they are not patriotic?being patriotic is not by the passport one carries but inside a place in your heart.

endmoll, this is an intellectual discuss and you have the right to put your thoughts into writing as enshrined both in the Nigeria and the US constitution, but do know that home is home and no matter what we will go back there one day for something even if it is just for a visit.

Lastly, there is no way any Catholic can be more Catholic than the Pope neither can any English be more English than the Queen, so no matter how Americanized any Naturalized American citizen is, you cannot be more American than those born in the United States as you will still be an Outsider one way or the other(WE CANNOT EVEN CONTEST TO BE THE PRESIDENT IN THIS COUNTRY BECAUSE WE WERE NOT BORN HERE)and there are even crimes you commit in the United States and your citizenship is automatically stripped(CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE I.E TERRORISM) so the sooner you know you are an AMERICAN OUTSIDER and embrace your country of origin so it can work, the better for us all.

I greet you guys and really enjoyed the write ups.

Blue Magic its unfortunate we still have people like you with this mentality that the Nigerian passport is worthless and honestly it is sad. Nigeria is by no means perfect but Nigeria is home and instead of writing negative things about her, why not in your little ways help make that worthless paper worthful?we are Nigerian's and no matter what passport we carry we will be treated as such and i will give you a relevant example of that now.

Two Saurdays ago, on my way back from Nigeria(Lufthansa)i did the transit thing in Germany to and fro from the States and this was my first time flying through Frankfurt as i usually go straight to Nigeria. Immediately i got off the transit bus into the building i was stopped by this German Custom guy who asked for my Passport, i brought out my passport and gave it to him. Next question was where are you going to?i said the US and his next question was how long did you stay in Nigeria and i replied one week. Next question what do you do? and so i am thinking this is getting interesting.

Next question?how did you become an American Citizen?and i asked him are you serious?and his answer yes and my reply to him is you are not serious.


Ordinarily if this questions were to arise at all it will be if i am entering Germany and have to go through their immigration and custom, but by law somebody transiting and in the transit hall is assumed by law not to be in the country he or she is transiting from but maybe this guy dont know that but about educating him soon.

Anyway, i told him vaguely what i did without going into details and still this guy was delaying me from catching my flight and it was not until he asked me how much i had for spending in the US that i knew this guy was out for trouble. First Sir, i am carrying an American passport which does not call for that question. Two, you are delaying me from catching my flight and Three i need to use the rest room real quick but still he was holding on to my passport and his body language was all set for trouble and so he called two other guys,me and three of them in an empty hall way.

It was at that point i brought out my ID which identified me and the nature of my job in the US(I work for the US Govt mildly put something bordering on National Security)and requested to speak to their supervisor,and this was where the fears came into their eyes as they thought this was another Nigerian guy holding a foreign passport they could push around but are now seeing they might be starting something with the US and German Govt which might spell trouble for them.

I am telling you this so that you will know this guys did not care about my US PASSPORT as they were hell bent on delaying and pushing me around for no reason and i will bet you my next tax returns that a White man holding the same American Passport i am holding will not be delayed and asked how much he has to spend in the US and how he became an American Citizen,really?.

It was while using the rest room that it hit me i got that treatment because i am a Nigerian and that is why i filed a formal complaint there and in the US when i got back.

If you are a Nigerian holding any foreign passport and still have an accent 5 out of 10 times you get the rough treatment at most port of entry in the world and i should know because i travel a lot.

Semid4lyfe it should be fair too people talk about the positive side of their Nigeria or Nigerian experiences because we put out too much negative image about ourselves and country out there and yes people still keep their Nigerian passport so as not to go go through hassles for visa i.e visiting other West African countries.

Lax75 i am in Savannah close to the Florida border and i thought the front desk woman was Indian or Pakistani as i only saw her briefly one time and was quite taken aback to see her there(Nigerians employing foreigners?)who knows she might be a Naturalized Nigerian.

Lax75 you can hit me up on codedken123@yahoo.com

I hail on the writers here.

there is no short cut or advice anybody can give you. first your papers need to be in order(work,bank statement,invitation from her,your china residency status if you are applying from there)and you should be given. I am one of those Nigerian's who dont believe that there is anything special or difficult in getting in any visa in this world as long as your documentations(forged or real)is well packaged and your appearance be neat but not necessarily flashy when you go for the interview. just curious if una dey stay for 2 yrs together why una never marry?abi no love?

Forgot to mention that i did pay $20 or so for the services of a computer centre behind the Embassy building ran by a Nigerian couple who helped with the online passport application form and payment too but if i had done it myself at home before coming i would not have paid that money so that was my fault. My sister there are some things good about Nigeria and please stop looking for faults where there ae no faults.

Fast Forward 2011 January: Nigerian Embassy Atlanta.

On my way back from Nigeria in January 2011 i saw a BIG SIGN at the Airport in Lagos that in April of this year our old passport will not be accepted so made a mental note to get the new one in the States and so some few weeks later was at the Embassy in Atlanta. My going to the Embassy was not planned as i live in another part of Georgia and came for a work assignment and so decided to go to the Embassy to ask for the requirements needed for a passport. My first shock there was seeing how QUIET and NEAT the place was. Second shock was seeing everybody OBEYING the law and following and rules there and Third shock no RAISED VOICES AT ALL.

I approached the first Embassy staff i saw and asked for the requirements in getting a passport and he politely explained the procedures to me on what to bring and so i thanked him and was about making my way to the door when he called me back.

He asked me if i wanted to do get the new passport and i answered yes but have no documentation or even the old passport with me and to my SURPRISE he said that they can help me do it but that i will post my old passport to them for them to see and they will attach the new one and mail it back to me.

Mr Aliyu an Edo man from Auchi thats his name. So i quickly filled out the form and paid the necessary money and before an hour got my fingerprints and picture taken,it was even faster than getting a passport in Nigeria and when i got home i did a registered mail addressed to Mr Aliyu and exactly 7 days later got my old and new passport back although the old one had CANCELLED written on all pages.

This are Nigerian's helping other Nigerian's free of charge but still some will still go out their spoiling our good name because of their bad manners when they go to the embassies.

Lastly it is cheaper getting a Nigerian passport than the Visa and less hassle too.

People born in Nigeria with American passport who usually get Nigerian Visa on their passport 9 out of 10 times do it for show because they dont want to carry anything Nigeria which is quite funny because on your American Passport your place of BIRTH there still SHOWS Nigeria.

While i will agree that our experiences in situations might not be the same but we sometimes tend to over state things just to give it a palatable taste for eating. We tend generally to believe that nothing about Nigeria or Nigerians work but trust me everything about us is a work in progress and it will eventually work.

The Problems most Nigerians have is that even before coming to the Embassy or anything associated with Nigeria, they already have a pre-conceived negative mentality that things will definitely not go right which to me is a defeatist mentality to life and that is why i mostly don't take stuff seriously i read on the net.

Years ago while still studying in the UK i needed to renew my Nigerian passport, so went down to the passport office in Central London. The reception and work speed was okay and my only fault then with the place was that it was built like an underground dungeon with no exit route and quite stuffy. But the work attitude was okay as everything worked according to the number tag you collect from the wall as you walk in and i remember there was this embassy staff a big yoruba guy going round assisting people. The slight drama there was those Nigerian's who had left the place for food or smoke outside and missed their turn came back and was really loud and there were some Nigerian's too who were basically Asylum seekers living in the UK and had just gotten their papers so needed the Nigerian passport to travel,but the problem is you came for asylum claiming to be from Liberia and now want a Nigerian passport and when the Nigerian Embassy staff ask them for proof(any proof)that they are Nigerian's,they start shouting and raising their voices. But how do you apply for a passport without any proof you are from that country?this are the same people that will go round and start complaining about the embassies.