₦airaland Forum

YoungIncredible:
I had my first hand experience at the embassy this morning and it was terrible. Denials everywhere. Someone in front of me with full funding and good expression was denied.

The vo was just cutting me 10 seconds after each questions. No chance to express myself, no chance to prove why I chose my school, course, and my post graduate plans which I have prepared answers to. 57,600 gone just like that in 2 minutes.

Honestly, our leaders need to work on our universities and make them world class. The rate of humiliation at the embassy is so high that grown up people are seen crying out of the exit door.

Its well with everyone.

Was it a male or female vo that interviewed you?

Oegbeyem1:
Hellooo, can I cancel my visa interview appointment in peace?

yes you can cancel in peace just once ooo because if you try cancelling it the second time you would be expected to pay another visa fee

Nahum777:
Bros, na the kind attachment them dey sell for Nigeria.

lolzzzz calm down you will get ur luggage.

Nahum777:
The airline said there's nothing they can do unless I am at the airport. And this bag na hair full inside and things that aren't very useful.

lolzz bros if na human hair dey inside better but if na synthetic hair hmmmm

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James1997:
Please my interview is on the 13th of this month please my problem is that my bank statements is expired on 15 of May I don't know if that will affect my chance my dad is a busy man he doesn't have time to go to bank for update one please I need reply

What are you saying? if you are trying to say you printed your soa 15th of may and you feel it wont be accepted in the embassy the good news is that it hasnt exceeded 6months.They wont deny you a visa because of that it is left for the vo who is gonna interview you to request for a more recent statement then placs you on AP.

jelmusboy:
The truth is that the rate of refusal is just too MUCH. Maybe US consular have the belief that those applying late for visa are attending low tier universities.

Rate of refusal from July up till today is just crazy compared to what we have in May and June for Fall 2018.

If you are a genuine student, get your transcript together and refire. Try to know why you are refused and work on it.

Bros u lie oga has said another one low tier sch ke?

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LagosismyHome:
Hummm no transcript it a pass from me...

Ti those who take from here a simple transcript as a give back is not too much to ask

dont mind them ma they will now come here and be asking greedy questions wicked generations.

wumzy:
Got my Visa today guys. So happy right now.
I did my part and kept praying to God. Almost everyone before me were denied. I mean i saw blue everywhere. But I got a white. Please prepare and pray... Prayer is important. Trumpland, here I come.

share the major interview transcript so others going can also learn congrats

Ator94:
Was denied an F1 visa today at the lagos embassy, i was interviewed by the slim black American lady, she said i should reapply in two months time. Still got high hopes ��

share your transcript so gurus can help out

PossibilityGod:
Please I am still awaiting your advice. @Lagosismyhome and other great minds here.

I have been denied F1 visa twice at Lagos US Consulate on 13th and 21st July.
I was first interviewed by the black American woman who didn't bother to peruse my i-20 form for the GA and stipends I was offered for my Msc program, she first asked how I heard of the school and as I was saying that I did an extensive search online, she immediately cut me off and proceeded to other questions like who will be paying for my studies, then i told her that school offered me a GA and my elder brother will be taking care of other expenses.
She then asked if I was married and I said yes, she asked any children and my reply was None yet. She finally asked if I have traveled out before, I said No, I have not had reason to do so. She then said that refusal statement and gave the blue paper.

I then immediately reapplied with a new ds-160 with no changes, and was able to book a week after the first appointment. I was interviewed by the young guy at window 3, it was a bit interactive at least he is a guy like me, he asked all the usual questions which I answered to my best.
I was surprised when he said he wouldn't be able to approve my visa and that I can reapply.

Now, I am confused whether to retry the third time at Abuja embassy as the school would be resuming on the 23rd August and I also intend to use my uncle as my sponsor in my new ds160, cos he has sufficient fund to show as SOA or should I wait for 2 months duration.

At both interviews, I was not asked for my SOA which one would say disqualified my chances.

Please candidly advice me as I am down with these disappointments and going financially drained with all the expenses.

Thanks

What's the name of your school and ranking? are there any discrepancies between the info you provided on your first ds-160 and the second one? were you caught lying during your first or second interview? ask yourself these questions. Then if you feel you don't have a problem with that maybe you should work on your responses because i guess there's more to that which uve provided.

YoungTesla:
Went for my interview on July 19, 2019 was placed on AP, Visa was issued the next day on the 20th.

Was interviewed by the Elderly white VO, I have only wished to be interviewed by a VO with a calm and friendly demeanor fortunately I got one, I can’t deal with having a conversation with someone with an off-putting countenance, I won’t function properly.

This VO allowed me talk extensively and I was fully prepared to give the speech of my life , for my mind
Oh.

VO: Good morning
Me: Good morning Sir (smiled to create a good impression)

VO: I see your are going to Texas A&M University in Kingsville
Me:yes

VO: why?
Me: To pursue a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering

VO: Do you have a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering?
Me: Yes, I have a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

VO: In what year?
Me: December , 2014.

Vo:How did you hear about this school?
Me: I’m an avid reader of the journals, articles and conference papers published on the the IEEE xplore website with a bias towards renewable energy, smart grids, internet of things and micro AC/DC Grids as it aligns with my area of research Interest, Fortunately I stumbled upon a conference paper that won the best paper at the IEEE electro-info conference in Nebraska in the March of 2017 ,by a certain faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Science department of TAMUK, Dr. Kim, I sent him a mail and he required me to send my Resume and Statement of purpose and subsequently encouraged me to apply to TAMUK because in-fact there is an ongoing research in Sustainable renewable energy and distributed generation at the department ...... VO cuts in

VO: You served with the Nigeria Army, What have you been doing after your NYSC?
Me: After my Youth Service I got a job with **** Power Plc, in July 2016 as a Trainee Engineer, and after a year I was confirmed as a member of Staff.

Vo: what are your duties?
Me: Maintenance of generators, Circuit Breakers, Relays , Electric Motors and other Electrical Equipment Critical to Electricity Generation process, Inspect Electrical installations and observe if its operation are in conformity with safety standards.........VO interrupted

Vo: how many schools did you apply to?
Me: 5

VO: Mention them
Me: University of Florida in Gainesville, Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Northern Illinois University in Delkab, University of New Haven in Connecticut and Texas A&M University In Kingsville..... I was rejected by UFL.

VO: So why did you pick TAMUK over MTU and UNH?
Me: First, I was quite fascinated with the work of Dr Kim as I said earlier, second ,due to the ongoing research in the department in Renewable Energy which is one of the few solutions we have to the Energy crises in Nigeria, third, I was offered the New Grad Student scholarship which provided a 33.2% mark down on the initial cost of attendance, and $1000 to cover for few textbooks, and lastly, South Texas has one of the warmest weathers in the US, the data I got from the website usclimatedata.com with regard to Kingsville is quite close to what’s obtainable in Nigeria, this will enable me to acclimatize quickly with the new environment and face my studies squarely.

VO: Did you write any test?
Me: Yes, I wrote the GRE and TOEFL

VO: What are your score?
ME: I had 160 in the quant section and 151 in the Verbal section , and i had 101 in TOEFL.

VO: What will you do with this degree? ( he immediately looked at me, me sef kuku stared into his soul, i didn’t even flinch)
Me: This degree will enable me seek better remuneration from my current Employer and equip me with the right skill Sets to start my own enterprise as a Renewable Energy Specialist on the long term.
I always tell my colleagues that Power Engineering business is the most lucrative business in Nigeria even more than any country in the world because of our demography, we have a power deficit of about 75 million and we are only able to generate about a meagre 4000MW, though we have the capacity to generate 12,000MW,( VO tries to cut me short, but I raised my voice and spoke very fast) about 20 million households are not connected to the National grid, so there is a huge target market and plethora of Opportunities.

(VO tries to Cut in but I continued,I no gree u must hear this oh) as a matter of fact your country is aware of these opportunities, there is a grant from USAID through the Power Africa program for entrepreneurs who are interested in Renewable Energy, to the tune of $100,000, so the opportunities are enormous back home. And this is my motivation behind getting this degree... VO cuts in

VO: Who’s paying?
Me: My Uncle

VO: why is he paying?
Me: He’s been responsible for my education in one way or the other, Initially when I told him about my plans to study abroad he told me to come up with a proposal to see if getting this degree is worth the money, I guess he saw how viable my plans are on the long run.

VO: What does he do?
ME: He is a Senior Facilities Manager at ***** Company, one of the biggest Oil coy in the world.

VO: can I see his statements?
Me: (I handed it over to him and while he was checking it I added )
It’s a domiciliary account and the funds there are specifically earmarked for the purpose of my studies to forestall any issues with Foreign Exchange fluctuations.

He picked a white paper from the top shelf, i didn’t even know it’s the famous white Paper, Cos at that point I was prepared to receive any paper either white or blue, Cos getting the blue paper seem like the norm on that particular day.
He ticked administrative processing and told me if the Statements are not genuine I will be banned from the USA for at least 10 years.........My status changed the next day on the 20th.

Special thanks to Walspring for helping me with my TOEFL payment , mackynaija for helping me with my I-20 and inspiring me with his thread, and finally to all the contributors on this invaluable thread, as at August 2017 I know nada about the F1 Visa application processes, this thread saved me thousands of Bucks that could have easily gone to those atrocious Visa Agents. Thanks Y’all.

hmmmm the vo really gave you time to express urself God bless the vo and congrats

Samuel60:
Oga keep shut if u av got nothing better to say...I find ur quote insulting n I won’t take dat. There are several questions concerning how to tweak or go about getting high chances of been approved here on dis forum n u think only mine would spoil chances for others ??.. Abeg go sit down jare

I asked a question and also tried to to give others ideas instead of mentioning just one school.

Gosh!! bro why can't you see reasons with these guys pls take down that post why are you giving the us consulate more ideas on how to tighten their visa policy the more? pls dnt make things difficult 4 urself n others #peace

PHUMEELAYO:
Hello good people.... The queen of silent followers association over here whup whup

July 21st, 7:30 I was interviewed by the beautiful black American Lady (the young light-skinned one), she was just so calm and focused and it really helped me regain my confidence. Whenever she asked a question I didn't have an immediate answer, I would say excuse me.... The time it takes for her to reply, I was already thinking up an answer. I did breathe-in-breathe-out exercise at the beginning.

She was just staring at me and smiling, not typing much.... I couldn't afford to fidget or flinch at any question.

I: Good morning ma'am

VO: Good morning, and how do you do?
I: I am great, thank you and you?

VO: good, good. pass me just your i20 and passport please. So what's your course of study?
I: Masters of social work at east Tennessee State University in Johnson city Tennessee

VO: what do you do now?
I: I am currently employed at xyz specialist center, a special needs school that caters to children with developmental disorders like autism, ADHD and Down's syndrome. As a program facilitator, my main duties are (she cuts me off, she was cross-checking with my DS160 throughout)

VO: so who would be sponsoring this trip?
I: I got a merit scholarship that covers 50% of my tuition, my great-uncle and sister would cover the rest of my expenses. Then she goes through my i20

VO: Why didn't you apply to more affordable programs?
I: well most of the other schools expect their MSW students to pick a concentration at the second year but since I don't have a BSW nor basic SW knowledge, I wanted programs that offer a generalist practice model where I would be able to experience every aspect of the profession

VO: any standardized tests
I: yes, I sat for the GRE with a score of 314 and IELTS with an overall band score of 8

VO: who would you be staying with? Do you know anyone that has applied to or attending this school?
I: I will be staying on campus at the Buccaneers ridge apartment and already made a deposit. No I don't know anyone at the school

VO: how then did you know about the school
I: I made use of the worksheet available on the EducationUSA website and was able to solidly define my priorities. Then I researched for schools using socialworkdegreeguide.com, usnews, mastersportal and gradcafe and I was able to shortlist the programs fitting my requirements.

VO: What other schools did you apply to and how many admits?
I: southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, University of Maine at Orono, Michigan State University at East Lansing, Ohio State University at Columbus and Georgia State at Atlanta. I was admitted by four of them.

VO: can I have bank statements to backup your claims (handed over my sis first, savings with over #11m) what does your sister do?
I: she is a level 13 civil servant with the Lagos State govt

VO: (just looks at front page of the statement), has she ever left the country?
I: No, she hasn't

VO: looks at my Uncle's (>$100k), where does he reside and what does he do?
I: He stays at Maryland and is a real estates agent

VO: how did he get to the US?
I: (laughing) he's my great-uncle and it would have been rude for me to ask him that, it was a long time ago even before my mum was born. From the stories passed down, I hear he was given a federal scholarship when he was in secondary school and later citizenship, I don't really know specifics, you know how stories can change when passed from generations to generations.

VO: (laughing along with me) congratulations, I would be approving your visa..... Blah blah DHL.... Blah blah i20.... POE
I: thank you ma'am, I do hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
VO: I hope so too, thank you

This is my second interview, was denied June 27th.... Will dig that up and post later.

It would be remiss of me not to thank the wonderful people of this thread especially Texrem (wonderful man with a beautiful soul), Sorelee, Walsprings, lagosismyhome, profojah, meritdee and sponge3.

Today is a supersaturday aka approval day congrats!!

rkay:
Visa approved today. Was denied on 20th June. Transcripts of both interviews soon.

wow i remember you the girl that was issued a white paper but later denied that same day congrats!! sweedy indeed your God is not dead.

NeverSayNever11:
Alhamdulillah, checked my visa status in the morning, it has been changed to "Issued"

I was interviewed by the black VO at window 5

VO: Good morning
ME: Good morning
VO: Pass me your passport and I-20
ME: I Oblige
VO: (She was perusing my I-20 for a while, the she started typing, she started perusing again. After some minutes she look up)
VO: How do you intend to fund your program
ME: (I was not expecting this to be the first question)I was offered a Graduate Assistantship and (She cut in angrily)
VO: But your I-20 says it doesn't cover your whole tuition
ME: Oh Yes, my uncle will take care of the rest (I have about $10,000 left on my I-20)
VO: How did you hear about the school (Lamar University)
Me: It was recommended to me by my undergraduate supervisor and (She cut in, so I stop)
VO: continue, you said and
Me: And I went further to do more research using website like usnews.com (she cut in again)
VO: What year did you graduate
ME: 2015
VO: (she was typing faster for a while then she asked) What have you been doing after NYSC
ME: I work with XYZ Technology as a software developer where I develop sofware solutions for Health management organizations and hospitals
VO: Since your work experience is related to computer science why are you going for mathematics
ME: (I didn't know what to say, so I form deaf hear while thinking) You said what
VO: she repeated herself
ME: Because I want a career in lecturing
VO: What is your highest qualification
ME: Bachelor of Technology in Mathematics
VO: You said your uncle is your sponsor, What does your uncle do
Me: He's a senior accountant at a government parastatals
VO: At where
Me: At XYZ local government
VO: Pass me his SOA
Me: I Oblige (Here I was thinking my visa is about to be approved)
VO: She kept on perusing and perusing and typing and typing, she continue looking at it while typing
ME: I was just looking at her
VO: what will you be teaching
ME: You mean what?
VO: what will you be teaching, Or will you just be teaching mathematics
Me: Ohh you mean my area of concentration...I'll focus on Bio Mathematics
VO: what is Bio Mathematics
Me: (Gbam, I just find one nonsense talk) it is the use of mathematical techniques to understand phenomena in biology
VO: She keeps typing and checking my SOA for a while
VO: (She pass the SOA back to me and started typing)
ME: (Here my spirit was dow, I felt I will be deny)
VO: Is your uncle residing in US
Me: No
VO: Do you have any relative in the US (while typing)
ME: No
VO: Are you married
Me: No
VO: Engaged
Me: No
VO: Any children
ME: No
VO: Have you traveled out of Nigeria
ME: No, I've had no reason to
VO: (Typing again)
ME: Looking
VO: Typing
Me: Looking
VO: Typing
Me: Looking
VO: Typing
Me: Looking
.
.
.
VO: I will be approving your visa (at this point I was not even interested in what she was saying, I was just happy)


Seriously I know I didn't practise well enough before going for the interview because I got my i-20 late, and early interview date showed up, so I had to pick it like that(else na till august o), plus my job is time demanding because of clients project I need to complete. I am really grateful to God.

Special thanks to Kolade, Todimu, Oludare, Matti, Fesobi, Walspring, Texrem, Adebimpe, Hushy, Engr. Hassan, Patrick, God's Own Scholar, Lagosismyhome, and all my Nairaland family

lolzzz bros abeg watin b the name of the juju way you use? Congrats anywaz God bless your new journey cheers!!

oluswaggz:
Hello all ,
Please i need your advice,
I applied for degree course at St. Cloud state university Minnesota
My I-20 just came in today I am supposed to resume on campus on the 27th August 2018, I am not sure I will be ready financially before 27th of August which is the resumption date.
Now I want to know if I can book a visa now go for my interview and hopefully if my visa is approved, I will now defer my admission for the next admission date which is January 8 2019. I hope I won’t be having issues maybe at point of entry or anywhere else cause of the change in date.

Please advise.
Thanks

you can go ahead and book your appointment so long the date you get now dosnt exit that 27th hopefully when uve been granted a visa you can email the school about your plans then a new i-20 for the next session would be sent to you. Hope this was helpful cheers!!

NeverSayNever11:
Allihamdulilah, Visa Approved this morning by the black woman at window 5...will post transcript soon, just got back to office

Congrats seems those black female VOs have been reading the bashing given to them lately on this forum hence they've changed loolzz (my opinion)

.

jolowizzy11:
visa denied today...... Lagos consulate 7am
transcript loading....
to those who are yet to go for their interview believe me it's so so easy ....just prepare prepare prepare......
may God bless us all.......

Bro your words are contradicting is it denied or approved?

martAKINOLA:
To me with God with you and this transcript your visa will be approved , u need not tell the VO u wrote any exam since the score isn't impressive.

u can say what u said.

or just kuku say your admission doesn't require any other test after the evaluation. u could just add it to spice things up

but the way u are now u are good to go

This kind advice dey somehow oooo why wud one tell d vo that they didn't take any form of test when they actually did? That's a sign of a desperate and lazy student i have seen transcripts here where ppl scored 72 in toefl n no gre yet they got the visa. Other factors comes into play.That you told the vo you wrote toefl as a standardize test shudnt serve as a yardstick 4 a denial..My own is that if the vo shud ask me "did you take any standardized test" i would just respond "yes toefl" chikina!! atleast i took a test I'm not a lazy student.lolzz

.

pls the two guys that got their visa approved yesterday should kindly share their transcript as others are waiting to learn.

folmus:
Whichever one you wrote, it's just answering basic question. "I am going for so..so course but written as so.so on the i-20 because of Sevis....." Your V.O is aware of such instances; you just tell the VO when asked. Simple!

tnx

folmus:
This is not a problem. Choose the one on the i-20. Its fine.

I have same issue but i wrote the actual course i was given admission for not the one on the i-20 as the school said that was the code given to it by the state hence having a different course on my i-20. Butt there's a remark session on my i-20 where my actual course was written.Hope filling my actual course on my ds160 and not the one written down on the i-20 wont be a problem?

brave1773:
The fat frog at window 7 finished me.... I felt pain
Someone help review my transcript
Vo: good mornning
Me: good morning
Vo: pass your passport and i20
Me: see them
Vo: where are you going to?
Me: i am going to Gannon university
Vo: to do what?
Me: study for my Bsc degree in electrical Engineering
Vo:what is your level of education?
Me: HND in electrical engineering.
Vo: how many school did you apply to?
Me:i applied to gannon and montana state university
Vo: why gannon?
Me: i chose gannon not minding the fact , it accepted
me as a transfer credit student. I am impressed.
with the course structure that layed emphasis on.
project leraning. In the sence that gannon
colaberated with local industry to bring the.
practical knowledge to class room to make the.
students stay abreast of rapid changes in.
technology.
Vo: are you married?
Me: no.
Vo: do you have a kid?
Me: no..
Vo: who is paying for your trio?
Me: my dad
Vo: did you write any test?
Me: no.... It was not required by the school.
Vo: sorry you do not qualify. Please Help a brother.

Hahahahahaha "fat frog" my stomach oooo

Haryormeedey:
Guys in the U.S Kindly assist me on this pls

pm walspring

LagosismyHome:
At bold is where it all started going down and saying i20 is just an estimate as justification was not a good idea at all but you know that already .
Better luck next time

Pls if such question comes up during an interview what's the ideal thing to say?

YoungIncredible:
Hi.
Please I need help with I 20 payment.

Can anyone help me please?, I will pay in naira

Why not request for any of the courier services here in Nigeria to do a pick up for you(thats if your school gives approval for pick ups) it's cheaper rather than using eshipglobal i no UPS charge 23k and it arrives within 4 working days

.