Thirdpage's Posts
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I was at the US Embassy Abuja office on Monday 23 Jul, 7.30 am for my visa interview. I guess most interview transcript on NL are in the Lagos office cos things look more structured but time consuming at the Abuja office. You don’t have queues along one VO window; you only have a queue and you get moved to a VO as soon as the VO is done with an applicant. Asides from those close to window 6, which is closer to the queue, no one gets to hear your communication with the VO, except the person is really interested in your matter and paying deep attention. Interview Proper Called to meet the VO at window 8 VO. An older nice white woman. VO: Pass me your passport (I passed it to her), yeah and that form (pointing to my i-20, passed it) VO: You are going to the...Uni of Delaware for your MBA 3P: Yes VO: How many schools did you apply to? 3P: Five schools - UDel, Clark Uni, Southern Methodist Uni, Ohio State Uni, Uni of Rochester VO: Types for about 30 secs, I can see you got funding, do you have paperwork for that (I asked her to repeat while I quickly processed what "paperwork for funding" means). She repeated. 3P: Yes, I do, (while searching for it, she kept typing and asked the next question. VO: What will be your major for the MBA program? 3P: Business Analytics VO: What is your bachelor’s degree? 3P: (While still searching for the letter). It’s Statistics. (Actually, HND in Statistics) VO: What year? 3P: 2012 VO: Did you take GRE? 3P: No, I took the GMAtT VO: Oh the GMAT! What’s your score on the GMAT? 3P: 550 VO: 560? 3P: No, 550, Five Five Zero VO: Are you married 3P: No. (Found the scholarship letter and passed it to her). VO: Without looking at the scholarship letter, what will the MBA do for you? I mean where you want to be in 5 years’ time after your MBA? 3P: I will be done with my MBA in 2 years and I will be back in Nigeria to push for a promotion at my current place of work, that is “IJKL Limited” (A Big Four) and I look forward to joining the D&A team and build the practice with the skills I must have acquired. VO: Will they be holding your position for you? 3P: No they won’t, I will have to make a business case for myself when I am back. VO: (Nods and types, and looks at the i-20 and scholarship letter). You got part-funding, do you have statement to cover up for the rest. 3P: Yes I do VO: Can I see them 3P: Yes (passed to her). I will be funding the program partly, I have a student loan facility from Mpower financing, and my uncle will cover the rest expenses. (Passed all three documents to her, while she checked for like 1 minute). VO: (While looking at the bank statements) This is for you and this one for your parent… 3P: (Cut in) No, my uncle’s VO: Oh Okay! The loan facility covers one year…would you be taking another loan for the second year 3P: Sincerely, I wasn’t prepped for this question…asked her to repeat so I can quickly process... if I should say my uncle will be funding it (which is one option I have) or I should say I will apply for another loan (option 2). There is a third option which is internship organised by the school in the second year. I ended up confirming option 2 to her. VO: Wow, that’s some huge debt! 3P: Smiled, yes I know, but considering what I will get from the US after two years, and career prospects for me thereafter it is worth going for. VO: (Nods) She said somethings I didn’t really hear but the summary is… here we verify bank statement submitted by students, and if found genuine, we will issue you a visa, otherwise, we refuse your visa application and place you on a 10 year ban. Do you understand? 3P: I smiled and nodded VO: In that regard, is there any document here you would like to retrieve? 3P: No VO: Now that I am sure that you are aware of the situation and consequences, I will be placing you on Administrative Processing… she went in, brought a yellow paper (conditions for AP), then a white paper (where to pick up issued Visa)… Then she passed to me. Passed my Scholarship letter to me, passed my i-20, and held on to my passport. Then she said one more paper…she went in and came back with a white slip (showing reminders before departure after visa issuance). She reiterated some information on the slip, and that I will be turned back at the point of entry if I get to the US a day after the day on my I20… So that will be all, we will get back to you. I look forward to the Visa being issued. Account balance for my sponsor is about $55k and just before the interview, my uncle notified me it increased to $97k. I say a big thank you to all the guys who had shared their transcripts, comments, criticisms, opinions and thoughts here, I really learnt a lot from ya’all. But three days on AP now… How long does this thing take? |
Owols:Hi, I never took the GRE so I am not sure how this is done. I know for GMAT, the link to the official score is sent to your registered email for download. |
lalahhh:This your story sweet die...there is joy after much struggles... I can imagine what you must have gone thru. But glad you made it finally! Congrats, and your status will change soon to "Issued". |
Patrick2go:These are the items needed 1. International Passport 2. Passport Photograph with white background (he only needs one, but he can go with another one and place it somewhere in his pocket, in case he misplaces one) 3. Embassy appointment letter 4. DS-160 confirmation letter 5. From I-20 Items 2-5 should be placed inside his Passport in that order. The items below are not important, just hold them. 6. Sevis Receipt 7. GTB Visa payment Slip These ones below are on a case by case basis. The VO will ask what he/she needs from him. Hold originals for all. No need for copies, they will be returned if requested, except the bank statement that may not be returned. 8. Bank Statements 9. Scholarship Letter (if applicable) 10. Sponsor Letter...well not really sure about this. 11. Admission letter 12. GMAT/GRE/TOEFL report 13. Any other document that could support his application or story (he should know this based on his story) He doesn't need undergrad certs... |
paulbets:Congrats. You really killed it! If you'd said you'll go for PhD I think the VO will still approve your visa. And he really drilled you. Ya smart though! |
Tohlou:Lol...thanks! |
thirdpage: |
Hi guys, please is a sponsor letter required during visa interview? |
jamoyakz:Thanks for this. |
MyAmericandream:Sorry, have you tried a GTBank mastercard? |
Emmanbaba:Have a similar issue... thirdpage: |
Hi guys is this normal/fine: My program is for 24 months, however my I-20 states 37 months. I contacted the school and I was informed that "All I-20s say 37 months so in case there is a problem or any reason why someone needs to take a bit longer to complete the program then they will be covered. As soon as you graduate, your Visa expires after a 60 day grace period unless you have applied for OPT" Will this fly during my interview, if queried? |
MyAmericandream:Yes naira debit card is accepted. |
Osunguy:Yes you can |
ezer20:What's the problem with paying through PayPal? That's what I used. |
Macaulay10:Ask the school you are applying to. Some schools won't accept, they prefer to evaluate in house |
Demonicide:Yes |
Macaulay10:Yes. Unofficial transcripts. |
Demonicide:If you check admission requirement for schools I think a school that requires evaluation will always state it. However from my end: Ohio State University University of Rochester University of Delaware Clark University Southern Methodist University Please don't be limited to these schools... Do your research. |
Chidinho10:This got me cracked up... ![]() |
Demonicide:Like many people have said here, I believe its always better to apply to more than 1 school (asides for Visa purpose). You diversify some risk away when you apply to more than 1 school. I applied to 8 schools (A3, R4, W1). You've got to invest time to research on them. I only paid application fee for 2 of them, others only cost me time and data. And yes, I also did the WES evaluation, but I ended up not using it. |
Demonicide:Sorry to hear about this. I was in same shoes early this year... When uni of Iowa rescinded my admission offer after sending admission letter. The reason was same as yours. Even your WES evaluation will not help. Some of these schools are research level institutions and evaluate degrees in-house. Hopefully you applied to more than one school. It's always advisable, to guide against issues like this. It's also not advisable to take thier offer considering that your HND is generally seen to be equivalent to 4-year Bsc in the US and convincing the VO may be difficult. |
Hi Guys please I need your advice. |
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How long does this thing take?