₦airaland Forum

Good morning nairalanders.. Thank God for His favour & Grace. I got my B1/B2 visa approved on Friday at the Lagos office. I have been preparing for my interview for over a month. Thank God for all the hints I got from nairalanders, you all are the best. My interview was really short & shocking for me.

Here's my transcript.

VO: Good morning Sir.
Me: Good morning Sir. (I said this with a little smile as the VO was looking rather relaxed and welcoming)
VO: Your passport please.
I handed it over.
VO: So why are you visiting the US (as he was typing actively)
ME: I am hoping to attend the ****** annual meeting (avoiding using the word *conference*) holding this year in October, in *city* & *state*. As a member & a presenter.
VO: what are you presenting at the meeting?
ME: I did a project on ******** and the results were quite alarming.
VO: what was your finding?
ME: that the percentage of bla bla bla did ***** (I said a lot here making use of a lot of medical terms as a pharmacist) then he cuts in...
VO: how did you know about the association?
Me: while I was carrying out my undergrad project, my supervisor had a friend Prof. **** of **** department in the US, who's also a member of the association. He was informed of my project and advices that I forward it to the association for it to be published in the association's journal. ***then he cuts in.
VO: So has it been published.
Me: Not yet but hopefully, I'll present at the meeting (avoiding the word conference again).
VO: You work at ******, as what?
Me: I am a pharmacist at the institution's medical center (actually I'm serving as a corper but didn't say that)
VO: how long will you be visiting?
Me: 7 days
VO: have you ever travelled before?
Me: No (with a straight and innocent face)
VO: are you married?
Me: No (the 2 young men that went before me claimed to be engaged and preparing to get married in December. The VO said to the second guy "whys everyone getting married in December. They were both denied prolly cos he thought they were telling lies)
VO: reaches for the white sheet (at this point, I couldn't hear a word)
I just said thank you very much and walked away like a professional that I was portraying.

Note: I dressed really formal with a twist of fashion. Dark blue perfectly sized blazer, dark grey pants, sky blue shirt and wine colored tied with blue & Grey stripes.

Now, here's what I modified. I added the professor part to make it seem like I have a "friend" member & not just internet thing.
I used the word meeting to make it look like an event of few people so I'd sound more relevant to the occurrence of the event.
I'm actually not presenting as my abstract wasn't approved because someone else is presenting something similar.
I didn't say I was a corper, I only mentioned where I was working which is a federal institution. Job security won't allow you quit a federal job for America.
And most importantly I filled my DS-160 myself. So I knew everything there.
I tried to sound really professional as I used my medical terms & still made sense to him as he listened.

Above all, pray to God for grace. Anything is possible. Believe in God. While I was on the queue, I was saying silent prayers not chatting with people around.

Once again. I thank God & the wonderful people of nairaland for making the resources available. That's why I'm donating my own bit.