Nope!they said the case is one and we were given visas at the same time.For instance,if i failed the background check,automatically she will loose her visa!
Dv 2007 winners From Nigeria
- Thread starter jrcies
- Start date
Nope!they said the case is one and we were given visas at the same time.For instance,if i failed the background check,automatically she will loose her visa!
temi
good to hear that ur wife GC is here, i was actually wondering what the delay could be, but at a point i tot that may because ur case has to be processed in DC and the pase in DC is always a bit slow and rigid for some obvious reasons
congratulations, urs will soon come. give madam a very powerful kiss on behalf of the house,
i hope u are enjoying the weather
good to hear that ur wife GC is here, i was actually wondering what the delay could be, but at a point i tot that may because ur case has to be processed in DC and the pase in DC is always a bit slow and rigid for some obvious reasons
congratulations, urs will soon come. give madam a very powerful kiss on behalf of the house,
i hope u are enjoying the weather
Hi naija_usa_visa,
I am happy you are on top.
We live in Dunwoody area of Atlanta; 5 miles to Norcross.
Regards.
Baba Aladura
Registered Users (C)
Embassy contacts
Here are somer contacts
http://abuja.usembassy.gov/ [website American embassy]
lagoscons2@state.gov) e-mail address Lagos embassy
consularabuja@state.gov e-mail Abuja Embassy
Consular Section, Lagos (Visas)
(Visas and American Citizens Services)
2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Nigeria
Telephone: (234)-1-261-0050/0078/0139/0195/1414/6477
Fax: (234)-1-261-2218
Specific questions about individual visa cases may be directed to the U.S. Consulate General by emailing lagoscons2@state.gov or Fax: 234-1-261-5916
Consular Section, Abuja (Visas)
(American Citizens Services)
Embassy of the United States of America
Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive
Central District Area, Abuja.
Telephone: (234)-9-461-4262
Fax: (234)-9-461-4171
E-mail: Consularabuja@state.gov
Here is a re-post
Here are somer contacts
http://abuja.usembassy.gov/ [website American embassy]
lagoscons2@state.gov) e-mail address Lagos embassy
consularabuja@state.gov e-mail Abuja Embassy
Consular Section, Lagos (Visas)
(Visas and American Citizens Services)
2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Nigeria
Telephone: (234)-1-261-0050/0078/0139/0195/1414/6477
Fax: (234)-1-261-2218
Specific questions about individual visa cases may be directed to the U.S. Consulate General by emailing lagoscons2@state.gov or Fax: 234-1-261-5916
Consular Section, Abuja (Visas)
(American Citizens Services)
Embassy of the United States of America
Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive
Central District Area, Abuja.
Telephone: (234)-9-461-4262
Fax: (234)-9-461-4171
E-mail: Consularabuja@state.gov
walawest2000
Registered Users (C)
hi, my people in d house, i have 5 credit in my GCE and i have my GCE certificate with me, do i need 2 go 4 WAEC verification, i
want somebody 2 pls help me out.
Af 28***
want somebody 2 pls help me out.
Af 28***
Hi Guys
Hi Wld,
It's interesting 2 know u leave in Dunwoody, Atlanta, I will be coming in to a Friends place in Farmstead CT, Grayson, Atlanta, how close is that 2 you?.
Hope its easy 2 settle down, i mean getting a job and all that!.
I have a concern, Guys in America are usually reluctant in giving informations, must people often give me impression that make me think one is better off in Naija
ofcourse am convienced one can sacrifice for getting the GC.
You will agree with me that information is key!! .like must of us were able to benefit from this forum; so facing the interview was easier for us, kudos to jrcies, urself, temi, modest, adebayo and others.
Am a chartered accountant,a Banker, though am already working on evaluating my certificates, same as my wife. Just anxious of the challenges and opportunities in Atlanta. But Above all!!, Like the spirit in this forum "It shall be Well".
Will be picking up my Visa by next week.
Regards
Case Nos 2007AF9XXX
Interviewed 25/04/07 (Successful)
Pick up slip collected 25/04/07
Waiting for Visa collection.
Hi Wld,
It's interesting 2 know u leave in Dunwoody, Atlanta, I will be coming in to a Friends place in Farmstead CT, Grayson, Atlanta, how close is that 2 you?.
Hope its easy 2 settle down, i mean getting a job and all that!.
I have a concern, Guys in America are usually reluctant in giving informations, must people often give me impression that make me think one is better off in Naija
ofcourse am convienced one can sacrifice for getting the GC. You will agree with me that information is key!! .like must of us were able to benefit from this forum; so facing the interview was easier for us, kudos to jrcies, urself, temi, modest, adebayo and others.
Am a chartered accountant,a Banker, though am already working on evaluating my certificates, same as my wife. Just anxious of the challenges and opportunities in Atlanta. But Above all!!, Like the spirit in this forum "It shall be Well".
Will be picking up my Visa by next week.
Regards
Case Nos 2007AF9XXX
Interviewed 25/04/07 (Successful)
Pick up slip collected 25/04/07
Waiting for Visa collection.
Hi Wld,
It's interesting 2 know u leave in Dunwoody, Atlanta, I will be coming in to a Friends place in Farmstead CT, Grayson, Atlanta, how close is that 2 you?.
Hope its easy 2 settle down, i mean getting a job and all that!.
I have a concern, Guys in America are usually reluctant in giving informations, must people often give me impression that make me think one is better off in Naija
You will agree with me that information is key!! .like must of us were able to benefit from this forum; so facing the interview was easier for us, kudos to jrcies, urself, temi, modest, adebayo and others.
Am a chartered accountant,a Banker, though am already working on evaluating my certificates, same as my wife. Just anxious of the challenges and opportunities in Atlanta. But Above all!!, Like the spirit in this forum "It shall be Well".
Will be picking up my Visa by next week.
Regards
Case Nos 2007AF9XXX
Interviewed 25/04/07 (Successful)
Pick up slip collected 25/04/07
Waiting for Visa collection.
wld, u got to respond to this ooo in all sincerity so as for us to know the challenges to prepare for as regards jobs and all that in Atlanta cos my POE is Atlanta too, Parkway Circle Atlanta South to be precise.
We hope to hear from u soonest.
Thank you.
Hi Wld,
It's interesting 2 know u leave in Dunwoody, Atlanta, I will be coming in to a Friends place in Farmstead CT, Grayson, Atlanta, how close is that 2 you?.
Hope its easy 2 settle down, i mean getting a job and all that!.
I have a concern, Guys in America are usually reluctant in giving informations, must people often give me impression that make me think one is better off in Naija
You will agree with me that information is key!! .like must of us were able to benefit from this forum; so facing the interview was easier for us, kudos to jrcies, urself, temi, modest, adebayo and others.
Am a chartered accountant,a Banker, though am already working on evaluating my certificates, same as my wife. Just anxious of the challenges and opportunities in Atlanta. But Above all!!, Like the spirit in this forum "It shall be Well".
Will be picking up my Visa by next week.
Regards
Case Nos 2007AF9XXX
Interviewed 25/04/07 (Successful)
Pick up slip collected 25/04/07
Waiting for Visa collection.
Yosab, most of us here don't give out so much information to folks in Nigeria for Obvious reasons. Just think about it.
Settling down in the state isn't gonna be as easy as u might think. I know u've heard about how great the states is but hey, as a new immigrant, it is tough as hell. I don't know what kind of job u might be looking for but there'a a high probability that u aint gonna get it within 6mths- 1yr of stay in the states. U'll have to start with an average minimum wage job and then work ur way up. its all good thou as long as u work hard for it.
I had a friend who was a nurse in Nigeria, she won the lottery and she taught she would start making the $$$ as soon as she gets here. She's been here for almost 8 months and she can't practise as a nurse yet. She has to get her nursring something certificate and then take the nursing boards. actually, she took the board exam last 2 months and failed. it was not a suprise as most of the meds are different from what y'all have in nigeria and besides, she didn't have any clue about most of the equipments used at hospitals here. She has an above minimum wage job for now and hope to get her nursing license sometime soon which i think she will, it just takes time.
And u said u were gonna stay with a friend,have it mind that your friend will be expecting you to get a job the next few days after u arrive and then move out in a couple of wks. So, make ur plans before u set ur foot in the land of oppurtunities.
Please help, Advice needed
Good day all,
First I want to say you guys are all great. I got my NL last week as a Winner for DV2008. Since then, a friend introduced me to this site and it has been of great help. I had to print out some of the Testimonies (those already interviewed) for my Elder brother who won last year (DV2007) and has Interview on 30th of this month.
I have got series of problems on hand and I need your advice.
First was the typographical error I committed on my Husband's date of birth when i was entering (1974 instead of 1975). I had called KCC after I received my NL and they said it would be edited on my case file but that the original entry could not be tampered with. My fear started when I read some of the Testimonies by those who had already been interviewed. The main reason why people are disqualified is discrepancies in information entered and that filled in your form. Since I have notified KCC b4 hand, do you think I am on the safer side? To what extent to you think this will have a negative/positive inpact on my interview?
Secondly, my Names are "Commy Ooooo" and not "Ooooo Commy" as I filled in my entry, I had also notified KCC abt this when I saw a guy on this forum complaining of same. Please have you seen anyone who was disqualified for a particular discrepancy after laying such complain to KCC????????
Third is that my Husband has appeared at the US embassy b4 (twice) and has been refused Visa on both occasions, do you think this will have effect on him if he uses the same passport or does he need to get a new one?
I will be most grateful if you guys can really bail me out and put my mind at rest by knowing where I stand.
Good day all,
First I want to say you guys are all great. I got my NL last week as a Winner for DV2008. Since then, a friend introduced me to this site and it has been of great help. I had to print out some of the Testimonies (those already interviewed) for my Elder brother who won last year (DV2007) and has Interview on 30th of this month.
I have got series of problems on hand and I need your advice.
First was the typographical error I committed on my Husband's date of birth when i was entering (1974 instead of 1975). I had called KCC after I received my NL and they said it would be edited on my case file but that the original entry could not be tampered with. My fear started when I read some of the Testimonies by those who had already been interviewed. The main reason why people are disqualified is discrepancies in information entered and that filled in your form. Since I have notified KCC b4 hand, do you think I am on the safer side? To what extent to you think this will have a negative/positive inpact on my interview?
Secondly, my Names are "Commy Ooooo" and not "Ooooo Commy" as I filled in my entry, I had also notified KCC abt this when I saw a guy on this forum complaining of same. Please have you seen anyone who was disqualified for a particular discrepancy after laying such complain to KCC????????
Third is that my Husband has appeared at the US embassy b4 (twice) and has been refused Visa on both occasions, do you think this will have effect on him if he uses the same passport or does he need to get a new one?
I will be most grateful if you guys can really bail me out and put my mind at rest by knowing where I stand.
If you have the Original GCE certificate then there's no need for any verification but if its statement of result you will have to do it o. Good luck
God Bless us
Prayer for the Day
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that You called me to be Your servant. Lord, give me the grace to serve You well. I do thank You for Your wisdom also. Guide me daily in the things that I must do and show me my priorities. Help me to be sensitive to the needs of those around me. Lord, I am looking to You to meet all of my needs. Give me peace and confidence when I must deal with situations that are difficult for me. May I speak the truth in love and be open myself for correction when You see something in my life that needs changing. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that You called me to be Your servant. Lord, give me the grace to serve You well. I do thank You for Your wisdom also. Guide me daily in the things that I must do and show me my priorities. Help me to be sensitive to the needs of those around me. Lord, I am looking to You to meet all of my needs. Give me peace and confidence when I must deal with situations that are difficult for me. May I speak the truth in love and be open myself for correction when You see something in my life that needs changing. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Settling In in America
JohnKent, Thank you very much for your frank talk about what to expect as a new immigrant in America.I for one , im not under any illusion that America is a smooth ride all through, i know there will be challenges and i believe it shall be overcomed.
My relative there in the US has always drummed it into my ear that coming to America, most times u have to start from the bottom of the ladder and climb through regardless of your Academic qualification and all that(that is not to say it is the default situation for everyone but we have to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead ).
You Guys that are already there in the states, wld, Temi and others pls let us have a good picture of what is obtainable there, the challenges u faced and how u overcome them, your advise for us and all that.
It is important that we know what the challenges are out there.
The other day i came across a forum on www.nigeriansinamerica.com where newly arrived Nigerian immigrants were discussed,Men i fear!!!
Not to worry we shall all overcome our challenges.
I shall post the article on the said Nigerian immigrant soon.
Pls stay tuned to the forum.
Thank u all.
JohnKent, Thank you very much for your frank talk about what to expect as a new immigrant in America.I for one , im not under any illusion that America is a smooth ride all through, i know there will be challenges and i believe it shall be overcomed.
My relative there in the US has always drummed it into my ear that coming to America, most times u have to start from the bottom of the ladder and climb through regardless of your Academic qualification and all that(that is not to say it is the default situation for everyone but we have to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead ).
You Guys that are already there in the states, wld, Temi and others pls let us have a good picture of what is obtainable there, the challenges u faced and how u overcome them, your advise for us and all that.
It is important that we know what the challenges are out there.
The other day i came across a forum on www.nigeriansinamerica.com where newly arrived Nigerian immigrants were discussed,Men i fear!!!
Not to worry we shall all overcome our challenges.
I shall post the article on the said Nigerian immigrant soon.
Pls stay tuned to the forum.
Thank u all.
This is the Artcle i was Talking about..
Pls let us all note that this is not meant to discourage us from our pursuit(cos me sef want America dream bad bad) but to give us a fore knowledge of whats obtainable in the states as a new immigrant.
Constructive comments are most welcome.
Note: I lifted this post from www.nigeriansinamerica.com immigrant dicussion forum.
Have a nice reading.
Catching Hell in Paradise? (i)
By Farooq A. Kperogi
Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
December 10, 2006
Sometime ago, while browsing our newspapers online, as I always do, a news item caught my attention. It was the report of the declaration by the chairman of the University of Lagos branch of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Waye Adefolalu, that the American Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery program is the modern reincarnation of slavery.
He was speaking at a seminar organized by the Poverty Eradication Vanguard, apparently anti- poverty NGO. "I [hope that]...our brothers and sisters that are in captivity under the pretext of American visa lottery will return to this land. Whether you agree with me or not, American [Green Card] lottery is another modern slavery," he was quoted to have said in the Aug. 19, 2006 of Punch.
Could he be right?
For obvious-and I think justifiable-reasons, many Nigerians look up to the United States, perhaps more than any other Western country, as the country where they can materialize their aspirations for the economic stability that their country cruelly denies them. Nigerians are not alone, however.
America is an incredible magnet for a whole host of economic refugees from different parts of the world who throng here in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families. This fact makes America perhaps the most multicultural country on Earth, not only in contemporary times but in the entire history of humankind. Almost every race and ethnicity in the world is represented here.
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Nigerians are the most represented group of Africans in this country. And a significant percentage of Nigerians came here, and keeps coming here, courtesy of the yearly Green Card lottery program. Of course, many other Nigerians are here either as students, visiting scholars, guest workers, and so on. But it is the case that the most popular means to come to America lately has been through the Green Card lottery program.
But are Green Card holders in America really no more than 21st century slaves?
First, what is the Green Card? Being the journalist and teacher that I am, I like to define my terms, sometimes at the expense of exposing myself to the risk of being charged with condescension. However, from the many private emails I have received from readers of this column about the Green Card program, it doesn't seem to me that it is entirely out of place to explain briefly what the Green Card is.
Reduced to its barest essentials, the Green Card is a document (an ID card actually) that invests the holder with the right to permanently stay and work in the United States. It is officially called the "United States Permanent Resident Permit." It, however, does not make the holders citizens, even though it qualifies them to apply for citizenship after a specified number of years of residency in the country and upon passing a citizenship test. Call it a transitional citizenship document, if you like.
The Green Card can be obtained in two ways: through lottery, which gives opportunities to people with at least a secondary school certificate from parts of the world that are least represented in the United States to come here by a game of chance, and through getting a job with a U.S. employer. In the latter case, the employer must legally prove that it has a need for a specific job that no U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident has the skill to do. This seems a difficult requirement-and it is- but many people have obtained Green Cards through this process.
The strange thing about the Green Card is that it is not green. The name "Green Card," I learned, derives from the color of earlier versions of this card before 1945. Over the years, the government has experimented with many colors in the design of the card. As of this year, the card is mostly yellowish-white, and the only noticeable green color is the inscription on the back.
The first time I encountered a Nigerian Green Card holder was sometime in the midpoint of last year when I lived in Louisiana. It was on a searingly hot and sticky summer day. I was sauntering on the campus along with an African American acquaintance when I saw a face that struck me as distinctly Nigerian. The man looked traumatized, disheveled and disconsolate. He didn't seem to be going to any direction in particular. His gait was timid, his eyes sunken and his clothes almost threadbare. But in his visage, you could still see the residues of a man who had previously lived a good life-or so it seemed to me.
I told my friend that the man who was approaching us was Nigerian. He, like many of my African American friends, always marvels at how I am often able to tell African Americans from continental Africans.
On this occasion, however, he contested the validity of my observation. He was sure that the man was an African-American junkie (that's how Americans call drug addicts) because of the man's fair, if sallow, skin texture, and his overly melancholic and bedraggled looks. African Americans have a stereotype of Africans as dark-skinned, self-assured, usually formally dressed and sometimes arrogant people who always have an air about them that says to the world, "I know where I come from!" This man defied all that.
So as we closed the distance between us and the man, to demonstrate my cocksureness that he was Nigerian, I greeted him aloud in Pidgin English. "How you dey my broda?" I greeted. He was jolted and animated beyond description. "Old boy, you be Naija man? Wetin you dey do here? What part of Nigeria are you from? Ah, thank God I see you o!" He assailed me with a seemingly endless barrage of queries in just a split second-and in an accent that at once betrayed his Igbo ethnicity. In time, we got immersed in a lengthy discussion about how he found himself in America and the troubles he's been encountering since he got here.
The man's name is Paul. I have left out his last name to protect his privacy. His wife won the Green Card lottery, and the entire family of six relocated to America to materialize their American Dream. He and his family had been living in a small village near my city for over a year. Neither he nor his wife had got a job when we spoke. He holds a master's degree in sociology from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and his wife holds a bachelor's degree in physical and health education from the same university.
He was a senior public servant in Nigeria who was obviously doing well. He had two houses in Suleja, a fleet of cars and his wife had a big shop. Then the wife won the Green Card lottery. The joy in their home was boundless, he told me. They had won the passport to paradise on earth, they thought. While the conversation was going on, my friend excused himself and left us because he couldn't understand our code-switching and code-mixing, that is, our annoyingly endless vacillation between Pidgin English and Standard English. Plus, our accents were unapologetically Nigerian, which was probably too "thick" for him to make sense of. But the pathos of Paul's story inspired so much sadness in me that I was in no mood to show sensitivity to my American friend's comfort in our midst.
Paul sold his houses and cars and auctioned his wife's shop to come here. He has four children, who are all grown up. His woes in America started almost immediately he got here. His host, an African-American whose daughter is married to Paul's cousin, told him that he could accommodate him and his family for only a week. Strange and shocking as this was to him, he quickly regained his poise and looked for a low-income mobile home (usually constructed with wooden planks) even before the expiration of the one-week grace given to him by his in-law. Well, because he sold his houses, cars, and other valuables in Nigeria, he was still rich and could afford to do that. He even bought a car cash down-something that is unusual in America. Most people here don't buy cars cash down; they buy cars by installment plan-or what the British call hire purchase. But Paul's hopes were fertilized by the infectious optimism of the American Dream.
Over a year after arriving here, neither he nor his wife had got a job. No employer recognized his Nigerian qualifications. What was worse, even tormenting, he said, was that most people told him they couldn't understand his accent. When it dawned on him that he couldn't possibly get a job that befitted his academic status because of the low opinions Americans have of "Third World" qualifications, he resolved to lower his expectations and look for a job as an elementary school teacher. But his lack of qualification in education disqualified him.
Then he reasoned that since his wife has a degree in physical and health education, he should allow her to apply for a teaching job instead. So she went out in search of teaching jobs. But no secondary would employ her. Then, like her husband, she decided to apply to teach in an elementary school. Her degree was submitted to the school board for certification. Fortunately, she was certified to teach. However, no elementary school was ready to accept her because they said her accent was almost incomprehensible. If adults had difficulty understanding her, her interviewers said, little children with little or no exposure to "thick" African accents would certainly be clueless when she teaches them. It was as if all the schools she applied to had the same script.
At the time that Paul was sharing his woes with me, neither he nor his wife had got a job-one year after living here. The money he brought from Nigeria, which had been sustaining the family, was in danger of depleting. And he was desperate. He needed my counsel since it appeared to him that I had integrated well into the American society. Do Americans also have problems with my accent? What of my students? Do they understand me? And do I always understand the whining, nasal, fast-paced accents of these Americans? How do people make it in this society? Or is America only a huge façade, a mirage, sustained by lying Nigerian "been tos" who give the impression that this country is a land flowing with milk, honey and dollars in every nook and cranny?
*I will conclude Paul's story next week and relate more anecdotal accounts of the experiences of other Green Card holders that I have met here.
Continuation here:
Catching Hell in Paradise? (ii)
By Farooq A. Kperogi
Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
December 24, 2006
I want to apologize for my inability to write my column last week. Last week was a particularly exceedingly hectic week for me. It was the last week of the semester, and it was practically impossible for me to spare any time to do anything other than schoolwork-administering exams, grading my students' papers, researching, writing and presenting my final seminar papers, and a whole host of other things I don't want to bore you with. But I am back.
In the first part of this series, I used my encounter with a certain Paul as a springboard to tell the story of disillusionment among many Nigerian winners of the American Green Card lottery program. I will continue with the story this week.
Paul told me that his inclination was to return to Nigeria. Even his children, he said, prodded him to take them back home. But he couldn't go back home for two reasons: shame (or is it pride) and financial vulnerability. Remember that he sold all his assets in Nigeria. His situation was complicated by the fact that he was living in a small village, a village that has the notoriety of having literally burned to death hundreds of black Americans who resided there. This was many years before the Civil Rights movement that gave American blacks the right of citizenship-and, in fact, of humanity.
Well, what were my responses to Paul's concerns? First, I advised him to lower his expectations, shrink his ego (if there was anything left of it, that is,) and look for a menial job. In such kinds of jobs, I told him, nobody gives a damn how thick your accent is as long as your body is thick enough to do the manual jobs you're assigned to do. I suggested that he apply to Wal-Mart, America's (some say the world's) biggest retail store. I also advised that he should enroll his wife in the university to study for a nursing degree. She would not only have an American qualification; she would also easily get a job and earn good money after she graduates. He was persuaded.
The end of the story is that he now works at Wal-Mart, doing what President George Bush calls "jobs Americans will not do." He moves wares from shop to shop. Following my advice, he also secured a federal loan to enroll his wife in my former university where she's now reading for a degree in nursing. By a curious twist of circumstances, before I left Louisiana, I became her informal mentor. An American colleague of mine brought her to my office one day and said she wanted me to meet my compatriot who was facing some difficulty adjusting to the American educational system. When she found out that I was the same person who had advised her husband to allow her to enroll for the course, our meeting became even more emotional.
I am still in touch with Paul and his family. He says the money he makes from his job is only enough to save his family from starving, and the work he does at Wal-Mart wears him out every day because it's physically strenuous. He was not used to that kind of hard life-or had gone past that kind of life when he was in Nigeria. However, he is hopeful that things would improve.
Paul is only a sample of several Nigerians who come here with exaggerated expectations and become disillusioned when they confront a different reality. About two months ago, I met another middle-aged Nigerian in the train. How did I meet him? Someone asked me a question. When I responded, my accent gave away my Nigerian identity. So he came up to me and asked if I was Nigerian. He said he was originally from Lagos. He, like Paul, won the Green Card many years ago and brought his entire family here. Now he is forced to work several menial jobs to sustain his family. He looked distraught and resigned when he was narrating his experiences to me. "At my age, I have become a hustler [sic] again," he said ruefully. That sentence stung me so hard.
His wife is illiterate and therefore can't work. The family of five is supported by his sole earnings. He said he has no social life, scarcely rests, and does jobs he never imagined he would ever do again in his life.
"If you feel this way about your stay here, why don't you go back home?" I asked
"My brother, go home? What will I tell people at home? That I have failed where others have succeeded. No way!" he said.
"But do you think you can make it here with the kind of life you said you're leading and the kind of money you're making?" I asked.
"Well, even if I can't make it, at least my children would. They are receiving quality American education, and I think that's something to be consoled about," he said.
"But do your folks back home know what you're going through here?" I probed further.
"Why should they? I won't give anybody the pleasure to laugh at me. Of course, they think I am in paradise."
We both laughed. Then he shared many more stories of Nigerians who are in worse situations than he is. For instance, he told me the story of his friend who used to work at Shell. The friend won the Green Card lottery and was predictably elated. He said he advised his friend not to resign his employment with Shell and warned him of what might become of him here. "He got angry with me and said I wanted to be able to boast that I am the only one out here," he said. Well, the former Shell employee is now working three jobs (as Americans say it) as a security guard in three different places. At a point, he became so disillusioned that he applied to go back to Shell, but Shell disobliged him. So he is now condemned to the drudgery-and tragedy- of being a "maiguard." He probably had several of those in his personal employ when he was in Nigeria.
In Seattle, in the state of Washington, I met another Nigerian, apparently in his 50s, working as a security guard at a hotel I lodged. This was back in 2003. I was part of an International Visitors Program organized by the U.S. State Department. I was about retiring to my room when someone tapped me in the back and asked if I was Nigerian. It was easy to isolate and identify me because I was proudly dressed in my northern Nigerian traditional robes, which attracted not a few curious stares my way. It turned out that the man was from Rivers State and had been living in the United States for years. He said he came here with an MBA, but that when he didn't get a white-collar job after searching many years, he decided to work as a security guard. He works in several places to make ends meet because the wages from one job can't pay the bills.
A friend also told me of a Nigerian Ph.D. who won the Green Card and is now here. His Ph.D. was not trusted to be the equivalent of an American Ph.D., so he couldn't get a university teaching job. I am told that he is now pursuing a master's degree here so that he can get a decent job. I know of two other Nigerian PhDs who are luckier: they are teaching in secondary schools here. However, there are equally a good number of Nigerians who got their PhDs from Nigeria and have respectable teaching and research jobs. I think it is not so much the location where the PhDs were obtained that worries prospective American employers of our PhDs as the absence or inadequate evidence of publication records to show that they are university teachers. The motto here is: publish or perish. If you are a PhD and you have no publications, you might as well prepare to be a security guard.
Our lawyers and medical doctors face a slightly different problem. Here, people get law and medical degrees only after they have acquired a bachelor's degree. Americans don't go to law school or medical school straight from high school as we-and the British-do. That's why when our doctors and lawyers come here, they find out that they have to either retrain to retain their former jobs or forgo their professions and become security guards, taxi drivers, or do some other kinds of lowly jobs to survive.
The first shock that winners of the Green Card lottery confront here is the reality that there are no jobs waiting for them. Most of the Green Card holders that I have met here often told me that they had thought that the American government had made prior arrangements to get jobs for them as soon as they got here. I don't know why anybody would feel so self-important (or are they merely being ignorant?) as to expect that kind of princely treatment. Even American citizens don't have automatic jobs by virtue of being citizens.
When our Nigerian Green Card beneficiaries come here, they realize that the only jobs that are readily available are menial, low-paid jobs that most Americans will never touch even with a barge pole. It seems to me that what perpetuates this "Green Card" disillusionment is that people back home are not told the truth about life in the United States. This country is far from the land of milk and honey that it has been cracked up to be by Hollywood-and by Nigerians living here.
A good number of Green Card holders from Nigeria with false notions of the prosperity of this country resort to fraud when they can't come to terms with the naked reality that they meet. There has lately been a lot of focus on Nigerian criminals here by the U.S. media. Two months ago, several Nigerians (all of them from the South-south and the Southeast) were arrested in a sensational Medicaid fraud in Houston, Texas. They defrauded the state of millions of dollars for years, but the long, icy arm of the American law finally caught up with them. And about the time our minister of information, Frank Nweke, came here to launch his international image laundering project, the ABC, of one America's four major TV networks, aired an investigative documentary about Nigerian 419 fraudsters both in this country and in Nigeria
Pls let us all note that this is not meant to discourage us from our pursuit(cos me sef want America dream bad bad) but to give us a fore knowledge of whats obtainable in the states as a new immigrant.
Constructive comments are most welcome.
Note: I lifted this post from www.nigeriansinamerica.com immigrant dicussion forum.
Have a nice reading.
Catching Hell in Paradise? (i)
By Farooq A. Kperogi
Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
December 10, 2006
Sometime ago, while browsing our newspapers online, as I always do, a news item caught my attention. It was the report of the declaration by the chairman of the University of Lagos branch of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Waye Adefolalu, that the American Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery program is the modern reincarnation of slavery.
He was speaking at a seminar organized by the Poverty Eradication Vanguard, apparently anti- poverty NGO. "I [hope that]...our brothers and sisters that are in captivity under the pretext of American visa lottery will return to this land. Whether you agree with me or not, American [Green Card] lottery is another modern slavery," he was quoted to have said in the Aug. 19, 2006 of Punch.
Could he be right?
For obvious-and I think justifiable-reasons, many Nigerians look up to the United States, perhaps more than any other Western country, as the country where they can materialize their aspirations for the economic stability that their country cruelly denies them. Nigerians are not alone, however.
America is an incredible magnet for a whole host of economic refugees from different parts of the world who throng here in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families. This fact makes America perhaps the most multicultural country on Earth, not only in contemporary times but in the entire history of humankind. Almost every race and ethnicity in the world is represented here.
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Nigerians are the most represented group of Africans in this country. And a significant percentage of Nigerians came here, and keeps coming here, courtesy of the yearly Green Card lottery program. Of course, many other Nigerians are here either as students, visiting scholars, guest workers, and so on. But it is the case that the most popular means to come to America lately has been through the Green Card lottery program.
But are Green Card holders in America really no more than 21st century slaves?
First, what is the Green Card? Being the journalist and teacher that I am, I like to define my terms, sometimes at the expense of exposing myself to the risk of being charged with condescension. However, from the many private emails I have received from readers of this column about the Green Card program, it doesn't seem to me that it is entirely out of place to explain briefly what the Green Card is.
Reduced to its barest essentials, the Green Card is a document (an ID card actually) that invests the holder with the right to permanently stay and work in the United States. It is officially called the "United States Permanent Resident Permit." It, however, does not make the holders citizens, even though it qualifies them to apply for citizenship after a specified number of years of residency in the country and upon passing a citizenship test. Call it a transitional citizenship document, if you like.
The Green Card can be obtained in two ways: through lottery, which gives opportunities to people with at least a secondary school certificate from parts of the world that are least represented in the United States to come here by a game of chance, and through getting a job with a U.S. employer. In the latter case, the employer must legally prove that it has a need for a specific job that no U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident has the skill to do. This seems a difficult requirement-and it is- but many people have obtained Green Cards through this process.
The strange thing about the Green Card is that it is not green. The name "Green Card," I learned, derives from the color of earlier versions of this card before 1945. Over the years, the government has experimented with many colors in the design of the card. As of this year, the card is mostly yellowish-white, and the only noticeable green color is the inscription on the back.
The first time I encountered a Nigerian Green Card holder was sometime in the midpoint of last year when I lived in Louisiana. It was on a searingly hot and sticky summer day. I was sauntering on the campus along with an African American acquaintance when I saw a face that struck me as distinctly Nigerian. The man looked traumatized, disheveled and disconsolate. He didn't seem to be going to any direction in particular. His gait was timid, his eyes sunken and his clothes almost threadbare. But in his visage, you could still see the residues of a man who had previously lived a good life-or so it seemed to me.
I told my friend that the man who was approaching us was Nigerian. He, like many of my African American friends, always marvels at how I am often able to tell African Americans from continental Africans.
On this occasion, however, he contested the validity of my observation. He was sure that the man was an African-American junkie (that's how Americans call drug addicts) because of the man's fair, if sallow, skin texture, and his overly melancholic and bedraggled looks. African Americans have a stereotype of Africans as dark-skinned, self-assured, usually formally dressed and sometimes arrogant people who always have an air about them that says to the world, "I know where I come from!" This man defied all that.
So as we closed the distance between us and the man, to demonstrate my cocksureness that he was Nigerian, I greeted him aloud in Pidgin English. "How you dey my broda?" I greeted. He was jolted and animated beyond description. "Old boy, you be Naija man? Wetin you dey do here? What part of Nigeria are you from? Ah, thank God I see you o!" He assailed me with a seemingly endless barrage of queries in just a split second-and in an accent that at once betrayed his Igbo ethnicity. In time, we got immersed in a lengthy discussion about how he found himself in America and the troubles he's been encountering since he got here.
The man's name is Paul. I have left out his last name to protect his privacy. His wife won the Green Card lottery, and the entire family of six relocated to America to materialize their American Dream. He and his family had been living in a small village near my city for over a year. Neither he nor his wife had got a job when we spoke. He holds a master's degree in sociology from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and his wife holds a bachelor's degree in physical and health education from the same university.
He was a senior public servant in Nigeria who was obviously doing well. He had two houses in Suleja, a fleet of cars and his wife had a big shop. Then the wife won the Green Card lottery. The joy in their home was boundless, he told me. They had won the passport to paradise on earth, they thought. While the conversation was going on, my friend excused himself and left us because he couldn't understand our code-switching and code-mixing, that is, our annoyingly endless vacillation between Pidgin English and Standard English. Plus, our accents were unapologetically Nigerian, which was probably too "thick" for him to make sense of. But the pathos of Paul's story inspired so much sadness in me that I was in no mood to show sensitivity to my American friend's comfort in our midst.
Paul sold his houses and cars and auctioned his wife's shop to come here. He has four children, who are all grown up. His woes in America started almost immediately he got here. His host, an African-American whose daughter is married to Paul's cousin, told him that he could accommodate him and his family for only a week. Strange and shocking as this was to him, he quickly regained his poise and looked for a low-income mobile home (usually constructed with wooden planks) even before the expiration of the one-week grace given to him by his in-law. Well, because he sold his houses, cars, and other valuables in Nigeria, he was still rich and could afford to do that. He even bought a car cash down-something that is unusual in America. Most people here don't buy cars cash down; they buy cars by installment plan-or what the British call hire purchase. But Paul's hopes were fertilized by the infectious optimism of the American Dream.
Over a year after arriving here, neither he nor his wife had got a job. No employer recognized his Nigerian qualifications. What was worse, even tormenting, he said, was that most people told him they couldn't understand his accent. When it dawned on him that he couldn't possibly get a job that befitted his academic status because of the low opinions Americans have of "Third World" qualifications, he resolved to lower his expectations and look for a job as an elementary school teacher. But his lack of qualification in education disqualified him.
Then he reasoned that since his wife has a degree in physical and health education, he should allow her to apply for a teaching job instead. So she went out in search of teaching jobs. But no secondary would employ her. Then, like her husband, she decided to apply to teach in an elementary school. Her degree was submitted to the school board for certification. Fortunately, she was certified to teach. However, no elementary school was ready to accept her because they said her accent was almost incomprehensible. If adults had difficulty understanding her, her interviewers said, little children with little or no exposure to "thick" African accents would certainly be clueless when she teaches them. It was as if all the schools she applied to had the same script.
At the time that Paul was sharing his woes with me, neither he nor his wife had got a job-one year after living here. The money he brought from Nigeria, which had been sustaining the family, was in danger of depleting. And he was desperate. He needed my counsel since it appeared to him that I had integrated well into the American society. Do Americans also have problems with my accent? What of my students? Do they understand me? And do I always understand the whining, nasal, fast-paced accents of these Americans? How do people make it in this society? Or is America only a huge façade, a mirage, sustained by lying Nigerian "been tos" who give the impression that this country is a land flowing with milk, honey and dollars in every nook and cranny?
*I will conclude Paul's story next week and relate more anecdotal accounts of the experiences of other Green Card holders that I have met here.
Continuation here:
Catching Hell in Paradise? (ii)
By Farooq A. Kperogi
Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
December 24, 2006
I want to apologize for my inability to write my column last week. Last week was a particularly exceedingly hectic week for me. It was the last week of the semester, and it was practically impossible for me to spare any time to do anything other than schoolwork-administering exams, grading my students' papers, researching, writing and presenting my final seminar papers, and a whole host of other things I don't want to bore you with. But I am back.
In the first part of this series, I used my encounter with a certain Paul as a springboard to tell the story of disillusionment among many Nigerian winners of the American Green Card lottery program. I will continue with the story this week.
Paul told me that his inclination was to return to Nigeria. Even his children, he said, prodded him to take them back home. But he couldn't go back home for two reasons: shame (or is it pride) and financial vulnerability. Remember that he sold all his assets in Nigeria. His situation was complicated by the fact that he was living in a small village, a village that has the notoriety of having literally burned to death hundreds of black Americans who resided there. This was many years before the Civil Rights movement that gave American blacks the right of citizenship-and, in fact, of humanity.
Well, what were my responses to Paul's concerns? First, I advised him to lower his expectations, shrink his ego (if there was anything left of it, that is,) and look for a menial job. In such kinds of jobs, I told him, nobody gives a damn how thick your accent is as long as your body is thick enough to do the manual jobs you're assigned to do. I suggested that he apply to Wal-Mart, America's (some say the world's) biggest retail store. I also advised that he should enroll his wife in the university to study for a nursing degree. She would not only have an American qualification; she would also easily get a job and earn good money after she graduates. He was persuaded.
The end of the story is that he now works at Wal-Mart, doing what President George Bush calls "jobs Americans will not do." He moves wares from shop to shop. Following my advice, he also secured a federal loan to enroll his wife in my former university where she's now reading for a degree in nursing. By a curious twist of circumstances, before I left Louisiana, I became her informal mentor. An American colleague of mine brought her to my office one day and said she wanted me to meet my compatriot who was facing some difficulty adjusting to the American educational system. When she found out that I was the same person who had advised her husband to allow her to enroll for the course, our meeting became even more emotional.
I am still in touch with Paul and his family. He says the money he makes from his job is only enough to save his family from starving, and the work he does at Wal-Mart wears him out every day because it's physically strenuous. He was not used to that kind of hard life-or had gone past that kind of life when he was in Nigeria. However, he is hopeful that things would improve.
Paul is only a sample of several Nigerians who come here with exaggerated expectations and become disillusioned when they confront a different reality. About two months ago, I met another middle-aged Nigerian in the train. How did I meet him? Someone asked me a question. When I responded, my accent gave away my Nigerian identity. So he came up to me and asked if I was Nigerian. He said he was originally from Lagos. He, like Paul, won the Green Card many years ago and brought his entire family here. Now he is forced to work several menial jobs to sustain his family. He looked distraught and resigned when he was narrating his experiences to me. "At my age, I have become a hustler [sic] again," he said ruefully. That sentence stung me so hard.
His wife is illiterate and therefore can't work. The family of five is supported by his sole earnings. He said he has no social life, scarcely rests, and does jobs he never imagined he would ever do again in his life.
"If you feel this way about your stay here, why don't you go back home?" I asked
"My brother, go home? What will I tell people at home? That I have failed where others have succeeded. No way!" he said.
"But do you think you can make it here with the kind of life you said you're leading and the kind of money you're making?" I asked.
"Well, even if I can't make it, at least my children would. They are receiving quality American education, and I think that's something to be consoled about," he said.
"But do your folks back home know what you're going through here?" I probed further.
"Why should they? I won't give anybody the pleasure to laugh at me. Of course, they think I am in paradise."
We both laughed. Then he shared many more stories of Nigerians who are in worse situations than he is. For instance, he told me the story of his friend who used to work at Shell. The friend won the Green Card lottery and was predictably elated. He said he advised his friend not to resign his employment with Shell and warned him of what might become of him here. "He got angry with me and said I wanted to be able to boast that I am the only one out here," he said. Well, the former Shell employee is now working three jobs (as Americans say it) as a security guard in three different places. At a point, he became so disillusioned that he applied to go back to Shell, but Shell disobliged him. So he is now condemned to the drudgery-and tragedy- of being a "maiguard." He probably had several of those in his personal employ when he was in Nigeria.
In Seattle, in the state of Washington, I met another Nigerian, apparently in his 50s, working as a security guard at a hotel I lodged. This was back in 2003. I was part of an International Visitors Program organized by the U.S. State Department. I was about retiring to my room when someone tapped me in the back and asked if I was Nigerian. It was easy to isolate and identify me because I was proudly dressed in my northern Nigerian traditional robes, which attracted not a few curious stares my way. It turned out that the man was from Rivers State and had been living in the United States for years. He said he came here with an MBA, but that when he didn't get a white-collar job after searching many years, he decided to work as a security guard. He works in several places to make ends meet because the wages from one job can't pay the bills.
A friend also told me of a Nigerian Ph.D. who won the Green Card and is now here. His Ph.D. was not trusted to be the equivalent of an American Ph.D., so he couldn't get a university teaching job. I am told that he is now pursuing a master's degree here so that he can get a decent job. I know of two other Nigerian PhDs who are luckier: they are teaching in secondary schools here. However, there are equally a good number of Nigerians who got their PhDs from Nigeria and have respectable teaching and research jobs. I think it is not so much the location where the PhDs were obtained that worries prospective American employers of our PhDs as the absence or inadequate evidence of publication records to show that they are university teachers. The motto here is: publish or perish. If you are a PhD and you have no publications, you might as well prepare to be a security guard.
Our lawyers and medical doctors face a slightly different problem. Here, people get law and medical degrees only after they have acquired a bachelor's degree. Americans don't go to law school or medical school straight from high school as we-and the British-do. That's why when our doctors and lawyers come here, they find out that they have to either retrain to retain their former jobs or forgo their professions and become security guards, taxi drivers, or do some other kinds of lowly jobs to survive.
The first shock that winners of the Green Card lottery confront here is the reality that there are no jobs waiting for them. Most of the Green Card holders that I have met here often told me that they had thought that the American government had made prior arrangements to get jobs for them as soon as they got here. I don't know why anybody would feel so self-important (or are they merely being ignorant?) as to expect that kind of princely treatment. Even American citizens don't have automatic jobs by virtue of being citizens.
When our Nigerian Green Card beneficiaries come here, they realize that the only jobs that are readily available are menial, low-paid jobs that most Americans will never touch even with a barge pole. It seems to me that what perpetuates this "Green Card" disillusionment is that people back home are not told the truth about life in the United States. This country is far from the land of milk and honey that it has been cracked up to be by Hollywood-and by Nigerians living here.
A good number of Green Card holders from Nigeria with false notions of the prosperity of this country resort to fraud when they can't come to terms with the naked reality that they meet. There has lately been a lot of focus on Nigerian criminals here by the U.S. media. Two months ago, several Nigerians (all of them from the South-south and the Southeast) were arrested in a sensational Medicaid fraud in Houston, Texas. They defrauded the state of millions of dollars for years, but the long, icy arm of the American law finally caught up with them. And about the time our minister of information, Frank Nweke, came here to launch his international image laundering project, the ABC, of one America's four major TV networks, aired an investigative documentary about Nigerian 419 fraudsters both in this country and in Nigeria
This is another article
This another article from www.nigeriansinamerica.com
Settlement and Adjustment Issues of Nigerian Immigrants
by Ezekiel Ette, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work
Indiana University
I want to thank the members of the executive and banquet committee as well as the members of NCOSWA for giving me this opportunity to be the keynote speaker tonight. My thanks also goes to the participants who allowed me to ask questions about their private lives. I owe them a debt of gratitude. Even though I had promised to pay a little sum for their time, all the Nigerians who participated in the study refused to take any money from me and saw their participation as a way of helping a fellow Nigerian.
Being called upon to be a key note speaker by your people is an honor for it means that they think you may have something important to say but there can also be a downside to it as well. Since a prophet has honor except among his own people, an invitation to give a speech might be an indication that they are getting tired of your being in school and now wants to hear about what you've learnt in all the years of going to school. This was certainly the case with a five year old. His father, the preacher had just been awarded the Ph.D. degree. Suddenly everyone started adding the title Dr. to his name.
One Saturday, one of his parishioners called. His daughter, the five year old picked up the receiver and the caller asked "Can I speak to Dr. Smith?" the little girl with some hesitation asked if the caller wanted to speak to her daddy and the caller replied yes. She told the caller to hold on while she called the dad and as the man walked to the phone the little five year old told the caller: "There is something you should know though, you see, everybody is calling my daddy doctor now, but he is the kind of doctor that would not do you any good." My children would certainly agree with that assessment. My son still corrects my English pronunciation and believes I do not speak the language well despite being called a doctor.
My family and I are happy to be back in Portland, a place that we still consider our home and hope to return soon. Tonight, I want to share with you my interest in studying Nigerian immigrants and the findings from a study that I did here in Portland. The study has been accepted for presentation by the American Society for Social Work Research and is currently being considered by the International Federation of Social Work conference next year in Berlin, Germany.
My interest in Nigerian immigrants as a subject of study began on my trip back to Nigeria more than six years ago. When I arrived in Nigeria I went and visited old friends and discovered that though the years have separated us, we had very little to talk about. My conversation revolved around old memories, some of which my friends were not willing to discuss. I found out also that my interest had changed. An old classmate who was then a politician and had become very wealthy asked me, "Why are you people over there?" As he dropped me off in his Mercedes Benz car, I thought about the question that he asked me. I thought about the years I have spent in the United States and I thought about the wealth that he has acquired. His wealth and the poverty that I saw in the street bothered me. When I returned to the United States I had conversations with other Nigerians here in Portland and discovered that they too were struggling with the same issues I was struggling with and so I decided to devote my time to understanding more what we Nigerians are going through. The question then turned not on what we are doing here, but how are we doing over here.
I want to start tonight with a little background about me. I came to the United States in 1982 as the recipient of the Cameron Foundation Scholarship, a private philanthropy operated by William and Elaine Berry of Kennesaw Georgia. I left Nigeria after three years of college education and transferred to the University of Tennessee where I completed my Baccalaureate degree. When I left Nigeria, I planned to return as soon as I finished my college degree. I figured it would take me just a year. That was 24 years ago.
I interviewed different Nigerians who lived here in Portland, Oregon and southwest Washington. Participation was voluntary as I announced the study at meetings of groups and called people on the phone and invited them to participate in the study. I asked these Nigerians to tell me how they got here to the United States and what motivated them to come. I also asked them to tell me about their experience in adjusting to life here in the northwest including their experience with education, the social system and racism. I also wanted to know how they coped and what helped them in the adjustment process. These Nigerians represented an array of social class, education and income. The highest income reported by these participants was $100,000, while the lowest was $13,000. Some participants earned the highest degree in their fields, while others had a few years of college. Some participants had been here longer, while others had been here a shorter time, but as a general rule, before the individual was allowed to participate in the study, he or she must have been here in the United States for three months. They must not have been born in the United States and must have been at least 18 years old at the time he or she left Nigeria in order to participate. The participants told their stories to me in a semi-structured format, meaning that they told me their story in any way they liked while I redirected their responses so that they could touch on the specific areas that I have already mentioned above. I talked to the participants at any place of their choosing. Some spoke to me in their homes and others spoke to me at their work places while a few others suggested other places that they found convenient. The interview took about three months. After all the participants were interviewed, I analyzed the conversation looking for different themes and then making conclusions.
The question that I was looking for answers was:
As we settle into this new land, what are the kinds of issues that we, as Nigerians who come from a different culture deal with?
One of the things I found out in the study was the same found in other studies which is that Nigerian men make more money than women. Two things could explain this. One is that the Nigerian men have been here longer on the average than the women and the longer individuals stay the more likely they are to be acculturated to the American culture including acquiring American education. The other explanation is that generally in America, the men make more money than women and what happens among Nigerian immigrants is just a mirror of what happens in the society.
Most Nigerians came here to the United States to go to school. They came with lots of ambition namely, to acquire a college education and return to Nigeria. There were two groups of Nigerian students in the decades of the 1970's and 80s. The first group consisted of children of the middle class who came to the United States because their parents could afford to send them abroad to get American education during the oil boom years. The second consisted of government scholarship recipients. The Nigerian government noticed that expatriates were controlling the Nigerian economy and that Nigerian citizens were only serving the middle level manpower needs of the country. The Gowon and later the first Obasanjo administrations embarked on developing a university system that would be a world class. This ambitious project meant sending the best and brightest young minds abroad to study. Many of those who came on this government scheme became stranded when the Buhari administration in 1983 cancelled the project. School fees were no longer sent to those abroad and with the deteriorating political and economic situation in the country many of these students decided to stay in the United States and became what some called economic refugees. There were a few problems associated with this decision to stay.
The courses of study selected by these Nigerian were done to either suit the Nigerian labor market to which they planned to return or to satisfy the requirement for government scholarships. The decision to stay in the United States therefore meant that there was a dissonance between the degrees already acquired and the jobs available in the American labor market. Many of the issues faced by Nigerian immigrants in their struggle to survive could be traced to this.
The study therefore found that the Nigerian took whatever job was available despite high academic training. Many became bus boy, cooks, cab drivers, carpenters, nurse assistants, and personal attendants to wealthy and sick Americans. One Nigerian told me about an experience he had. He was looking for a job but found that everywhere he went, they were looking for experience and training. One day he found an advertisement for a bar tender at a local pub. He thought that pouring a drink for patrons could not be that hard so he applied for the job and was invited for an interview. At the interview, the manger asked if he had bar tended before and because he was desperate, he said yes. He was hired and on his first day he was overwhelmed. He said :" Who knew that glasses had names and certain drinks also had names?" Patrons, would come in and ask for whiskey on the rocks and he had no clue what they were talking about. He wondered what was so bloody about Bloody Mary and stood there lost as patrons yelled for their order. When the manager discovered that his new bar tender had no clue about the bar, he quickly sent our Nigerian friend to the kitchen to do dishes and so he became a dishwasher. Another Nigerian went to work at an Italian restaurant as a short order cook but found himself asking a Hispanic dishwasher what the meaning of his job title was. He soon found out when the waitresses came in with orders asking for fettuccine, linguini, and lasagna. The problem was he had no clue what those dishes were. For someone who ate foo-foo and can talk about the different kinds of soup, preparing these dishes at a fast pace restaurant on a Saturday night was a Herculean task. Again our Nigerian friend, just like his bar tender compatriot was sent to do the dishes and the Hispanic was promoted to be the cook. Others became traders, buying and selling cloths and food stuff to fellow Nigerians and their American friends.
All the Nigerians who participated in the study reported that racism was a problem. In fact, all of them had had experience with racism. From professors who refused to help to managers who treated the Nigerian with scorn, all the participants in the study struggled with racism. One of the things that participants told me about racism was that their education back in Nigeria did not prepare them on how to deal with racism in America. They went to school learning about the benevolence of the western society but were not told about the racist attitude of the American society. Some had problems finding a place to rent, while others had problems in the work place. The Nigerian however thrived in spite of racism. In the 1940s, the African moved westward and encountered racism. They turned it to their advantage by opening businesses to cater for each other. The Nigerian borrowed a page from this playbook. Unable to find work because of racism, many returned to school and obtained advance degrees. As one of the participants put it: "So long as you have the degree and training that the American employer must have, they cannot afford not to hire you". Many of the participants therefore went to school obtaining advance degrees in many disciplines from Accounting to medicine. Yet as the Nigerian obtained the credentials that would get them into the middle class, they found themselves waiting at the door with their qualifications in hand. Education did not translate easily into a better job for some because of racism. Yet the Nigerian retrained and some took on vocational trainings in order to survive in America. The study showed, just as others conducted by other researchers, that despite the high academic training of the Nigerian immigrants in America, they earn less than white immigrants from Europe. Our third world origin is used against us when it comes to jobs in America. Yet the Nigerian is very satisfied with whatever he or she makes for we tend to compare ourselves not to our American neighbors with similar education, but to those in Nigeria that we left behind. We thought about what our situation was in Nigeria and congratulate ourselves for how far we have come. In the process we failed to see that we are not paid as much as the native born.
Yet we continue to stay in our adopted land, not because of the draw of America, but because of unfavorable conditions at home. Many told stories of their experience visiting home. They told stories of corruption, police brutality, insecurity brought about by armed gangs, illiteracy and hardships as a result of the lack of basic necessity. But curiously, all the participants have what I called, a sojourner's mentality. They hope to return someday to Nigeria when they have made enough money here in America that would allow them to live in relative ease. The picture painted by these Nigerians is that of building a house in his or her village/town, equipping the house with modern amenities and conveniences currently enjoyed in America, then with a car in the garage and money in the bank, the Nigerian returns to the land of his/her birth in the winter and returns to the United States in the summer, thus continuing his stride between two worlds. When I asked how they are getting ready for this phase of their lives, many even in their fifties said they are still planning. Some have built houses already getting ready for this retirement and others had stories of woe on how much money they have lost to relatives and phony contractors in their attempt to have a house at home where they hope to return someday.
The problem with this sojourner's mentality is that it robs the Nigerian of the sense of permanence and so we cannot participate fully as members of the American community for we see ourselves as strangers who are here only on a temporary basis. The problem with this attitude is that we are growing older each and everyday, and as our children grow and make lives of their own in this country, our dream of returning home someday gradually fades. We become in effect people who are drawn to both sides of the Atlantic but with no foot on any land. We are not the first people who have had this sojourner's mentality. In fact, many immigrants before us have had this attitude and history showed that they were not able to do well in America until they changed their attitude. The Italians thought they were just here to make money and return home and so they failed to fully participate in the American political process. The Chinese also, until recently felt the same way, and the Nigerian has also adopted this attitude.
...cont...below...
__________________
The Story of the Nigerian - Part II"
In our case, I think one reason for our adoption of this attitude is our culture, for as somebody said, you can take us out of Africa, but it is impossible to take Africa out of us. And so we remember the old concept of the heath where a man is required to take over the land, the compound and the responsibilities of the extended family at the death of the eldest man. As we live into our forties and fifties, we are facing the death of the older people back at home and the culture like a beacon calls us home demanding of us to assume responsibilities even though, we have been changed by our experiences in America. Yes, we are striving two worlds. Nearly all the participants are card carrying members of Western Union money transfer service. The Nigerian sends money home to care for nephews, cousins, uncle, brothers, sisters, mother and fathers.
One participant told me: "I make enough money in this country; what I make would have been enough for us here, but I have to send money home every month to take care of others back in Nigeria." And so we see the care of others back in Nigeria as our responsibility and become preoccupied with those that we left behind. Though we left Nigeria, we become emotionally attached to the land and people we left behind and spend our lives here worrying about them. The money sent home, serves several purpose, one being that it tells those that we left behind that life here is easy and that a trip here is a journey into affluence. Therefore we get requests for help to enable others come over.
Yes, we have been changed by the American experience. We have lost the traditional gender roles. Men now do the things at home that their fathers and grandfathers in Nigeria did not do. One can truly say that the male Nigerian immigrant in America is liberated. They cook, clean, baby-sit and perform other household chores. However this experience did not come easy for many. Some found out that they had to do it and so they reluctantly did it.
One participant told me a story of coming back one night to find the husband watching television while the children were dirty and hungry. She asked him why he did not help and the gentleman feeling disturbed from watching his football game eloquently explained to his tired wife that it was not his job to do housework. The lady then asked him to point out what his job was. Our man had no answer, for you see she too was working as he was and so he could not claim the bread winner status and so she calmly reminded him "Sir back in Nigeria, we have a lot of people who would have helped us around the house, but here in America, it is just you and I." That was enough to change our man into a husband and good father.
We find ourselves alone in this foreign land. And so nearly everybody felt lonely when they first came here. They cured this by writing lots of letters back home to friends and relatives and as the years passed the letters tapered off. Participants reported that they did not write as many letters as they used to write initially when they first came. Whenever opportunities arise we get together and eat the food that we used to eat at home in the company of other Nigerian immigrants as a memorial rite to get ourselves closer to the land that we left behind.
There were problems with the American culture. From ordering food in a restaurant to finding a date, the new arrivals from Nigeria felt like a fish out of the water. We left Nigeria knowing that we spoke English, but the spoken English we encountered in America was different. Names of food were different and as many looked at menus, they could not find amala, garri, rice and beans, moi-moi or edikang Ikong. Instead we saw hot dogs, hamburgers and salad. Faced with strange food choices, the Nigerian adopted a strategy of looking at what other patrons had and pointing to their food. The problem as one participant stated was that they did not know how it tasted or what it was made of. And so when the waitress told this participant that what the lady had was a hot dog she shrugged with disgust and responded "Eh this people de chop dogs?"
Ours is a story of survival not because of, but in spite of odds. Ours is a story not of affluence and warm welcome but of scrapping at the bottom of the American dream, yet we have made it and many continue to believe in the American dream. One of the things that have made the Nigerian successful is the way we see meaning and the way we interpret our American experience. When I asked the participants if they consider themselves successful, I had a variety of answers. While some considered coming to America "a good move", others saw their experience as a waste. One participant told me "I am now in the most productive years of my life, but here I am in a strange land not contributing something to my fatherland. All my training and experience are used here for the development of America. Here I am a nobody." this idea of waste was echoed by a few others who lamented missing the stories and traditions at home. Another participant told a story of returning home to Nigeria on a visit and not recognizing a younger sibling who was an infant when he left home. The young girl, during his years in America, had grown and had gone to the university. He, as a brother, missed the birthdays and other markers of growth and maturity. He had to be introduced to his own sibling. Another missed the precious years with his father and uncles and when he returned, it was only to bury the father, and as he stood and watched him in his coffin he wondered about all the years and stories that he missed. Yet, in our own country, we have no voice and we become strangers in the land of our birth.
Certain traditions and culture become strange because we are basically outside of the culture and looking in. We question the wisdom of certain actions because of our exposure to other ideas. We speak a different language and our thought process is ordered in English. In sum we have been changed by our American experience, but despite this change we feel drawn to the old ways and the old land with the hope that one day we will return. Based on this, many of our people return home to marry not because they are in love, but as an attachment to the old land.
Another finding in the study was that we Nigerians move to areas where we can maximize our earning potential. People move for a variety of reasons, chief among which is education. This was consistent with other findings that showed that immigrants do better if they move. But the moving among Nigerian as with other immigrants is not random. Individuals move to where they have relative or friends. These friends help them to settle and adjust in the new city.
On the whole, the American experience for us Nigerians have been different. Majorities came not to settle in America but to obtain education but were later forced to stay in the country by the unpleasant situation in Nigeria. The immigration experience in itself is inherently a journey of hope for the immigrant belief that the future cannot be worse than the past. As Oliver de Tocqueville observed in the nineteenth century" the strong and the powerful do not go into voluntary exile." The Nigerians in the study were not the strong and the powerful, and so they stayed when life back in Nigeria was uncertain, they chose the unknown, rather than the unpleasant conditions back in Nigeria.
I want to leave you tonight with this story: When I was looking for participants for this study, I approach a young lady and asked if she would be interested in telling me the story of her experience in America. She looked surprise and responded "Who would be interested in my story, I have nothing interesting to say." Actually, it turned out that her story was very interesting. All of our stories about our American experience are interesting stories for they are stories of strength. They are stories of progress and examples of what can be accomplished when individuals rise and have faith in themselves and their abilities.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my studies and to tell the story of the Nigerian, for it is our story.
God Bless you!
This another article from www.nigeriansinamerica.com
Settlement and Adjustment Issues of Nigerian Immigrants
by Ezekiel Ette, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work
Indiana University
I want to thank the members of the executive and banquet committee as well as the members of NCOSWA for giving me this opportunity to be the keynote speaker tonight. My thanks also goes to the participants who allowed me to ask questions about their private lives. I owe them a debt of gratitude. Even though I had promised to pay a little sum for their time, all the Nigerians who participated in the study refused to take any money from me and saw their participation as a way of helping a fellow Nigerian.
Being called upon to be a key note speaker by your people is an honor for it means that they think you may have something important to say but there can also be a downside to it as well. Since a prophet has honor except among his own people, an invitation to give a speech might be an indication that they are getting tired of your being in school and now wants to hear about what you've learnt in all the years of going to school. This was certainly the case with a five year old. His father, the preacher had just been awarded the Ph.D. degree. Suddenly everyone started adding the title Dr. to his name.
One Saturday, one of his parishioners called. His daughter, the five year old picked up the receiver and the caller asked "Can I speak to Dr. Smith?" the little girl with some hesitation asked if the caller wanted to speak to her daddy and the caller replied yes. She told the caller to hold on while she called the dad and as the man walked to the phone the little five year old told the caller: "There is something you should know though, you see, everybody is calling my daddy doctor now, but he is the kind of doctor that would not do you any good." My children would certainly agree with that assessment. My son still corrects my English pronunciation and believes I do not speak the language well despite being called a doctor.
My family and I are happy to be back in Portland, a place that we still consider our home and hope to return soon. Tonight, I want to share with you my interest in studying Nigerian immigrants and the findings from a study that I did here in Portland. The study has been accepted for presentation by the American Society for Social Work Research and is currently being considered by the International Federation of Social Work conference next year in Berlin, Germany.
My interest in Nigerian immigrants as a subject of study began on my trip back to Nigeria more than six years ago. When I arrived in Nigeria I went and visited old friends and discovered that though the years have separated us, we had very little to talk about. My conversation revolved around old memories, some of which my friends were not willing to discuss. I found out also that my interest had changed. An old classmate who was then a politician and had become very wealthy asked me, "Why are you people over there?" As he dropped me off in his Mercedes Benz car, I thought about the question that he asked me. I thought about the years I have spent in the United States and I thought about the wealth that he has acquired. His wealth and the poverty that I saw in the street bothered me. When I returned to the United States I had conversations with other Nigerians here in Portland and discovered that they too were struggling with the same issues I was struggling with and so I decided to devote my time to understanding more what we Nigerians are going through. The question then turned not on what we are doing here, but how are we doing over here.
I want to start tonight with a little background about me. I came to the United States in 1982 as the recipient of the Cameron Foundation Scholarship, a private philanthropy operated by William and Elaine Berry of Kennesaw Georgia. I left Nigeria after three years of college education and transferred to the University of Tennessee where I completed my Baccalaureate degree. When I left Nigeria, I planned to return as soon as I finished my college degree. I figured it would take me just a year. That was 24 years ago.
I interviewed different Nigerians who lived here in Portland, Oregon and southwest Washington. Participation was voluntary as I announced the study at meetings of groups and called people on the phone and invited them to participate in the study. I asked these Nigerians to tell me how they got here to the United States and what motivated them to come. I also asked them to tell me about their experience in adjusting to life here in the northwest including their experience with education, the social system and racism. I also wanted to know how they coped and what helped them in the adjustment process. These Nigerians represented an array of social class, education and income. The highest income reported by these participants was $100,000, while the lowest was $13,000. Some participants earned the highest degree in their fields, while others had a few years of college. Some participants had been here longer, while others had been here a shorter time, but as a general rule, before the individual was allowed to participate in the study, he or she must have been here in the United States for three months. They must not have been born in the United States and must have been at least 18 years old at the time he or she left Nigeria in order to participate. The participants told their stories to me in a semi-structured format, meaning that they told me their story in any way they liked while I redirected their responses so that they could touch on the specific areas that I have already mentioned above. I talked to the participants at any place of their choosing. Some spoke to me in their homes and others spoke to me at their work places while a few others suggested other places that they found convenient. The interview took about three months. After all the participants were interviewed, I analyzed the conversation looking for different themes and then making conclusions.
The question that I was looking for answers was:
As we settle into this new land, what are the kinds of issues that we, as Nigerians who come from a different culture deal with?
One of the things I found out in the study was the same found in other studies which is that Nigerian men make more money than women. Two things could explain this. One is that the Nigerian men have been here longer on the average than the women and the longer individuals stay the more likely they are to be acculturated to the American culture including acquiring American education. The other explanation is that generally in America, the men make more money than women and what happens among Nigerian immigrants is just a mirror of what happens in the society.
Most Nigerians came here to the United States to go to school. They came with lots of ambition namely, to acquire a college education and return to Nigeria. There were two groups of Nigerian students in the decades of the 1970's and 80s. The first group consisted of children of the middle class who came to the United States because their parents could afford to send them abroad to get American education during the oil boom years. The second consisted of government scholarship recipients. The Nigerian government noticed that expatriates were controlling the Nigerian economy and that Nigerian citizens were only serving the middle level manpower needs of the country. The Gowon and later the first Obasanjo administrations embarked on developing a university system that would be a world class. This ambitious project meant sending the best and brightest young minds abroad to study. Many of those who came on this government scheme became stranded when the Buhari administration in 1983 cancelled the project. School fees were no longer sent to those abroad and with the deteriorating political and economic situation in the country many of these students decided to stay in the United States and became what some called economic refugees. There were a few problems associated with this decision to stay.
The courses of study selected by these Nigerian were done to either suit the Nigerian labor market to which they planned to return or to satisfy the requirement for government scholarships. The decision to stay in the United States therefore meant that there was a dissonance between the degrees already acquired and the jobs available in the American labor market. Many of the issues faced by Nigerian immigrants in their struggle to survive could be traced to this.
The study therefore found that the Nigerian took whatever job was available despite high academic training. Many became bus boy, cooks, cab drivers, carpenters, nurse assistants, and personal attendants to wealthy and sick Americans. One Nigerian told me about an experience he had. He was looking for a job but found that everywhere he went, they were looking for experience and training. One day he found an advertisement for a bar tender at a local pub. He thought that pouring a drink for patrons could not be that hard so he applied for the job and was invited for an interview. At the interview, the manger asked if he had bar tended before and because he was desperate, he said yes. He was hired and on his first day he was overwhelmed. He said :" Who knew that glasses had names and certain drinks also had names?" Patrons, would come in and ask for whiskey on the rocks and he had no clue what they were talking about. He wondered what was so bloody about Bloody Mary and stood there lost as patrons yelled for their order. When the manager discovered that his new bar tender had no clue about the bar, he quickly sent our Nigerian friend to the kitchen to do dishes and so he became a dishwasher. Another Nigerian went to work at an Italian restaurant as a short order cook but found himself asking a Hispanic dishwasher what the meaning of his job title was. He soon found out when the waitresses came in with orders asking for fettuccine, linguini, and lasagna. The problem was he had no clue what those dishes were. For someone who ate foo-foo and can talk about the different kinds of soup, preparing these dishes at a fast pace restaurant on a Saturday night was a Herculean task. Again our Nigerian friend, just like his bar tender compatriot was sent to do the dishes and the Hispanic was promoted to be the cook. Others became traders, buying and selling cloths and food stuff to fellow Nigerians and their American friends.
All the Nigerians who participated in the study reported that racism was a problem. In fact, all of them had had experience with racism. From professors who refused to help to managers who treated the Nigerian with scorn, all the participants in the study struggled with racism. One of the things that participants told me about racism was that their education back in Nigeria did not prepare them on how to deal with racism in America. They went to school learning about the benevolence of the western society but were not told about the racist attitude of the American society. Some had problems finding a place to rent, while others had problems in the work place. The Nigerian however thrived in spite of racism. In the 1940s, the African moved westward and encountered racism. They turned it to their advantage by opening businesses to cater for each other. The Nigerian borrowed a page from this playbook. Unable to find work because of racism, many returned to school and obtained advance degrees. As one of the participants put it: "So long as you have the degree and training that the American employer must have, they cannot afford not to hire you". Many of the participants therefore went to school obtaining advance degrees in many disciplines from Accounting to medicine. Yet as the Nigerian obtained the credentials that would get them into the middle class, they found themselves waiting at the door with their qualifications in hand. Education did not translate easily into a better job for some because of racism. Yet the Nigerian retrained and some took on vocational trainings in order to survive in America. The study showed, just as others conducted by other researchers, that despite the high academic training of the Nigerian immigrants in America, they earn less than white immigrants from Europe. Our third world origin is used against us when it comes to jobs in America. Yet the Nigerian is very satisfied with whatever he or she makes for we tend to compare ourselves not to our American neighbors with similar education, but to those in Nigeria that we left behind. We thought about what our situation was in Nigeria and congratulate ourselves for how far we have come. In the process we failed to see that we are not paid as much as the native born.
Yet we continue to stay in our adopted land, not because of the draw of America, but because of unfavorable conditions at home. Many told stories of their experience visiting home. They told stories of corruption, police brutality, insecurity brought about by armed gangs, illiteracy and hardships as a result of the lack of basic necessity. But curiously, all the participants have what I called, a sojourner's mentality. They hope to return someday to Nigeria when they have made enough money here in America that would allow them to live in relative ease. The picture painted by these Nigerians is that of building a house in his or her village/town, equipping the house with modern amenities and conveniences currently enjoyed in America, then with a car in the garage and money in the bank, the Nigerian returns to the land of his/her birth in the winter and returns to the United States in the summer, thus continuing his stride between two worlds. When I asked how they are getting ready for this phase of their lives, many even in their fifties said they are still planning. Some have built houses already getting ready for this retirement and others had stories of woe on how much money they have lost to relatives and phony contractors in their attempt to have a house at home where they hope to return someday.
The problem with this sojourner's mentality is that it robs the Nigerian of the sense of permanence and so we cannot participate fully as members of the American community for we see ourselves as strangers who are here only on a temporary basis. The problem with this attitude is that we are growing older each and everyday, and as our children grow and make lives of their own in this country, our dream of returning home someday gradually fades. We become in effect people who are drawn to both sides of the Atlantic but with no foot on any land. We are not the first people who have had this sojourner's mentality. In fact, many immigrants before us have had this attitude and history showed that they were not able to do well in America until they changed their attitude. The Italians thought they were just here to make money and return home and so they failed to fully participate in the American political process. The Chinese also, until recently felt the same way, and the Nigerian has also adopted this attitude.
...cont...below...
__________________
The Story of the Nigerian - Part II"
In our case, I think one reason for our adoption of this attitude is our culture, for as somebody said, you can take us out of Africa, but it is impossible to take Africa out of us. And so we remember the old concept of the heath where a man is required to take over the land, the compound and the responsibilities of the extended family at the death of the eldest man. As we live into our forties and fifties, we are facing the death of the older people back at home and the culture like a beacon calls us home demanding of us to assume responsibilities even though, we have been changed by our experiences in America. Yes, we are striving two worlds. Nearly all the participants are card carrying members of Western Union money transfer service. The Nigerian sends money home to care for nephews, cousins, uncle, brothers, sisters, mother and fathers.
One participant told me: "I make enough money in this country; what I make would have been enough for us here, but I have to send money home every month to take care of others back in Nigeria." And so we see the care of others back in Nigeria as our responsibility and become preoccupied with those that we left behind. Though we left Nigeria, we become emotionally attached to the land and people we left behind and spend our lives here worrying about them. The money sent home, serves several purpose, one being that it tells those that we left behind that life here is easy and that a trip here is a journey into affluence. Therefore we get requests for help to enable others come over.
Yes, we have been changed by the American experience. We have lost the traditional gender roles. Men now do the things at home that their fathers and grandfathers in Nigeria did not do. One can truly say that the male Nigerian immigrant in America is liberated. They cook, clean, baby-sit and perform other household chores. However this experience did not come easy for many. Some found out that they had to do it and so they reluctantly did it.
One participant told me a story of coming back one night to find the husband watching television while the children were dirty and hungry. She asked him why he did not help and the gentleman feeling disturbed from watching his football game eloquently explained to his tired wife that it was not his job to do housework. The lady then asked him to point out what his job was. Our man had no answer, for you see she too was working as he was and so he could not claim the bread winner status and so she calmly reminded him "Sir back in Nigeria, we have a lot of people who would have helped us around the house, but here in America, it is just you and I." That was enough to change our man into a husband and good father.
We find ourselves alone in this foreign land. And so nearly everybody felt lonely when they first came here. They cured this by writing lots of letters back home to friends and relatives and as the years passed the letters tapered off. Participants reported that they did not write as many letters as they used to write initially when they first came. Whenever opportunities arise we get together and eat the food that we used to eat at home in the company of other Nigerian immigrants as a memorial rite to get ourselves closer to the land that we left behind.
There were problems with the American culture. From ordering food in a restaurant to finding a date, the new arrivals from Nigeria felt like a fish out of the water. We left Nigeria knowing that we spoke English, but the spoken English we encountered in America was different. Names of food were different and as many looked at menus, they could not find amala, garri, rice and beans, moi-moi or edikang Ikong. Instead we saw hot dogs, hamburgers and salad. Faced with strange food choices, the Nigerian adopted a strategy of looking at what other patrons had and pointing to their food. The problem as one participant stated was that they did not know how it tasted or what it was made of. And so when the waitress told this participant that what the lady had was a hot dog she shrugged with disgust and responded "Eh this people de chop dogs?"
Ours is a story of survival not because of, but in spite of odds. Ours is a story not of affluence and warm welcome but of scrapping at the bottom of the American dream, yet we have made it and many continue to believe in the American dream. One of the things that have made the Nigerian successful is the way we see meaning and the way we interpret our American experience. When I asked the participants if they consider themselves successful, I had a variety of answers. While some considered coming to America "a good move", others saw their experience as a waste. One participant told me "I am now in the most productive years of my life, but here I am in a strange land not contributing something to my fatherland. All my training and experience are used here for the development of America. Here I am a nobody." this idea of waste was echoed by a few others who lamented missing the stories and traditions at home. Another participant told a story of returning home to Nigeria on a visit and not recognizing a younger sibling who was an infant when he left home. The young girl, during his years in America, had grown and had gone to the university. He, as a brother, missed the birthdays and other markers of growth and maturity. He had to be introduced to his own sibling. Another missed the precious years with his father and uncles and when he returned, it was only to bury the father, and as he stood and watched him in his coffin he wondered about all the years and stories that he missed. Yet, in our own country, we have no voice and we become strangers in the land of our birth.
Certain traditions and culture become strange because we are basically outside of the culture and looking in. We question the wisdom of certain actions because of our exposure to other ideas. We speak a different language and our thought process is ordered in English. In sum we have been changed by our American experience, but despite this change we feel drawn to the old ways and the old land with the hope that one day we will return. Based on this, many of our people return home to marry not because they are in love, but as an attachment to the old land.
Another finding in the study was that we Nigerians move to areas where we can maximize our earning potential. People move for a variety of reasons, chief among which is education. This was consistent with other findings that showed that immigrants do better if they move. But the moving among Nigerian as with other immigrants is not random. Individuals move to where they have relative or friends. These friends help them to settle and adjust in the new city.
On the whole, the American experience for us Nigerians have been different. Majorities came not to settle in America but to obtain education but were later forced to stay in the country by the unpleasant situation in Nigeria. The immigration experience in itself is inherently a journey of hope for the immigrant belief that the future cannot be worse than the past. As Oliver de Tocqueville observed in the nineteenth century" the strong and the powerful do not go into voluntary exile." The Nigerians in the study were not the strong and the powerful, and so they stayed when life back in Nigeria was uncertain, they chose the unknown, rather than the unpleasant conditions back in Nigeria.
I want to leave you tonight with this story: When I was looking for participants for this study, I approach a young lady and asked if she would be interested in telling me the story of her experience in America. She looked surprise and responded "Who would be interested in my story, I have nothing interesting to say." Actually, it turned out that her story was very interesting. All of our stories about our American experience are interesting stories for they are stories of strength. They are stories of progress and examples of what can be accomplished when individuals rise and have faith in themselves and their abilities.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my studies and to tell the story of the Nigerian, for it is our story.
God Bless you!
Thanks
Hi Johnkent,
I understand u, txs for your advise. I am under no illussion that thing would be on a platter of GOLD, even in Naija, Things can't be said to be absolutely easy to come by/get as it were. I just believe leveraging on information would help in preparing people in the forum like me and many others to have an insight of life in the US.
I appreciate ur comments and hope guys learnt from it. Ultimately, with being focus and determination. Things should be fine......!
Bless you. Where in The States are u?
Bye.
Hi Johnkent,
I understand u, txs for your advise. I am under no illussion that thing would be on a platter of GOLD, even in Naija, Things can't be said to be absolutely easy to come by/get as it were. I just believe leveraging on information would help in preparing people in the forum like me and many others to have an insight of life in the US.
I appreciate ur comments and hope guys learnt from it. Ultimately, with being focus and determination. Things should be fine......!
Bless you. Where in The States are u?
Bye.
Hi shelnkid,
Thank you for this article, i read through and i tell you its quite fascinating, just as it is even in Nigeria, everybody has one story or the other to tell, i pray that God in his infinite mercies will grant us all the empowerment to tell a good story in all our endeavours, know that life it self is a risk.
Throughout the article i found the caption where the writer said
''All of our stories about our American experience are interesting stories for they are stories of strength. They are stories of progress and examples of what can be accomplished when individuals rise and have faith in themselves and their abilities'' so good and encouraging.
God will bless Nigeria too to the level that people all over the world will come here to settle for real. Amen
Thank you for this article, i read through and i tell you its quite fascinating, just as it is even in Nigeria, everybody has one story or the other to tell, i pray that God in his infinite mercies will grant us all the empowerment to tell a good story in all our endeavours, know that life it self is a risk.
Throughout the article i found the caption where the writer said
''All of our stories about our American experience are interesting stories for they are stories of strength. They are stories of progress and examples of what can be accomplished when individuals rise and have faith in themselves and their abilities'' so good and encouraging.
God will bless Nigeria too to the level that people all over the world will come here to settle for real. Amen
Good day all,
First I want to say you guys are all great. I got my NL last week as a Winner for DV2008. Since then, a friend introduced me to this site and it has been of great help. I had to print out some of the Testimonies (those already interviewed) for my Elder brother who won last year (DV2007) and has Interview on 30th of this month.
I have got series of problems on hand and I need your advice.
First was the typographical error I committed on my Husband's date of birth when i was entering (1974 instead of 1975). I had called KCC after I received my NL and they said it would be edited on my case file but that the original entry could not be tampered with. My fear started when I read some of the Testimonies by those who had already been interviewed. The main reason why people are disqualified is discrepancies in information entered and that filled in your form. Since I have notified KCC b4 hand, do you think I am on the safer side? To what extent to you think this will have a negative/positive inpact on my interview?
Secondly, my Names are "Commy Ooooo" and not "Ooooo Commy" as I filled in my entry, I had also notified KCC abt this when I saw a guy on this forum complaining of same. Please have you seen anyone who was disqualified for a particular discrepancy after laying such complain to KCC????????
Third is that my Husband has appeared at the US embassy b4 (twice) and has been refused Visa on both occasions, do you think this will have effect on him if he uses the same passport or does he need to get a new one?
I will be most grateful if you guys can really bail me out and put my mind at rest by knowing where I stand.
Hi Commy,
I believe you should be fine since u have already called KCCt to note these mistakes but i would rather prefer you write them so that they can reply in writing. Coz that is the only proof u have to show the embassy that you actually did make the corrections on time. You need to print out ur letter and Kcc's reply to u for the interview incase u are being asked for proof. so please to be on the safe side write kcc. If you go back on this thread, someone too had too many corrections on her form, she made toooooooooo many mistakes, wrote kcc and they replied that they would correct and bla bla. she said she took the print out for her interview and was asked for the proof that she actually did communicate with kcc, she showed them the print out and she was given her visa. can't remember the page but just go back to this thread, u'll find it. Jrices, if u can remember this page, help.
the subject shd be ur case number
Bbody: ur full name, case number and date of birth
then u state ur changes.
Your hubby being denied at the embassy doesn't have anything to do with Dv, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee if his passport is not expired don'ttttttttt use another one, still use the same one. A friend of mine told me on the day of his interview, they asked a guy if he had been to the embassy before and he lied forgetting they have their records, he was denied based on the fact that he lied. let him use thesame passport. I have been to the us embassy once and i was denied but am still going to use thesame passport for my interview. As long as u have been to the embassy before, once they key in ur name, they will know so need to waste money to make a new one coz if they ask u, and u lie that u haven't been there before, the out come won't be nice at all.
Thanks MamaJ
Thanks mamaJ, you are a genius, you really are a Mama. You really took out time to give me a comprehensive response, really kind of u, am indeed very grateful. Please I will need anymore advice from you and from everyone of you on this forum. With this news of cancellation of DV programme, I do not want to jeopardize this opportunity and I believe with God on my side, shall scale thru.
Maybe I should just ask this on behalf of my friend. I have a friend who also won the DV. When entering, she entered for she and her husband alone, but now she is thinking of including a child the husband had out of wedlock to the list. She is the principal applicant and she fills that her husband and his child can have a derivative status. IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Thanks to all.
Thanks mamaJ, you are a genius, you really are a Mama. You really took out time to give me a comprehensive response, really kind of u, am indeed very grateful. Please I will need anymore advice from you and from everyone of you on this forum. With this news of cancellation of DV programme, I do not want to jeopardize this opportunity and I believe with God on my side, shall scale thru.
Maybe I should just ask this on behalf of my friend. I have a friend who also won the DV. When entering, she entered for she and her husband alone, but now she is thinking of including a child the husband had out of wedlock to the list. She is the principal applicant and she fills that her husband and his child can have a derivative status. IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Thanks to all.
Pls Pay Ur Tithe
CONGRATULATION,BUT THE HOUSE WILL APPRECIATE IF U CAN POST UR EXPERIENCE ON THE INTERVIEW DAYHi Wld,
It's interesting 2 know u leave in Dunwoody, Atlanta, I will be coming in to a Friends place in Farmstead CT, Grayson, Atlanta, how close is that 2 you?.
Hope its easy 2 settle down, i mean getting a job and all that!.
I have a concern, Guys in America are usually reluctant in giving informations, must people often give me impression that make me think one is better off in Naija
You will agree with me that information is key!! .like must of us were able to benefit from this forum; so facing the interview was easier for us, kudos to jrcies, urself, temi, modest, adebayo and others.
Am a chartered accountant,a Banker, though am already working on evaluating my certificates, same as my wife. Just anxious of the challenges and opportunities in Atlanta. But Above all!!, Like the spirit in this forum "It shall be Well".
Will be picking up my Visa by next week.
Regards
Case Nos 2007AF9XXX
Interviewed 25/04/07 (Successful)
Pick up slip collected 25/04/07
Waiting for Visa collection.
Very Important!
Hello Baba Agba, i have always read your post and i think you can be of help to me too. I am a 2008 DV winner and in filling my forms, i mistakenly sighed the item 35 of my DS-230 part II form, which states that i must not sign until instructed to do so, but in my been carefully of signing the other forms i signed it and i have send it back to Kentucky, i just discovered this mistake, hoipe it will not affect my application.... And my case number is 2008AF15... when am i likely to be called for my interview/
Thanks
Hello Baba Agba, i have always read your post and i think you can be of help to me too. I am a 2008 DV winner and in filling my forms, i mistakenly sighed the item 35 of my DS-230 part II form, which states that i must not sign until instructed to do so, but in my been carefully of signing the other forms i signed it and i have send it back to Kentucky, i just discovered this mistake, hoipe it will not affect my application.... And my case number is 2008AF15... when am i likely to be called for my interview/
Thanks