I think if you are unable to get your visa by the end of sept, then you can as well forget about your visa,as the embassy try as much as they can to issue out the visa before before the end of sept.
Atleast that is what the instruction says, no be me talk me oooooo
As we gear up for the final interview phases for 2007 and the 2008 winners also start their own process, I just thought of reminding us of some things.
True that America is a land of opportunities, but you can only make the best of it, if you go in prepared. As you leave our fatherland, you must land in the US with multiple plans, so that if plan A is not working, you can quickly switch to plan B,C,D, etc.
One of the challenges we may face is that there may be no family support; therefore, you must have a job in hand at all times to be able to pay your bills. Like it is said "No papa, no mama, no Uncle Sam - just one negro under God" and "in America if you don't work on Saturday, you will not eat on Sunday".
Opportunity may not always knock on your door; it may simply wait out there for those aggressive enough to come after it and grab the bull by the horns.
I believe that those of us who make it in after scaling the hurdles at KCC and US embassy are resourceful enough to succeed, but it may require more effort than we are used to; especially since our old "contacts" in Nigeria will not be able to help us in a new country.
A song says that America is the land where you can send a man up to the moon and you can keep a man down on the farm. In my language, they say "your palms cannot deceive you and you will use your own hands to manipulate or repair your own destiny".
Because of the difference in qualifications and educational systems from Nigeria, some of us may need to enrol in American schools to get American training and qualification, so that we can compete for the high profile jobs. After all, we cannot travel thousands of kilometers just to come and do minimum wage jobs at McDonalds or security guard jobs.
Even if you are willing to start at the bottom of the ladder, you might hear that you are still aiming too high.
Going back to school may take years but even Americans are doing it. There are those going back to school in their late 30's and early 40's because their old careers are not marketable any more and they need new jobs.
A white American woman just finished from nursing school at the age of 55 years. Funny thing is that she is working in the same hospital with her daughter who has been working as a nurse before her.
My uncle has been in the US since 1973, and has his bachelor's and master's degree from the US. He is back in Nursing school now and has 1 or 2 semesters left before graduating.
I think we just have to set our goals and do what it takes to get it.
This brings me to an issue that burns in my heart without any relief.
If we are resourceful and hardworking enough to succeed in a foreign land, why can't we succeed in Nigeria?
My only answer is that our system is dysfunctional and makes progress difficult.
For example in America, you can get basic things like Driver's license, International passport, Business registration etc without "seeing", "knowing" or "settling" anybody. If the police stops you in America, it is because they are looking for a criminal; not because they want to collect "emolument".
May God have mercy on us; as much as we complain about the American embassy, if Nigerians were in charge of the green card lottery, do you know how many people I will have to "see" before I can collect the visa?
I mean, in Lagos, the mortuary attendant will not release the death certificate or the dead body for burial until he has been "settled" by the dead man's relatives - habaaa!!!!!
As we gear up for the final interview phases for 2007 and the 2008 winners also start their own process, I just thought of reminding us of some things.
True that America is a land of opportunities, but you can only make the best of it, if you go in prepared. As you leave our fatherland, you must land in the US with multiple plans, so that if plan A is not working, you can quickly switch to plan B,C,D, etc.
One of the challenges we may face is that there may be no family support; therefore, you must have a job in hand at all times to be able to pay your bills. Like it is said "No papa, no mama, no Uncle Sam - just one negro under God" and "in America if you don't work on Saturday, you will not eat on Sunday".
Opportunity may not always knock on your door; it may simply wait out there for those aggressive enough to come after it and grab the bull by the horns.
I believe that those of us who make it in after scaling the hurdles at KCC and US embassy are resourceful enough to succeed, but it may require more effort than we are used to; especially since our old "contacts" in Nigeria will not be able to help us in a new country.
A song says that America is the land where you can send a man up to the moon and you can keep a man down on the farm. In my language, they say "your palms cannot deceive you and you will use your own hands to manipulate or repair your own destiny".
Because of the difference in qualifications and educational systems from Nigeria, some of us may need to enroll in American schools to get American training and qualification, so that we can compete for the high profile jobs. After all, we cannot travel thousands of kilometers just to come and do minimum wage jobs at McDonald's or security guard jobs.
Even if you are willing to start at the bottom of the ladder, you might hear that you are still aiming too high.
Going back to school may take years but even Americans are doing it. There are those going back to school in their late 30's and early 40's because their old careers are not marketable any more and they need new jobs.
A white American woman just finished from nursing school at the age of 55 years. Funny thing is that she is working in the same hospital with her daughter who has been working as a nurse before her.
My uncle has been in the US since 1973, and has his bachelor's and master's degree from the US. He is back in Nursing school now and has 1 or 2 semesters left before graduating.
I think we just have to set our goals and do what it takes to get it.
This brings me to an issue that burns in my heart without any relief.
If we are resourceful and hardworking enough to succeed in a foreign land, why can't we succeed in Nigeria?
My only answer is that our system is dysfunctional and makes progress difficult.
For example in America, you can get basic things like Driver's license, International passport, Business registration etc without "seeing", "knowing" or "settling" anybody. If the police stops you in America, it is because they are looking for a criminal; not because they want to collect "emolument".
May God have mercy on us; as much as we complain about the American embassy, if Nigerians were in charge of the green card lottery, do you know how many people I will have to "see" before I can collect the visa?
I mean, in Lagos, the mortuary attendant will not release the death certificate or the dead body for burial until he has been "settled" by the dead man's relatives - habaaa!!!!!
) lest know what we are up to, like a brother over there USA said you will have to do one thing legitimately to get another, you know what i mean. like him when he first got there he was working in a postal agency before he was able to enroll in school and latter got a good job for himself, in a nutshell you will have to be determined, everybody comes to Hollywood with a dream what's your dream? took the $375, gave me 5 bucks change and a receipt, after which I went to take a seat. . She gives us some forms to sign, tells my husband to sign for our son then asks him to seat down while I remain and the interview starts. Hello house,
This is Megiano. For some reason I’m not able to make posts in the forum so I had to take up another ID inorder to share my embassy experience.
2 months ago, my interview was re-scheduled to the 4th of June. My husband, son and I got to Lagos on Saturday the 26th of May so we could do our medical exams (we could not fit it into our work schedules earlier than that, and since the “oyibo’s” had already warned in the notification letter that we should not give up our jobs, sell our houses etc, we decided not to trivialize our work commitments).
We got to Kamorass medics around quarter to ten, and started the process for the medicals. The nurses stationed at the front desk were reluctant to continue the process as they said my International Passport had “an observation” (where the Immigration had endorsed my name change) but after my husband persisted, they went to confirm from the medical director who gave us the go ahead to start the exams after which I’ll make a new passport in my marital name. After the x-rays and blood tests, we were asked to return on 26th June for the physical exams. They said we could present the receipts we were issued as proof that we had commenced our medics on the interview date.
We got to the US embassy around 6am on our appointment date, we met a small crowd there, and lots of touts. One claimed that passpics for immigrant visas required no earrings/neck laces, I had my doubts but I decided to take fresh ones just in case. At quarter to 7, those with immigrant appointments were asked to queue on a line so we could be checked/screened. We went through the first sets of checks, after which my appointment letter was collected, I was handed a yellow slip with nos DV15 and an invoice was issued for me to make payments at the cashier’s cage inside. At the entrance door, everyone was made to take off all jewelry before stepping through the detector door. After which we had a chance to seat down. I sat for a short while and heard my nos called to a cubicle window. Getting there my documents and those of my husband & son were collected, originals and photocopies. The man there reminded me that I’ll need a fresh passport with my marital name, an address in the US, my medic results, and documents from a sponsor. I promised that I’ll bring those ones later and he said I should make my payments at the cashier’s cage. I went and did as I was told, the cashier-some nasty black lady
At around 10.40, my nos was called to a cubicle inside. I got up and lo and behold it was time for my interview. At that point in time my husband was trying to get the security guards to regulate the AC’s as the place was pretty cold, coupled with the rain outside. I now signaled him to come get our baby while I faced the interviewer. I said hello she says hi politely and when he approached me the lady asks us both to put our right hands up. She now asks us if we promise to tell the truth in the course of the interview, we nod in the affirmative, she asked if the baby would tell the truth too-I say maybe and we all laughed
Interviewer: What are your names?
Me: bla bla bla
Interviewer: When were you born?
Me: 4th November ……
Interviewer: Where?
Me: Lagos
Interviewer: Where was your mother born?
Me: Obudu
Interviewer: Did you go to University?
Me: Yes!!!!!!!
Interviewer: What did u study
Me: Business Mgt
Interviewer: When did you graduate?
Me: 2004 but wrote my degree exams 2003
Interviewer nods with understanding…
Interviewer: When did you write your Waec exams?
Me: December 98 and June 96
Interviewer: What subject did you score highest?
Me: Always English
Interviewer: English Literature or English Language?
Me: Both, always a 3
We both smiled conspiratorially at that point
Interviewer: When did you meet your husband?
Me: August 0*
Interviewer: When did you get married?
Me: February 0*
Interviewer: How did you meet?
Me: Quite a story, you want to hear it all?
She nods and then I start narrating…..
Interviewer: When was your baby born?
Me: 12thOct’06
Interviewer: What was your baby’s birth weight?
Me: 2.65kg
Interviewer: Have you got any wedding pictures?
Me: Yep!
I then hand her some, explaining which ones were the registry and which ones were traditional wedding.
Interviewer: Did u do a church wedding?
Me: No, I was expecting a baby but I’ll do subsequently.
Interviewer: How far gone were you during the wedding?
Me: mmmm, like 4 months cos that was April
Interviewer: April??
Me: The traditional marriage yes
(because those were the pics she was holding) but the registry was Feb 14th
Interviewer: valentines Day….
Interviewer: Who is this? (points at picture)
Me: My father-in-law
Interviewer: Who is this? (points at another picture)
Me: My mother-in-law
Interviewer: Any pics of your daughter?
Me: My ‘son’ yes
Interviewer: Sorry, I see a lot of people everyday..
Me: I understand…
Interviewer: Ok
She hands my original documents to me, then told me that since we’ll be going to the US as a family we need a sponsor-I told her we were working on it, she asks when I was told to return for my medic results, I gave her the date, she said she’ll give me a letter to return on any Friday after 13th July with a fresh International Passport, sponsors documents, medic results and an address in the States. I agree, she hands the letter to me, I thank her after which I signal my husband and then we now make our way out of the building. All these took around 10mins. I thank God I’m done with this phase, and can come back to Abj to rest
I hope this helps somebody out there, some day.
For the rest of you, who haven’t been interviewed, just be confident, the truth would always stand every test it’s put through. For those waiting for nos to go current, in a short while it’ll be over and done with and you’ll celebrate.
Bless you all….