Greetings fellow DV applicants! I hope by the grace of God that your applications are going smoothly and those who have been selected have been successful. My sincere apologies to those who have messaged and have received tardy or no response from me as I haven't logged onto the forum for quite some time.
I thought since I have a week off from training, I would log in and update you on my story thus far.
After coming into the US back in 2013 (and going through my brother's marriage), I looked at various ideas on what I could do as an entrepreneur and went back to Tanzania for 6 weeks in December.
Upon my return to the US, I was still wondering what I could do. The simple fact here is money isn't the issue if you have it but its the corporations that run everything and small businesses really do struggle to survive. Franchises or real estate would be the way to go for those looking at investing.
However, after spending 6 months asking myself "what the hell do I do now that I'm here?", I realised that I'd always wanted to be a commercial pilot and I now had the perfect opportunity to do so in this country.
I enrolled at a flight school in Virginia back in 2014 (after passing all the required security screening) and began my training. Needless to say I was a little ignorant on how hard it is to become a pilot but I had good instructors who pushed me to learn (going back to school at 33 wasn't easy!) and I got my private pilot rating in November 2011.
After the winter kicked in and I had a flying drought because of the weather, I started my instrument rating in May 2015 and completed it this month (November) and it was one goddamn hard checkride (the instrument rating is the toughest one because of all the flight training and knowledge required).
Next week I start my commercial single engine rating which will be followed by my commercial multi-engine rating. Upon completion of the main ratings I will do my CFI and CFII (certified flight instructor initial and certified flight instructor instrument respectively) and complement those with AGI (advanced ground instruction so that I can teach classroom based ground school) and FOI (fundamentals of instruction so that I may teach others how to fly!) and I already work for my school part-time and will be given a full-time instructor position once I'm ready.
I am currently at 250 hours and once I start teaching (and continue to fly on my own for leisure), I will achieve the 1,500 hours required for an airline and I am fortunate to have two friends who were instructors at my school and now regional airline pilots who will recommend me for a first officer position at either Air Wisconsin (American Airlines) or Trans State (United Airlines) upon achieving the required time.
Moral of the story:
This is definitely the land of opportunity and opportunities here are endless if one has the work ethic and is willing to make the necessary sacrifices.
My advice to newcomers after being here for two years:
1) Have a plan before you come here even if you don't go with your plan. It'll help you explore ideas or a potential livelihood.
2) Spend time understanding the system here. Every state is different in its own way and research the state/area where you will settle. Look at rental prices, crime statistics, job statistics/openings, community etc.
3) Understand the financial system here. This place is all about credit. The misconception I had was that cash would work but cash has limitations unlike Africa. People care about that little plastic card and your score in order to give you something be it a house or car or a payment plan. Explore all the banks and their rates or rewards. I always tell people, get a secured credit card with your bank because its a nice simple way to start to build a credit score then the offers come on their own.
4) Hard work, hard work and hard work - that is the price of any success here. I was floored by how real life is here (and I never understood this on my previous visits because I was on holiday mode). People work their guts off to buy something or give something to their families.
5) Obey the law - don't screw around and give yourself headaches because it can come back to bite you.
6) File your taxes promptly (no funny business with money/income!) and look at the benefits you can get. A married couple is entitled to certain tax benefits in some states for example, research these things.
7) Keep religion in your place of worship and your home.
8) Enjoy this country. It has a lot to offer if you're willing to work hard and able to earn a decent living!
9) Watch out for idiot drivers! You'd be surprised how many there are over here!
10) Don't settle in the boonies! Towns in the middle of nowhere can potentially be hostile to immigrants! Stay as close to a city as possible because you'll have diversity. For example, the areas surrounding DC are full of diverse backgrounds from Central/South Americans, Africans, Middle Eastern, Americans etc.
Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
I-134 - 16th July 2013
Bank Statements - 22nd July 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania - SUCCESS!!!
Visa Pick up - August 14th 2013 - PICKED UP
Departure Date - August 17th 2013 - booked already on Emirates!
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
Received Green Card - September 2013
I thought since I have a week off from training, I would log in and update you on my story thus far.
After coming into the US back in 2013 (and going through my brother's marriage), I looked at various ideas on what I could do as an entrepreneur and went back to Tanzania for 6 weeks in December.
Upon my return to the US, I was still wondering what I could do. The simple fact here is money isn't the issue if you have it but its the corporations that run everything and small businesses really do struggle to survive. Franchises or real estate would be the way to go for those looking at investing.
However, after spending 6 months asking myself "what the hell do I do now that I'm here?", I realised that I'd always wanted to be a commercial pilot and I now had the perfect opportunity to do so in this country.
I enrolled at a flight school in Virginia back in 2014 (after passing all the required security screening) and began my training. Needless to say I was a little ignorant on how hard it is to become a pilot but I had good instructors who pushed me to learn (going back to school at 33 wasn't easy!) and I got my private pilot rating in November 2011.
After the winter kicked in and I had a flying drought because of the weather, I started my instrument rating in May 2015 and completed it this month (November) and it was one goddamn hard checkride (the instrument rating is the toughest one because of all the flight training and knowledge required).
Next week I start my commercial single engine rating which will be followed by my commercial multi-engine rating. Upon completion of the main ratings I will do my CFI and CFII (certified flight instructor initial and certified flight instructor instrument respectively) and complement those with AGI (advanced ground instruction so that I can teach classroom based ground school) and FOI (fundamentals of instruction so that I may teach others how to fly!) and I already work for my school part-time and will be given a full-time instructor position once I'm ready.
I am currently at 250 hours and once I start teaching (and continue to fly on my own for leisure), I will achieve the 1,500 hours required for an airline and I am fortunate to have two friends who were instructors at my school and now regional airline pilots who will recommend me for a first officer position at either Air Wisconsin (American Airlines) or Trans State (United Airlines) upon achieving the required time.
Moral of the story:
This is definitely the land of opportunity and opportunities here are endless if one has the work ethic and is willing to make the necessary sacrifices.
My advice to newcomers after being here for two years:
1) Have a plan before you come here even if you don't go with your plan. It'll help you explore ideas or a potential livelihood.
2) Spend time understanding the system here. Every state is different in its own way and research the state/area where you will settle. Look at rental prices, crime statistics, job statistics/openings, community etc.
3) Understand the financial system here. This place is all about credit. The misconception I had was that cash would work but cash has limitations unlike Africa. People care about that little plastic card and your score in order to give you something be it a house or car or a payment plan. Explore all the banks and their rates or rewards. I always tell people, get a secured credit card with your bank because its a nice simple way to start to build a credit score then the offers come on their own.
4) Hard work, hard work and hard work - that is the price of any success here. I was floored by how real life is here (and I never understood this on my previous visits because I was on holiday mode). People work their guts off to buy something or give something to their families.
5) Obey the law - don't screw around and give yourself headaches because it can come back to bite you.
6) File your taxes promptly (no funny business with money/income!) and look at the benefits you can get. A married couple is entitled to certain tax benefits in some states for example, research these things.
7) Keep religion in your place of worship and your home.
8) Enjoy this country. It has a lot to offer if you're willing to work hard and able to earn a decent living!
9) Watch out for idiot drivers! You'd be surprised how many there are over here!
10) Don't settle in the boonies! Towns in the middle of nowhere can potentially be hostile to immigrants! Stay as close to a city as possible because you'll have diversity. For example, the areas surrounding DC are full of diverse backgrounds from Central/South Americans, Africans, Middle Eastern, Americans etc.
Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
I-134 - 16th July 2013
Bank Statements - 22nd July 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania - SUCCESS!!!
Visa Pick up - August 14th 2013 - PICKED UP
Departure Date - August 17th 2013 - booked already on Emirates!
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
Received Green Card - September 2013
