Please I need your input here:

I have a valid 2-year US visa. I travelled to the US in Nov and returned in Dec 2009.
I travelled to South Korea and Dubai in 2008.
I have never been refused any country’s visa.
I work in an oil company in Nigeria, and my monthly salary is about 350k.
I presently have over a million naira in my account.
I want to apply for a UK visitor visa.
My friend is willing to give me an invitation letter and all the necessary documents. He is a Master’s student in the UK. His wife is also a Master’s student in the same school, and they live with their 4-year old son. 

My questions:
1. Is it okay to apply for a 2-year visa as a first time applicant?
2. Should I use my friend’s invitation letter, or simply pay for a hotel instead? If I should use my friend’s IV letter, does that mean he is a co-sponsor, and what about the column in the application form where they ask ‘who pays for expenses such as accommodation and food?’

Advance thanks

you can use your friends accomodation if theres accomodation for you to reside in
with ur status am sure applying for 2 years is ok but they might give you 6 months so its probably advisable you apply for 6 months initially

smartkid:

Please I need your input here:

I have a valid 2-year US visa. I travelled to the US in Nov and returned in Dec 2009.
I travelled to South Korea and Dubai in 2008.
I have never been refused any country’s visa.
I work in an oil company in Nigeria, and my monthly salary is about 350k.
I presently have over a million naira in my account.
I want to apply for a UK visitor visa.
My friend is willing to give me an invitation letter and all the necessary documents. He is a Master’s student in the UK. His wife is also a Master’s student in the same school, and they live with their 4-year old son. 

My questions:
1. Is it okay to apply for a 2-year visa as a first time applicant?
2. Should I use my friend’s invitation letter, or simply pay for a hotel instead? If I should use my friend’s IV letter, does that mean he is a co-sponsor, and what about the column in the application form where they ask ‘who pays for expenses such as accommodation and food?’

Advance thanks

as a first time applicant to the UK, you can only apply for 6months. they cannot give you anything more than 6months even if you've toured the entire universe.

secondly, how can your friend who is a student with a wife and kid invite you to the UK? or is he a british passport or ILR holder?
he is inviting you on what grounds? to attend his convocation?

based on your travel history, job status and your finances, you are better off applying as a tourist using a confirmed hotel reservation

Ok thanks funkybaby. I actually wanted to pay for a hotel but the guy just offered to supply the invitation letter etc, saying he has invited somebody before and the person was granted a visa. By the way he's a nigerian on a student's visa.

Thanks please

smartkid:

Ok thanks funkybaby. I actually wanted to pay for a hotel but the guy just offered to supply the invitation letter etc, saying he has invited somebody before and the person was granted a visa. By the way he's a nigerian on a student's visa.

Thanks please

anybody can say/claim anything.

am still trying to figure out how a naija student with two dependants and the stress of coursework, exams, etc and the 20hrs a week restriction on any part time job can write a letter inviting (except for an occasion such as convocation ) a friend (not his parents or siblings) to come over to UK

i strongly advice you use hotel reservation.

he is not going to sponsor him he is just inviting him, its possible innit provided the applicant provides his own statements not the invitees statements

its better to apply for a family visit visa, get your friend/family to write a letter of invitation, enclosing a copy of his/her passport(immigration status), THAN a general visit visa, as the family visit carry a full right of appeal.
Since you have a good finance, u can be finance the trip yourself without any need, so no need for your friend/family to enclose any financial documents.
goodluck

segzeybaba:

its better to apply for a family visit visa, get your friend/family to write a letter of invitation, enclosing a copy of his/her passport(immigration status), THAN a general visit visa, as the[b] family visit[/b] carry a full right of appeal.
Since you have a good finance, u can be finance the trip yourself without any need, so no need for your friend/family to enclose any financial documents.
goodluck

apply for family visit based on what?

where did smartkid state that he is related to the student in UK

segzeybaba:

its better to apply for a family visit visa, get your friend/family to write a letter of invitation, enclosing a copy of his/her passport(immigration status), THAN a general visit visa, as the family visit carry a full right of appeal.
Since you have a good finance, u can be finance the trip yourself without any need, so no need for your friend/family to enclose any financial documents.
goodluck

It's not necessary to make suggestions, this is utterly Out of Point. Please, no offence

Thanks for your contributions. I actually decided to use hotel reservation after funkybaby’s initial response. But I don’t doubt the fact that my friend actually invited somebody. And just for the records I asked him again and he said the guy he invited works with UN, and the letter stated that he was inviting him for a 1-week visit, which was around September last year. He got a 6-months visa. The guy visited and stayed for less than 1 week.

Nonetheless I’m better off with a hotel reservation, afterall it was hotel I used for our family US visa in September last year, (along with my wife who was 7 months VISIBLY pregnant and our child). And we all got 2 years multiple entry as 1st time applicants, no questions asked about the pregnancy during the interview! We all travelled and she gave birth to our 2nd child in the US. They are still there

I used expedia.com for the US reservation which I paid online using my diamond bank visa credit card. I guess I can use similar payment method this time around. While in the US i opened an account with Bank of America and I have the debit card, but I’m not sure if I can use it to pay for the UK hotel reservation. Maybe I need to clarify that from Bank of America.

Is there any need attaching a copy of the US debit card to my UK visa application, without attaching the corresponding statement of account? I have online banking and can print the statement, but I suppose its no use because there aren’t much funds in the account. However, the debit card bears my photo.

Now which website(s)/hotel(s) would you recommend for the UK reservation? Something not too costly, and which I can change the itinerary without any fee. And which cities in the UK would you recommend for tourism for me to put in the application?

Thanks please

smartkid:

Thanks for your contributions. I actually decided to use hotel reservation after funkybaby’s initial response. But I don’t doubt the fact that my friend actually invited somebody. And just for the records I asked him again and he said the guy he invited works with UN, and the letter stated that he was inviting him for a 1-week visit, which was around September last year. He got a 6-months visa. The guy visited and stayed for less than 1 week.

Nonetheless I’m better off with a hotel reservation, afterall it was hotel I used for our family US visa in September last year, (along with my wife who was 7 months VISIBLY pregnant and our child). And we all got 2 years multiple entry as 1st time applicants, no questions asked about the pregnancy during the interview! We all travelled and she gave birth to our 2nd child in the US. They are still there

I used expedia.com for the US reservation which I paid online using my diamond bank visa credit card. I guess I can use similar payment method this time around. While in the US i opened an account with Bank of America and I have the debit card, but I’m not sure if I can use it to pay for the UK hotel reservation. Maybe I need to clarify that from Bank of America.

Is there any need attaching a copy of the US debit card to my UK visa application, without attaching the corresponding statement of account? I have online banking and can print the statement, but I suppose its no use because there aren’t much funds in the account. However, the debit card bears my photo.

Now which website(s)/hotel(s) would you recommend for the UK reservation? Something not too costly, and which I can change the itinerary without any fee. And which cities in the UK would you recommend for tourism for me to put in the application?

Thanks please

You can use lastminute.com
but http://www.laterooms.com/ is one of the cheapest around.
goodluck

smartkid:


Nonetheless I’m better off with a hotel reservation, afterall it was hotel I used for our family US visa in September last year, (along with my wife who was 7 months VISIBLY pregnant and our child). And we all got 2 years multiple entry as 1st time applicants, no questions asked about the pregnancy during the interview! We all travelled and she gave birth to our 2nd child in the US. They are still there

 
kai ! Sharp guy !

smartkid:

I used expedia.com for the US reservation which I paid online using my diamond bank visa credit card. I guess I can use similar payment method this time around. While in the US i opened an account with Bank of America and I have the debit card, but I’m not sure if I can use it to pay for the UK hotel reservation. Maybe I need to clarify that from Bank of America.

Yes, you can use the MBNA card for UK your hotel reservation. No problem with that. You can also use your diamond bank card. Either of the two should work just fine.

smartkid:


Now which website(s)/hotel(s) would you recommend for the UK reservation? Something not too costly, and which I can change the itinerary without any fee. And which cities in the UK would you recommend for tourism for me to put in the application? 

Thanks please

London is the number one tourist destination in UK, so stick to that and you wont go wrong

I will suggest you use travelodge hotels

www.travelodge.co.uk

Now, on the travel lodge website, there are two rates for hotel rooms.
a) the saver rates
b) the normal, flexible rates

book the normal flexible rates room. With the flexible rates room, the full amount for the rooms will be taken straight off your bank card but should you decide to cancel anytime before 12 noon on your expected check-in date , you get a FULL REFUND

Do not book the saver rooms/ £19 rooms. They are slightly cheaper but non-amendable and non-refundable. So if anything comes up and you do not stay at the hotel, you lose your money (except you do not mind).

They are many travelodge hotels within london. Prices vary. Navigate around the site and decide. Their rooms in london might be a bit pricey but the good thing about them is that you are not charged any booking fee and their cancellation policy of a full refund.

Cool thread

funkybaby:

 
kai ! Sharp guy !

Thanks segzeybaba.
Kai, wallahi funkybaby you answered all my questions so well and even more. . .  now aren’t you a darling?!

smartkid:



Thanks segzeybaba.
Kai, wallahi funkybaby you answered all my questions so well and even more. . .  now aren’t you a darling?!  

you welcome !
now its your turn to answer mine. 

how did you do the US thingy. . . . . getting your wife to give birth there? did you pay for the full heathcare bill or do they have a scheme similiar to NHS here in UK? was it a private or govt owned hospital? and what part of US is the hospital located?

sorry, am just being curious. Am trying to figure out how it works there .

Smartkid, plz dont go beyond d hotel
reservation and uk travel stuff!

She is a darling OK!

SHALOM

suxes2005:

Smartkid, plz dont go beyond d hotel
reservation and uk travel stuff!

She is a darling OK!

SHALOM

and did he tell you that he is looking for wife number 2?

smartkid is a father with 2 kids

funkybaby:

and did he tell you that he is looking for wife number 2?

smartkid is a father with 2 kids

Oh srry ma.

Tout he's lookin for a funkky babe! LOL

SHALOM

funkybaby:

and did he tell you that he is looking for wife number 2?

Well, not exactly, but then hmmnn, who knows. . . 

Healthcare in the US is quite costly.
Cost of child delivery ranges from around $5,000 to over $10,000.
There is an estimate from a catholic hospital in newyork, which my friend researched and sent to me prior to our departure, as one of the cheapest in the US. Of course its not by any means substandard. I tried attaching the estimate here (in pdf) but it says its too large.
So we took-off straight ABV - JFK, but after staying in NY for a week, we changed our minds and moved to California. We stayed in our california friends house for a little while, then rented an apartment (in our friends name, cos the estate company will run a credit check and all that). But that’s by the way. Now to your question:

We used a county hospital, which is a government hospital (county is synonymous to local government). The private hospitals are more costly. You can walk into any county hospital and register to have your baby there. You'll find a county hospital in almost all the cities of the US. If you don’t have a health insurance or any health program, you tell them you want to do self-pay. You don't pay anything upfront. After the delivery, they’ll be sending the bills to your address. That’s all. Any child born in US soil is automatically a US citizen. We've already gotten our child's US passport and social security card.

There are also some health programs that you could use, like Medicare, Medicaid, MediCal, WIC etc. But I understand that if the immigration gets to know that you used these programs, you might have a hard time renewing your visa.

If you’d like to know some other specifics, please give me a shout. . . 

smartkid:

Well, not exactly, but then hmmnn, who knows. . . 


Healthcare in the US is quite costly.
Cost of child delivery ranges from around $5,000 to over $10,000.
There is an estimate from a catholic hospital in newyork, which my friend researched and sent to me prior to our departure, as one of the cheapest in the US. Of course its not by any means substandard. I tried attaching the estimate here (in pdf) but it says its too large.
So we took-off straight ABV - JFK, but after staying in NY for a week, we changed our minds and moved to California. We stayed in our california friends house for a little while, then rented an apartment (in our friends name, cos the estate company will run a credit check and all that). But that’s by the way. Now to your question:

We used a county hospital, which is a government hospital (county is synonymous to local government). The private hospitals are more costly. You can walk into any county hospital and register to have your baby there. You'll find a county hospital in almost all the cities of the US. If you don’t have a health insurance or any health program, you tell them you want to do self-pay. You don't pay anything upfront. After the delivery, they’ll be sending the bills to your address. That’s all. Any child born in US soil is automatically a US citizen. We've already gotten our child's US passport and social security card.

There are also some health programs that you could use, like Medicare, Medicaid, MediCal, WIC etc. But I understand that if the immigration gets to know that you used these programs, you might have a hard time renewing your visa.

If you’d like to know some other specifics, please give me a shout. . . 

I said it ooooooo . LOL

Hahahaha, it was for your benefit and you fell for it, cos i suspected you'd come nosing around. . .

Whao, so u caught me bro!

Now i see u r a nice man (srry nice kid)

SHALOM

smartkid:

Well, not exactly, but then hmmnn, who knows. . . 

Healthcare in the US is quite costly.
Cost of child delivery ranges from around $5,000 to over $10,000.
There is an estimate from a catholic hospital in newyork, which my friend researched and sent to me prior to our departure, as one of the cheapest in the US. Of course its not by any means substandard. I tried attaching the estimate here (in pdf) but it says its too large.
So we took-off straight ABV - JFK, but after staying in NY for a week, we changed our minds and moved to California. We stayed in our california friends house for a little while, then rented an apartment (in our friends name, cos the estate company will run a credit check and all that). But that’s by the way. Now to your question:

We used a county hospital, which is a government hospital (county is synonymous to local government). The private hospitals are more costly. You can walk into any county hospital and register to have your baby there. You'll find a county hospital in almost all the cities of the US. If you don’t have a health insurance or any health program, you tell them you want to do self-pay. You don't pay anything upfront. After the delivery, they’ll be sending the bills to your address. That’s all. Any child born in US soil is automatically a US citizen. We've already gotten our child's US passport and social security card.

There are also some health programs that you could use, like Medicare, Medicaid, MediCal, WIC etc. But I understand that if the immigration gets to know that you used these programs, you might have a hard time renewing your visa.

If you’d like to know some other specifics, please give me a shout. . . 

wow. very enlightening. thanks. now, aren't you a darling   

kindly send the pdf file to

the cost of delivery is well worth it . . . . . afterall the child gets automatic citizenship 
i wonder why naija women troop to UK to give birth , knowing fully well the child gets nothing 

btw: for the travel lodge hotels: while navigating the website, you can check london ilford, croydon, london park royal, farringdon, wembley, heathrow central and heathrow terminal 5 for the best deals.

the above listed hotels have room mates that are cheaper compared to the other london hotels such as london covent garden and london marylebone.

you can also check www.hostelbookers.com.
They feature some nice but 'relatively unknown' hotels in London however, they take off your card a[b] non-refundable[/b] deposit of 10percent of the entire cost of the hotel reservation.

[b]@funkybaby[/b

Are we going to have 'our' in state?

justwise:

[b]@funkybaby[/b

Are we going to have 'our' in state?

justwise. . . . . you be one of my prospective babypoppas am still reviewing your application

that's why 'we' need to start strategizing now , or don't you think so or would you prefer i go to barbados

ah. . .the 'frog kissers' are back

@funky
change your email addy to something like funky[b][at][/b]frogkissers.com so spammers dont grab it. . .you get?

netotse:

ah. . .the 'frog kissers' are back

@funky
change your email addy to something like funky[b][at][/b]frogkissers.com so spammers dont grab it. . .you get?

i knew it.

there will always be a tatafo that will be eaves dropping in my 'frog kissing' conversation with justwise

thanks @ email. i will edit it now. 

funkybaby:

i knew it.

there will always be a tatafo that will be eaves dropping in my 'frog kissing' conversation with justwise

thanks @ email. i will edit it now. 

yez ke. . .awa ni yen

netotse:

yez ke. . .awa ni yen

lol. ku ise oh.

funkybaby:


justwise. . . . . you be one of my prospective babypoppas am still reviewing your application

that's why 'we' need to start strategizing now , or don't you think so or would you prefer i go to barbados

Abeg lets talk abt how to start the baby thing, i'm still waiting for u to approve my application, we need to upgrade this frog kissing to another level

netotse:

ah. . .the 'frog kissers' are back

@funky
change your email addy to something like funky[b][at][/b]frogkissers.com so spammers dont grab it. . .you get?

O boy! u wan burn my cable? Anywhere we mention this frogkissing business some how you will turn up