solihp:


Try a Visa card, that was what I used. US Mastercard didn’t work.

I tried with visa and Mastercard credit card, didn’t work. Do I have to use a Nigerian card?

seunpinky:

I tried with visa and Mastercard credit card, didn’t work. Do I have to use a Nigerian card?

That’s strange, maybe it depends on the bank. Chase Visa card worked for me. I don’t think you can use a Nigerian card, has to be some sort of dollar card.

You can also confirm from your bank to see if they are not blocking the transaction.

solihp:


That’s strange, maybe it depends on the bank. Chase Visa card worked for me. I don’t think you can use a Nigerian card, has to be some sort of dollar card.

You can also confirm from your bank to see if they are not blocking the transaction.

Thanks for your response, someone else also mentioned that I reach out to my bank that there’s a possibility the bank is blocking the transaction.

What finally happened?

jokepearl:


Now OIS sent me a message that my passport is ready for pickup but ceac still says Received

Does Avits update an applicant’s profile after a successful interview? I find it weird that my mom’s account still shows appointment scheduled and she has since collected her passport.

seunpinky:
Please how do I navigate the payment portal on AVITS website, I have tried making payments using my Canadian credit and debit cards all to no avail. I also do not see the option to pay in the bank (saw on this platform that payment can be made in first bank). Is there a special way to make online payments or do I need to use Nigerian cards?
@VisaZest and everyone

there is an option to make an etf/bank transfer...using naira from a nigerian bank.read the instructions carefully, its there

Hello all. Please can I use an appointment meant for a B2 visa for an F1 visa instead? And vice-versa?

Also, please what dates are currently available in 2025 for visiting visas? Thanks so much

seunpinky:

I tried with visa and Mastercard credit card, didn’t work. Do I have to use a Nigerian card?

Non of my credit cards (visa, discover, master) work until I use a debit card.

Kindly assist, my appointment was scheduled for March 4, we got to the embassy and were told they have system downtime, they will reschedule us, and we will get an email to that effect. It's been 24 hours, and there has been no e-mail or anything. I created a ticket, only to be replied :

"We understand that you are asking for an update concerning the cancelled appointments of March 4. You were at the embassy but you were told all appointments for the day has been cancelled. Your appointment will be marked as no show and will be able to reschedule or will be rescheduled automatically by the Embassy. Thank you. We hope this information is helpful. For more details and resources, please visit www.usvisaappt.com. Best regards, U.S. Visa and American Citizens Support Service"

I think this response is not straightforward, I cannot even reschedule my appointment anymore, so do I wait indefinitely for the embassy to reschedule me?

Hello All,

Is the site for checking visa status the same for interview and Dropbox applicants? I am asking because this site (https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx) works for my mum who did a Dropbox but not for my day who had an interview. I get a message indicating the search did not return any data.

Please what are the steps I need to take if an error was made on a ds160 form and it’s now past the 30days to retrieve an application?

The error: I filled the ds160 form for my mother in Nov 2024 as a single traveler with no companion and her interview is scheduled for May 2025. Then, there were no plans of my dad traveling.

However, this has changed as I am currently working on a ds160 form for my dad and I am not keen on both of them interviewing on the same date.

Do I bother with changing her ds160 form, say my dad is a single traveler OR that he is traveling with my mother.

Its the same website. I think they have issues with the embassy site currently as most search shows no result.
I believe it's a temporary one. I will suggest you use the OIS site to track the passport for now

Donde:
Hello All,

Is the site for checking visa status the same for interview and Dropbox applicants? I am asking because this site (https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx) works for my mum who did a Dropbox but not for my day who had an interview. I get a message indicating the search did not return any data.

I believe there is an issue currently as they told you with they system. Reason even to tralt on their site have not been going since yesterday and been showing no result for this search.

The no show they mentioned,I believe is not going to count against you,but they are just explaining what they will do on their system to enable you reschedule because they will mark it as no show.

Alternatively,as said,I believe since it's their fault,they will reschedule you and send the email which is better than you trying to reschedule even if they put the reschedule option and you not getting a good date. Just give them some time,my opinion. I believe the embassy will sort you out. They have a record of those affected by the system problem.

omw25:
Kindly assist, my appointment was scheduled for March 4, we got to the embassy and were told they have system downtime, they will reschedule us, and we will get an email to that effect. It's been 24 hours, and there has been no e-mail or anything. I created a ticket, only to be replied :

"We understand that you are asking for an update concerning the cancelled appointments of March 4. You were at the embassy but you were told all appointments for the day has been cancelled. Your appointment will be marked as no show and will be able to reschedule or will be rescheduled automatically by the Embassy. Thank you. We hope this information is helpful. For more details and resources, please visit www.usvisaappt.com. Best regards, U.S. Visa and American Citizens Support Service"

I think this response is not straightforward, I cannot even reschedule my appointment anymore, so do I wait indefinitely for the embassy to reschedule me?

TURADO87:
Hello everyone,

So after mounting so much pressure and creating countless ticket for not able to use my GTB MRV to book appointment it has finally been resolved Today...
And i am glad to let you all know that i i have booked my appointment for October 6th, but i will still like to know if anyone can enlighten me on how to reschedule to get earlier date and also... i want to know if correction can be made on my DS160 or if i fill another DS160 can i still use it for this same appointment...

I will really appreciate if anyone can help or guild me through this...

Congratulations!!

Please, when did you make your MRV payment?

I'm also in this situation. I paid since December 20 but I still can't progress to schedule an appointment. Every time I input my bank reference number, I'm logged out of my account.

I had raised 4 different tickets to this effect but they keep saying they have escalated it.

Please advise me.

The OIS website for payment for dhl delivery of passports, appears glittchy, have been unable to process my payment, simce this week, always returning an error message, anybody succesfully made payment for dhl delivery on OIS recently?. have been debited twice now, on 2 different banks while attempting payment, which failed

Hello All,
Please for people who recently went for a physical interview. Were you asked for your receipt of your MRV payment? I paid using GTB (old webiste) since January 2024 and i dont have the receipt anymore.
Also what documents were asked for at the point of entry.
Thanks alot

Mail the people at lagosNIV. The Avits people might not respond.

DokitaDave:

Congratulations!!

Please, when did you make your MRV payment?

I'm also in this situation. I paid since December 20 but I still can't progress to schedule an appointment. Every time I input my bank reference number, I'm logged out of my account.

I had raised 4 different tickets to this effect but they keep saying they have escalated it.

Please advise me.

I'm in this same boat, got confirmation of payment but the OIS website shown error and no confirmation of appointment email

cretin:
The OIS website for payment for dhl delivery of passports, appears glittchy, have been unable to process my payment, simce this week, always returning an error message, anybody succesfully made payment for dhl delivery on OIS recently?. have been debited twice now, on 2 different banks while attempting payment, which failed

jennyhumphrey:
I think your visa is issued, if it was 221g they would have sent you a mail to schedule an interview.

Actually, the passport was initially returned due to the passport photograph being deemed too old. My mum retrieved the passport and resubmitted a new set of photos. The status changed to approved three days after the new photos were submitted.

AdisaMighty:
What finally happened?

Actually, the passport was initially returned due to the passport photograph being deemed too old. My mum retrieved the passport and resubmitted a new set of photos. The status changed to approved three days after the new photos were submitted.

Skywalker139:
I'm in this same boat, got confirmation of payment but the OIS website shown error and no confirmation of appointment email

This happened to me too. I just told my mum to still go to dhl with the payment confirmation email. Luckily i snipped the initial appointment confirmation screen (before payment) so she took that along too and was able to get her passport.

Skywalker139:
I'm in this same boat, got confirmation of payment but the OIS website shown error and no confirmation of appointment email

Its really mind boggling.how everything about this US visa process is littered with totally avoidable issues.
Now OIS, just to setup a simple payment process, they appear unable to.

Also any decent service provider should have a feedback mechanism, where users can alert them on challenges etc...but OIS has nada, so how would they even become aware of these issues?

AdisaMighty:
Mail the people at lagosNIV. The Avits people might not respond.

I did this and they responded after about a month and to say they have escalated it to the AVITS team. Nothing since then. It's now one month since I got the email.

I paid my MRV since MAY last year.... i was about giving up on the fee... in fact i was about paying another MRV but as God will do his wonder, i just gave it my last try by making another ticket... and boom! they responded to me and ask me to try using my old payment receipt number to continue the appointment booking which i tried and it worked magic.... so i guess you can mail the lagosNIV according to Mr AdisaMighty suggestion.... and still keep on tackling the AVIT people with more tickets simultaneously.

Hello great nairalanders! I have a situation. My two F2s visa applicants: Wife and 1 year 8 month old daughter have two different interview dates. Is it advisable my wife goes twice for this interview? Or we find a way to reshedule for same date. ? What do we do? Please I need your advice

Hello, I’m trying to schedule an appointment using the AVITS portal. I already made payment after which I clicked on Pending appointment and entered the required information and clicked submit. When I click on the submit button, nothing happens. Can someone please guide me on what to do after making an online payment. How do I start with the search if an appointment date.

Thank you

Dear ALL,

Many thanks to all the contributors for your invaluable information on this thread.

Please I'd like to receive guidance regarding Visa application fee paid in June 2023. At the time the earliest appointment date I was able to get was for May 2025, and I scheduled my appointment accordingly. I have however seen some posts which state that Visa application fee is valid for one (1) year from date of payment. In view of this, do I have have to pay another Visa application fee before going for my interview? Thanks for your anticipated response/s.

Hello All,

Please is it possible to still get a date for at most May in Abuja, I am seeing the dates are in October for Abuja.

Kindly assist?

What time is the best to pick dates ? I mean time of the day?

Milito:
My interview is in few days time!

Good people, what should I expect? What do I need to do to ensure a seamless and positive outcome?

Shofat4real:


@Milito,
Get your documents ready, compose yourself and go to the interview with a mindset of winning! You could go on YouTube to see videos of how to answer interview questions from Consular officer.... Good luck, bro!

Thanks, I'll sure look them up

cindermum:


Be firm with your responses. They hardly ever check documents so you have to convince them with whatever you want to say.

E.g what's the purpose of your visit? I'm going to Baltimore for a 2weeks family vacation in July.

what do you do? I am an engineer, I work with CNL( you can say a little bit about the company). They don't know what you are talking about unless you explain. It eases their job too. Make sure you have strong ties here in Nigeria. Dont let other refusals scare you.

Thanks for the extra details

It was a successful outcome guys. Thanks so much for your support

And also a big thank you to all the people dropping travel tips on Nairaland on a daily basis without expecting anything in return; without even expecting thank you. You guys are MVPs.

I started getting visas after taking my time to go through other people's experiences through Nairaland posts. And utilising tips dropped by different people.

The questions centred on the event I registered and going for in the US.

VO: Passport pls

Self: Good morning! (With a high pitch and smile)

VO: Purpose of intended travel to the US

Self: To participate at **** event.

VO: Have you participated at a similar event in other countries before?

Self: yes, in 2024 in Europe, 2023 in Europe and 2022 in South Africa.

VO: is that the only thing you'll be doing?

Self: No, after my event, I'll do some sightseeing and will visit my Sister for few days in another state.

VO: What do you do for a living?

Self: I work at so and so.

VO: Continues long typing and looking at PC

VO: Are you married and do you have children?

Self: Yes, married with 3 kids. I gave the VO their ages, and told her I'm traveling alone for now.

VO: I'll be issuing your visa.

Self: Thank you very much 😊 I quickly carried my load and ran off before they change their mind.

NB
First time applicant to the US. Though I've been to Europe a couple of times.

Paid in Sept 24, initially got June date, but kept searching till I got March 2025.

I studied the VOs and quickly queued behind the one with a smile and that I noticed approved Visas.

I noticed some peoples answers were too short and they were too rigid. In my own case, I added some humor about my event and made the VO laugh.

Create a new email and try it again, lets see if it would work.

Otherwise go the Lagos Consulate like around 11am and tell them you want to see the CGI people, they will help resolve it.

AdisaMighty:
Mail the people at lagosNIV. The Avits people might not respond.

Please I would appreciate a response. Thank you

LadyIE:
Hello, I’m trying to schedule an appointment using the AVITS portal. I already made payment after which I clicked on Pending appointment and entered the required information and clicked submit. When I click on the submit button, nothing happens. Can someone please guide me on what to do after making an online payment. How do I start with the search if an appointment date. This is for a B1/B2 visa application. Also do I have to go with my documents first for review before the actual interview date?

Thank you