Bigheart042:
Pls what can you say about traveling to Israel for greener pastures?

tatacherie:
@ OP thanks for those good tips
I learnt how to crochet here on NL 3 years ago when I was bored n jobless. I perfected the skill and decided to turn it into a source of income as friends kept commending d uniqueness of my handmade items

These are a few of what have helped me in my business so far
I'm a very active member of NL and have made quite a number of friends here I've met some physically too

1. Make a business plan/ goal for every new year and work towards achieving them

2. Save something no matter how small the business is. It will come in handy to purchase important tools/materials for d biz

3. you gat to be friendly mehn I make friends often and advertise my skill to them. I also get to know what they do and patronize them if they are good. "TRUST" has been established plus friendship is supposed to be reciprocal you know...

4. Though my products are luxury but I try to make it fair just to attract customers and get referals from them which has been working for me.

5. I don't have a physical shop yet but that is in the pipeline so for now na online hustle I advertise on NL, FB and IG. Although I haven't made much sales from the last 2. Truth is majority of my sales comes from NL here all thanks to my activeness and daily interactions with members. There are so many scammers in the online market so peeps are threading cautiously to avoid "Mogbe my hard earned money is gone!!!"

6. I give my best in my skill. Truth be told "times are hard" so peeps want to get value for their money. Give your best to get more customers. My Lordship leaves all the barbers in our neighbourhood and cuts his hair faraway in town cos d barber is bamn

7. If you're into handmade products like me pls consider partnering with shopping malls or big supermarkets. Its not easy passing their test though( standard) but if you can sail through then the sky will be your stepping stone

8. I don't believe in "jack of all trades" cos a master of all is a master of none. So pls create a niche and stick to it. Work to improve on that niche and be extremely good at it
I hope these helps someone

Spotlighte:

Exactly, we'd really benefit from this. We need someone who is in the US on an F1 visa to tell us how it is there.

There are so many questions after the admission period we have unanswered.

Is it the beginning rough? How are you managing to cope? Made new friends? How did you get a green card? What's accommodation like over there? How much do you need to survive per month (an estimate of cost of attendance)? How smooth or stressful are the registrations? How difficult is it for those who don't have families or friends in America? How easy is to come back to Nigeria during major holidays and go back to school in the US? Is it possible to travel to other countries while on an F1 visa? And so many others.

It's just like when Nahum777 misplaced his bags in the airport, I am sure many of us learnt from that; or the two nairalanders who talked about being almost swindled by the black guy when they were figuring out how to proceed from the airport. I am sure people who have travelled since then have looked out for the black guy and his gang. It's the same way I have never been to Walter Carrington but I know the famous black woman and the white VO who wears Ankara.

I know it won't be easy doing this taking into consideration classes, assistantships and life in general, but it'd be nice if someone who has passed through this thread starts this.

Nitta08:


Sure, I'm settled now. Thank you. It's really cool
I love everything about my school.
Thanks.

Pascal88:
Yours was okay, mine was disastrous. I had the whole confidence until I approached stand8. The young man was friendly but I was jittering and blabbing. I hated myself because I was below my best. I knew I could have done better. It took me 48hrs to get over a self inflicted mess. Is not a do or die affair but I will try again!

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, I was exhausted to the bone
So here it goes :
I must say I enjoyed the process so much though tiring from all the queuing. I'm in Ghana, 23 and a student. Straight DENIAL! This whole idea of visiting the US was from my parents. I won't lie I doubted I stood a chance after going through people's experiences but I had already done a lot and was only awaiting my interview day. I was positive all the same because my intentions were good. I thank God all the same .
Interview day
I woke up around 4 or 4:30am I don't remember because my mum woke me up while I was just trying to enjoy my sleep. So fast forward to 6am when I and parents reached the embassy. First timer, completely lost and confused. I asked a personnel what I had to do before my 7:30 appointment and he told me to hang around a tree where I saw lots of people standing and waiting. I went ahead and stood there for a while till some police officer asked those who had their interview to form a queue. I did go through the checks etc it was already past 7:30 and I was already waiting my turn to be interviewed. I wasn't paying attention to those being interviewed except one pastor who was approved a visa and one university lady who was denied and another guy who was also denied. So after the guy who was denied, I was asked to go to that VO. One chubby guy with beard and in his mid 30's . Honestly he was cool.
VO: Hi good morning
Me: good morning(cheerfully) how are you?
VO: fine thank you (looking at his computer typing)
May I have your passport please?
Me: sure(smiles)
I caughed lightly and said sorry and he said no problem (still typing) he wasn't looking too serious as I said he was cool
VO: So why are you going to the US
Me: I'd love to spend my long summer break sightseeing and exploring interesting places in the US and also I'll be visiting my uncle
VO: typing what I said and even repeating what I said I was smiling (now I know they type our answers for future purposes)
Where in the US are you going to?
Me: Columbus ,Ohio
VO: What do you do?
Me: I'm a student of bla bla
VO: What course do you offer?
Me: I'm a 1st year student pursuing a 4-year degree programme in information technology but I'll be progressing to my 2nd year after the break
VO: okay. He nodded still typing. Have you traveled before?
Me: No sir.
VO: okay. Are you married?
Me: I'm very single with a grin
VO: looks at me and smiles
Okay do you have kids?
Me: No sir (smiles)
VO: okay. I'm sorry bla bla (y'all know the rest already lol)
As he was handing me my passport and the 214b paper I asked wasn't being a student a strong enough tie to return (even though I knew the answer already lol still wanted to know all the same)
Surprisingly he suggested another thing for me. Asking if I've heard of the J-1 visa for exchange program to which I nodded and said yes ,that I did plan on applying for that next year and he went ahead to say it'll be the best choice for me as a student and not only would I be able to visit some places in the US but I'll also be able to work (summer work and travel)
So I said ok and thank you with a smile and elegantly left the premises to announce the outcome to my mum who was waiting anxiously for some good news. She felt bad but I assured her it's alright and the next time I'll go through with the J-1 visa successfully.
So that's it. No docs checked as usual. This forum helped a lot. Kudos to the brains behind it and to those awaiting, all the best.

ladylco:


I like the spirit.

I think other factors also come to play when accessing applications like the class of visa amongst other like family, financial, economic, social, socioeconomic ties etc

Now that you have a strong pointer - the J1 visa, I will advise you start working on that, try to research more on it and prepare yourself more on it too.

I have this feeling also that the next time you will apply you will be granted.

All the best

shrekandfiona:

even if you were denied, I'll still say my congrats you have a very positive attitude I love that.

I really wish applicants will learn from this. A denial is not the end of the world.

Most people I've seen/read here will be denied and come post derogatory remarks of the Vo's and the embassy refusing to self assess if indeed they were qualified for the visa.

SexyDuby:

Your interview was interesting despite the denial. The VO seemed to be very friendly & also advised you on the way forward(getting a J-1 visa)....I'm suprised!
All the best in your next step to trying again.
Thanks 4 sharing.

SexyDuby:

Hello....how did it go? Do you mind sharing your transcript here.

Bisolanio:



I wish you all the best, return here with a positive transcript

seyewest:



Probably number of applicant that will be interviewed in that time frame.

ethnicgirl:
Poe experience
So I flew from Lagos to Houston through klm and had a stopover at Amsterdam.the que at the poe was so long.however,it got to my turn

Cbp;what's your purpose of travel to the us
Me;my uncles wedding and vacation
Cbp;how long do you plan to stay
Me;three weeks
Cbp;are you a student?
Me;yes sir

I'll like to know your experience during your actual visa interview as a student
Cbp;how much did you travel with and what other items did you bring along?
Me;$500,traditional attires and party souvenirs for the wedding.
I got stamped in for 6months after this and my vacation was splendid.i can't wait for summer to come

LadyGuinivere:

The answer to your question is on the US embassy website. Read it.
You do not wish to read and still have an attitude. You realize nobody is invested in whatever you get a visa or not?

seyewest:


You state the truth no matter what and get a Police Report/Court Affidavit to that effect..... U.S visa is not life or death for non-immigrant applicant.

seyewest:


Your passport data is with NIS and even if you lost any passport, NIS will indicate the old passport number on your new passport so if U.S embassy asked if you've lost or your passport was stolen and you failed to indicate it as stolen/lost while filling the form meanwhile you're not in possession of any expired passport during the interview they may end up refusing you the visa.
In short U.S embassy does not issue Nigerians international passport but they have harmless question in place to know who is hiding something.

OmoBendel24:


Orishorishi!