Was denied same day as yours.
Is it advisable to apply again and book for an expedite appointment? Before resumption date?

Kindly advise guys

Tiimmy:
I have been following quite a number of threads in preparation for my F1 visa interview, and I feel it’s only fair I share my experience so as to help someone else.

My visa interview took place in Lagos on the 22nd of July 2021 10:30am.

Visa Transcript -

VO - Good morning, can I have your documents
Me - I greeted him back and proceeded to hand him my i20 and intl passport.

VO - Why are you going to the US
me - I’m going for my Masters of Business Administration & Management at bla bla bla business school in Boston Massachusetts.

VO - Why did you choose this school.
Me - I chose this school because of its central focus on entrepreneurship as well as an exciting elective titled “Business Strategy in emerging Markets”. For some reason the VO guy nodded.

VO - Have you travelled out of Nigeria before?
Me - Yes

VO - Where have you travelled to?
Me - Australia

VO - I see you have a $30k scholarship, how do you intend to cover the rest of your tuition and living expenses?
Me - I have been awarded a student loan by a private company affiliated with the school (I proceeded to hand him a letter from the loan company (prodigy finance) + a sheet with the breakdown of the loan amount, interest rate and loan repayment terms)

VO - How long will it take to pay this money back?
Me - The maximum repayment term is 20years, however because the company uses an APR system, I intend to pay back much sooner to reduce the overall amount I’ll eventually have to pay back. (VO nodded for the second time)

VO - How do you plan to pay this money back?
Me - I have been offered a managerial position in my company (I proceeded to hand over my post-study employment letter from my employer)

VO - (flips through the letter to the salary breakdown section) This amount is your annual salary right?
Me - Yes it is

VO - Are you married?
Me - Yes I am

VO - Do you have any children?
Me - Yes I do. I have a one year old daughter

VO - Why aren’t you travelling with your family?
Me - My wife just started working at a new company less than 6months ago, and she isn’t entitled to an annual leave yet. My daughter is also very young and we have all the help we need in raising our daughter here in Nigeria, in the US we will have no such help. (VO nodded for the third time).

VO - (types fast and said nothing for what felt like 2 long minutes). I’ll be approving your visa, (handed me a white sheet of paper) you can pick your passport up at bla bla bla.

The whole process took less than 5minutes.

My advice to those going for their interview soon -

1. Read through as many visa transcripts on nairaland as you can find. I wasn’t asked any question that I wasn’t prepared for thanks to reading through a lot of transcripts.

2. F1 visa is classified as “non immigrant visa”. You need to show sufficient proof that you have no plans to immigrate permanently to the US. Saying it to the VO is not enough. There were alot of people who said the same “I will be returning to Nigeria after my studies” who got rejected. You need to show proof of ties to Nigeria.

3. Get your financial documents intact. For some reasons most people who had extended family members sponsoring them were denied (eg uncles, aunts, god father etc). You are better off being sponsored by parents or siblings. And they are so much more interested in the careers of your sponsors than just looking through their statement of account details. I didn’t notice anyone being asked for SOA, I certainly wasn’t asked as well (I think they have figured that some people come along with fake SOA).

4. Remain calm. Don’t be ruffled by other peoples interview, no two interviews are exactly the same. I personally tried my hardest not to focus on other people’s interview although for the most part it’s difficult not to hear what’s going on.

Wish you the best. Cheers.