I thought the same regarding the dates too.

Will explore contacting the embassy.

Thank you.

flourishing247:


Call the embassy and verify this. This date should be IW. Normal interview is now far gone into 2025.

The dates I’m seeing appears to be for physical interview cos of the message attached too. Please see attached.

Or is that the way it appears for IW too?

Earliest date for lagos is December.

This is the same appointment scheduling page i have been seeing since i answered the IW questions. I thought approval should come via email before i could see IW dates.

I have not received such email since 12th June when I initiated the process though I saw a part which says approval for IW appointment could take 10 business days(I don’t know if this is valid).

Thanks.

flourishing247:



If you are seeing dates it means you have been approved for scheduling date. I know Lagos drop box might be in November now. Abuja might be August 2024. So what are you seeing?

Not yet.

The dates I’m seeing are still the same.

I guess maybe because I have not been approved to schedule IW.

Thanks for asking.

flourishing247:


You OK now?

Thanks for your help.

flourishing247:



Imput your receipt and follow the prompt from there. If you are applying as a family then you need to create profiles for each person using their individual emails.

Thank you so much for your response.

I answered all the IW questions and next thing it took me to fee receipt so i wasn’t sure if I have already requested for their approval just by answering the IW questions and confirming that I am eligible.

This is a single application.

But please does application with dependent(husband main applicant and wife as dependent) automatically mean no IW appointment approval?

flourishing247:



Single application or family? If it is single you shouldn't be seeing that. Answer all the questions as prompted. Select all visa without interview. They will send you a mail to schedule an appointment. Note: You can't see any date until the request for scheduling is approved.

Hello,

Please i am trying to book an IW appointment (in Lagos currently) but i didn’t realize how much things have changed with dates and all.

I am unable to view IW appointment dates even though i qualify from the eligibility criteria.

From the fee receipt, it just takes me to ‘schedule consular appointment’ stating applicants for US visa are required to appear in person for a visa interview at the US embassy………

Please I need guidance on how to get to the IW appointment date request or booking.

Will appreciate your help.

Hello mamas,

Please is there any expecting mum in Chicago or if you have had your baby recently in Chicago. I’ll like to connect with you pls.

i was wondering if ETC no longer exists too cos i have been seeing a lot of requests for VOA.

Tamad101:
From my understanding, the VOA has finally been scrapped. Just do Emergency Travel Certificate.

The process is on page 1 of this thread.

delectabledee:

Please can anyone help with the process for obtaining the emergency travel certificate? It's very urgent.
Thanks in advance

i really doubt the all-inclusive bill can be that low too but what do i know? some do pay only part of whatever total bill they have accumulated and lock up. Those outstanding bills might have since been sent to collection agency or even a case of transferring to insurance these VOs are talking about now.

Greatg0809:

Okay first Dnt use agent again
Try call the hospital and ask if you have pending bill
I doubt if your total bill plus ped plus doc is $1050 plus complications u had
See how u can clear d old bill if there’s any before u reapply

just keep tracking via the ceac website regardless of what the passport tracker/ ustraveldocs page says. i experienced that too. ceac website shows you application received ------ admin processing if need be ------- issued/refused as the case may be. The status of visa application changes in that order as the processing progresses.

Greatg0809:
Hello everybody, please submitted passport for Dropbox early this year, on the ceac website it’s saying , application received, while on ustraveldocs earlier was saying passport is still with the U.S. Embassy but now no update or so for this passport number please what does this mean

you have made valid points... who is to ensure that the visa officers have the right information then? applicants are being denied renewals based on what they (VOs) know/understand currently. Some VOs don't even want to understand your point of view!

Vlesparza:


It is important that all patients understand how the self-pay packages work since it seems that Visa Officers are either clueless or ill-informed. The discount packages offered by doctors and hospitals is in itself not a discounted payment that the Hospitals and patients receive. It is, in fact, the same amount that Medic-aid and Insurance providers pay the hospitals and doctors. Even though doctors and hospitals charge an excessive amount to insurance companies, and Medic-Aid, these only pay a fraction of the amount billed and no govt funds are used to offset these bills since they are not only not a loss but paid in full upon arrival, unlike US citizens with insurance. For US patients doctors must submit insurance or Medic-Aid documentation which takes time to process and later receive the payment which takes about 1-2 months process.

Patients should have knowledge of this information and hopefully, have some kind of document that states this at the moment of their interview. As it is, www.doctoresparati.com (ad on every page of this forum) sends a price schedule with this information included as part of the documentation sent for Visa application and POE.

yes i got it for vacation but pregnancy happened and decided to change plans (thanks to forex which increased cost of everything ). Also, since the birthing trip was completed, i could not use it too till it expired.

ninab:



Thanks for sharing but what I understand from this is tht u got visa for vacation and used for birthing and also never used until renewal
Also again was the discounted bill
All this calling for interview seems rampant and one can’t even understand y seems everyone renewing should prepare as u never can tell

B1/B2 which is the Visa type for vacation.

Ruthina000:
For the previous visit that was approved for vacation purpose, which visa type was it please?

all the best. Just go prepared with any document relevant to the situation.

duvocharrison:


I tap from your blessings mine is soon.

221G follow up interview done last week (Lagos embassy) (after dropbox attempt)

Note: previous visa was approved for vacation purpose shortly before I found out about pregnancy (so close that the discovery was a coincidence with the interview week (after interview)…) but never got to use it for vacation before birthing so I decided to do the notification of intent letter then and got the usual response from them.

Purpose of renewal is for vacation at this time.

LONG POST ALERT!!

VO: Hello, good morning with a smile.
US: fine thanks and u?
VO: where are you travelling to?
US: …
VO: WHERE WOULD YOU BE STAYING?
US: at a hotel though I have a sister over there (he then asked: would you be staying with your sister then? NO)
VO: WHY ARE YOU GOING ON THIS TRIP?
US: VACATION BASICALLY
VO: HAVE YOU BOTH TRAVELLED BEFORE AND WHERE?
US: I HAVE TRAVELLED ALONE TO … WHERE I ALSO STUDIED BEFORE BUT HUBBY AND I HAVE BEEN TO … AND USA.
VO: was it MSC and what did you study there?
VO: what do you do for work and where do you work?
BOTH ANSWERED
HE SAW THAT WE HAD BOTH WORKED IN SAME PLACE BEFORE HUBBY CHANGED TO ANOTHER JOB THEN WE SAID YES AND ALL LAUGHED OVER IT.
AT this point, I was wondering if no question would come up about previous birth in the US then… (I also declared childbirth at POE at the time).
VO: OKAY SO MADAM I NOTICED YOU STAYED LONGER THAN YOUR HUSBAND ON THE LAST TRIP.
ME: YES BECAUSE WE HAD A BABY!
VO: OH YOU HAD A BABY! HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY?
ME: about USD …. , WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF EXPENSES?
VO: YES PLEASE WITH A SMILE
VO (WHILE I WAS RETRIEVING DOCS): WHEN DID YOU HAVE THE BABY?
ME: DECEMBER 2016 and handed over the docs. ( I made sure to include the notification of intent I had sent before my trip with their response).
VO: OKAY… THEN LOOKED THROUGH THE DOCUMENTS AND SAID… (AS HE WAS FLIPPING THROUGH, I WAS TELLING HIM WHAT EACH DOCUMENT IS ABOUT AND HE WAS NODDING.)

OKAY MADAM, THE SELF PAY PACKAGE GIVEN BY THESE HOSPITALS ARE NOT WHAT THEY CLAIM COS THEY GET TO MAKE UP FOR THE ADJUSTED PAYMENT SOMEHOW (referring to govt and taxes here).
He said who gives such a huge amount as discount? He said he knows this may not be our fault as it’s what we were told.
ME: Exactly as this is the information that was provided for uninsured patients at the hospital.
VO: how much do you think people who have insurance pay in the US?
VO: and how do people who live in US without insurance pay?
ME: smiled and looked surprised.

At this point, he had briefly gone through all the package agreement letter and bills I presented and I was wondering so what next? I was skeptical to show him the itemized bill at first because of what I have read here about the itemized bill misleading Vos.
I then asked him if he would like to see an itemized bill, he was willing and said yes please. He looked through it and still confirmed the huge adjusted amount which he was already expressing his dissatisfaction about but zero balance ended it lol.

He emphasized that he knows it may not be our fault but we should be well informed now in case of next time then said DON’T WORRY, I’LL BE APPROVING YOUR VISAS. (with a smile).

US: WOW THANK YOU SO MUCH.

VO: gave us the white paper….and asked if we would be using this visa for birth anytime?
Me: I said not yet but we may decide to when the need arises so long as we can afford the bills.
I then decided to ask him if we need to get another visa for birthing when that time comes or if we could use same.
VO: if you do notify us the way you did before, we may ask you to come in to show ability to pay your medical bills (i.e full without adjustment)… or you may decide to proceed also at the discretion of the POE officials.

Some key points I realized:

It is definitely better to declare birthing intention to them at the point of visa application and POE as the case maybe.

Same time, there was another couple in same renewal after childbirth situation that was denied by another VO. One of the things I heard the VO say to them was: WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM YOU WERE GOING TO DO AT POE? HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY? (I heard them reply with the amount). THE VO sounded angry and kept drilling them too on the same discounted self pay package matter and ended up denying them the visa!

Also, these Vos definitely handle cases differently. Some are more patient and willing to understand than others. Despite the fact that the VO that attended to us had the same view about the self pay package, he did not deny us based on that.

Overall, you can only do your best and be as truthful and transparent as possible and it’s up to them how they take the final decision.

Wish you all the best!

Hello chibertha,

Was it sent via email please? For renewal purpose, I want to confirm if printed copies of such docs( itemized bill, zero balance etc) from email are acceptable generally for any hospital used. Thanks

chibertha:
Yes I have it was mailed to me few months back.
You can go through my post on the whole episode and revert to be where necessary.
Also call this number +12815888028 that is the officer in charge.

iykmon:
Where you the person that picked up your luggage yourself to the next airline or was it transferred to the connecting airline by Air France authority.

Hi Iykmon, i guess u are referring to the JFK - CHICAGO leg of the trip? cos i booked the local flight separately (not part of the airfrance ticket), had to get my luggage at JFK and check in again for the next trip.

if you meant the PARIS- JFK trip, airfrance transferred the luggage till JFK!

Hi goobyparks, I used our naira card. The statements were for naira account. I think u should be able to show ur husband's card as long as u can prove the relationship.

goobyparks:


Hi,
Please the cards you showed are they our Naija master cards? Can I use my GTB MasterCard ?

.. The bank statement, is it for a dorm acc or Naira acc?

.. can I carry my husband's card? Or must it be mine?

Hello House, it’s time to share my POE experience. To God be all the glory.

I flew Airfrance on Thursday night, there was no issue with fit-to-fly letter as it seems they were not even interested anyway. I had it with me already so I just told the lady that attended to me at check-in desk and she collected a copy.
The flight was alright timing and all but I’ll say the food served and entertainment was just there.

The walk from where we landed in Paris to the next take off point was a bit long but it was ok for me at this point. I also noticed there were people in uniform at different points checking passport, visa and ticket as we walked.

Fast forward to new York (JFK) POE, the place wasn’t busy at the time we landed……I was directed to use the self-service machine after which I was sent to meet a CBP officer.

CBP officer (cool young guy): hello
Me: hi
CBP officer (cool young guy): how long will you be staying?
Me: about 10weeks (he looked surprised) so I quickly added that yea cos I’ll be on vacation and have my baby aswell.
CBP officer (cool young guy): oh you having your baby too?
Me: yea (the guy was cool with that and already stamping me in)

A young female colleague standing beside him heard him and cuts in

CBP officer (lady): are you sure you don’t wanna check with them inside?
CBP officer (cool young guy): hmmm not necessary, I don’t think they like the idea (I think he meant he dint need to go ask something he already knows how to handle)
CBP officer (lady): I think you should (then the guy went inside). She kept on questioning me.
Are you married? (Me: yes I am, showed her my ring)
Where are you having your baby?
Did you come to US prior to this to check for doctor and all? (Me: no I didn’t but I contacted the doctor)
Where are you staying?
Can you afford it? Where does your husband work? (Me: yes we can)
How much does it cost?
How do you intend to pay? (Me: I have some cash which I showed and my cards)
Is your husband coming to join you and bringing more cash? (Me: yea later but I’m with our bank cards to spend from account. I have the statements to show)
CBP officer (cool young guy): He came back in like 2mins…..madam, have your passport and enjoy your stay. He sent me towards agric cos I declared that I had food.

I picked up my baggage and realized that cart is USD 6.00 (oops), luckily one man offered to pay for me (awesome).
At agric, my boxes were scanned but not opened to search then I left (pushing the cart) to link the next terminal via air train to catch my delta flight to chicago.

Note: I had to insert the card I used to book the delta ticket during self-check-in maybe cos I booked on their site directly but it was mentioned at the point of booking.

I had a long wait time as I booked a late flight incase of delay. Walk to the boarding gate to Chicago was sooo long, I kept pausing along the way but maybe I should have joined the shuttle or something.

Finally, I got to Chicago then realized one of my boxes with food was forced open (padlock broken) by custom peeps for inspection and they dropped a card inside to notify me ( I guess this happened between when I checked in for new york - chicago flight).

Thank God for a nice POE experience and thank you for experiences shared here to prepare us for this journey.

ok true that...thanks.

Nnystc:
Hi,
Its common knowledge that a one way ticket is always more expensive than return. On a given day, a one way ticket can cost more than the entire return ticket. So naturally, return is preferred. If you prefer one way, then by all means...

Found this might be useful to someone.

cc: Topnotch22


BUYING DOLLARS FROM TRAVELEX AT MURTALA MUHAMMAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (23/10/2016)

Travelex now sells dollars at travellers at the MMIA.
The process is the same as buying the Business Travel Allowance (BTA) or Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) from a bank.
The dollars you purchase from Travelex are slightly higher than the official / CBN rate but lower than parallel market rate.
The end-to-end process of purchasing and collecting your dollars from Travelex is as detailed below:

PROCESS

Arrive early as the process takes hours.
Collect tally number from Travelex staff.
Provide a valid passport with a valid Visa .
Provide Bank Verification Number (BVN) Card.
Provide a valid boarding pass.
Provide a signed copy of transaction declaration document.
Introductory letter from company (BTA purchase only).
FX is handed over at BOARDING GATE after security checks.
Transactions will not be conducted 1 hour prior to boarding call for customers flight.
Please ENSURE YOU COLLECT YOUR DOLLARS AT THE BOARDING GATE.
Make sure you ask at the boarding gate where you are to collect your dollars before boarding is announced.
Maximum dollars available is $4,000 per person. Standard BTA rules.

HOW TO PAY FOR THE DOLLARS

P.O.S from customer’s account.
Online bank transfer from customer’s account.
Mobile transfer from customer’s account.
Cash deposits using denominations of N1,000 notes.
Payment is confirmed before transaction is done.

OBSERVATION: Outside the Travelex booth is always chaotic so prepare yourself for the heavy traffic.

Nnystc:
I hope that others who need tickets can follow through with the guide and patiently keep calling till they hit success. We know its not gonna be easy, and patience is needed to argue your case with them and get them to issue the ticket at the price point you need, but nothing good comes easy as we know...

@Nnystc @Oye84 Thanks for the info. please is it that one-way ticket they wanted to offer wont work @10% too. i just want to know why one should insist on return ticket.

@temyb welcome back with your babies. you went through alot! Thank God for everything.

so which brand of oyinbo noodles is this for us noodles lover lol.

TripleKMama:
Indomie Update
So I decided not to travel wit naija food for fear of extra delay at POE. Finally tried oyinbo noodles in USA for d first time in history. Verdict - not bad at all. Simply garnish ur own style,add stew,plenty onions & veggies. Most importantly, for ur mind, imagine u're in eating it in naija. Trust me, it works! No need to carry cartons of nooodles- unless like some peeps case, on special host's demand #SuperYum #PresidentialDebateLoading

hmmm i dont think this is allowed. You can try where you are going to i guess.

bissiejoe:

Exactly.....from my schedule, I may not be in town around the due date(December) and application for passport. Guess I will start making research on how to do it where I am going to.

oh the form can be given at the embassy? datz cool especially since there is this expiration date attached to the form that can be used too as i heard

quin9:
As for lagos it's not mon - fri as but only Mon/Tues,DH was there on fri and was told so,so it was done today and parcel is already on the way to me,also you don't need to print the form it would be given to you at the embassy.

LOL are you trying to do the consent form before the baby arrives?

bissiejoe:
Hello house,
Though this may sound funny, has anyone omitted the date of birth of the minor on the the consent form and got same notarized at the embassy.
Thanks

yes o, right behind you dear

dunnibaby:

Thanks Niksie. I'm expecting u soon o...

Congrats Dunnibaby

dunnibaby:
It's time to share my POE experience and to the glory of God, it is a success! Flew Egypt air from abuja to Cairo. Journey was smooth, but the in flight entertainment was Zero. I had space to lie down though. Hotel accommodation in Cairo was ok...

mumnadine:
my dear for ecobank who ever told u d only receive dats not true is just dat each branch has a particular day to send and limit as well

ok thanks

debby516:
I got the same response 2 weeks ago from GTB. I asked for options available to send money to US, either WU or MG, they said they no longer do either cos they ve backlogs and network issues or so. I asked if i culd transfer to a Bank of America accout, they said I shld fund my dom acct...

@debby516 @triplekmama i think things are truly no longer the same. three banks (ECO, UBA & SKYE) gave me same stories yesterday too that they no longer send WU/ or MG but receive. SKYE SAID THEY HAVE BACKLOG TO DEAL WITH. God help us!