Can we move on from this passport palaver.. I spoke with an officer at the Immigration Office and he said if you have exit and entry stamp on your passport it will not be collected unless you want them to have it.
Your international passport is your evidence of travel history and if you have a valid visa on your passport will you leave it with Nigeria Immigration even if there's no visa stamp on it... you can still use it as an ID and use it for local flights in the country... I'm not accusing you of anything because it's fishy if they have to collect your expired passport with entry and exit stamp on it because there goes your evidence of your travel to those country which means it's not admissible and it's misrepresentation... I don't care about where you've been or what you do... if we can't accept reason on this thread we will lose our credibility maybe this is the reason why @LagosNIV did not bother with this issue.
NB By the way I did not call you criminal I questioned why you leave your passport with them.

seyewest:
Can we move on from this passport palaver.. I spoke with an officer at the Immigration Office and he said if you have exit and entry stamp on your passport it will not be collected unless you want them to have it.
Your international passport is your evidence of travel history and if you have a valid visa on your passport will you leave it with Nigeria Immigration even if there's no visa stamp on it... you can still use it as an ID and use it for local flights in the country... I'm not accusing you of anything because it's fishy if they have to collect your expired passport with entry and exit stamp on it because there goes your evidence of your travel to those country which means it's not admissible and it's misrepresentation... I don't care about where you've been or what you do... if we can't accept reason on this thread we will lose our credibility maybe this is the reason why @LagosNIV did not bother with this issue.
NB By the way I did not call you criminal I questioned why you leave your passport with them.

Those that confirmed theirs was retrieved too had something fishy right?

I wonder who accepts an expired passport as a form of ID and how local flights will accept an expired passport when you have a valid one. You try to sound like you know so much but I have yet to be convinced.

I would have taken it for a kind gesture if you had simply asked questions without directly accusing me. I had problems when you insisted I had something fishy when you are not an immigration staff.

Even when I tried to explain and others confirmed, you went ahead to reaffirm your points..

And yes saying something is fishy is same as saying I'm a criminal. Please next time be objective in your response especially when you're not so sure. Be constructive in your criticism and Don't be quick to draw conclusions.

Finally, the LagosNIV is not a passport officer so I wonder what you expected him to contribute to an issue like this. If you are bothered about losing your credibility, I'm not because Integrity is my watchword.

Thanks for your time anyway, It is not my intention to have an argument. I only came here to get answers but it's unfortunate this is happening.

Good News Fellas

So I applied for a B1/B2 visa to enable me attend a Medical Conference in Bleep state and then see a distant relative in Bleep state in America.
I was curious before now and that's why I kept coming on nairaland. The reasons being that I was working in another Country and only in Nigeria for holidays, and kept wondering how to demonstrate home ties.
Thanks for all who made comments with key points and encouragement. (from ladyG to Abujaniv).

Today was my interview and went with all my documents which was eventually never checked including letter of invitation. I arrived the Abuja office by 6.30am as my appointment was for 7.30am and went through the security checks.

Vo: Good Morning
Me: Good morning sir
Vo: What do you do?
Me: I am a Medical Doctor and I work in a General Hospital in XXXX (country)
Vo: So what's your specialty?
Me: Well I'm an Internal medicine Resident but working in the ER.
Vo: Okay doctor what is a Spleen?
Me: I couldn't believe he would ask me a medical question so I started stuttering but by the time I remembered my N54,400 was going down the line right before my very eyes, I picked up and tried answering properly!
(He probed further and asked more about the spleen and I answered)
Vo: What are you going to do in the USA?
Me: To attend the ___ annual Medical conference
Vo: Have you travelled anywhere before?
Me: Yes, I have been to UK, Brazil, South Africa, Nepal and Ghana, and they were all for Medical Conferences except Ghana which was a tourist trip only.
Vo: You have been to Nepal?
Me: Yes Sir, I attended a WHO Medical conference there in 2010.
Vo: Okay, Your visa is approved, This slip will tell you about how to get your Passport.
Me: Thank You Sir

My sincere observations/Advices.
1. Travel History is very important. (I have been denied 3 times in early 2000s, after that, I gave yankee a pained break and invested my time and money into other countries and made goal oriented visits which paid off today during the interview).
2. Today, I kinda studied all those denied visas before me, I wont lie many were quite justifiable. I could sense desperation is some, some claimed to just do business (even if you do business, package what you tell the vo well...what is "I do business".......Another said he was going to watch Wrestle mania......mind you these guys do not need to study psychology to know who is lying or not, only a very comfortable and rich Naija man will leave his Country to go and watch a wrestling match...so lets learn to come up with better excuses/reasons and make applications that suit our personalities.
3. The Abuja office is the best as regards fairness. Yes some people will argues this bu TRUTHFULY, I have been denied us visas at a young age in the Lagos office on very flimsy excuses. Infact I have been of the opinion after then that for USA interview, forget ties and all that story, that its just depends on the Vos mood and quota.
But in Abuja, I listened to those given visas and those refused, they were making decisions based on home ties, overall demeanour/confidence, good utterance and apparent desperation......just a few exceptions!

4. Last last pray ooh, forget all the language I dey talk here, me that I am advising about utterance, didn't I gbagun when I was answering medical question? Yes I did and was expecting rejection.......until God favoured me.....infact I have read here of those who had all their act together and were still denied.

Thanks yall and wish you all Good luck.

Please help me now, how do I get a quick cheap ticket to UTAH for feb 24th and return March 5th?

esosa4real:
Good News Fellas

So I applied for a B1/B2 visa to enable me attend a Medical Conference in Bleep state and then see a distant relative in Bleep state in America.
I was curious before now and that's why I kept coming on nairaland. The reasons being that I was working in another Country and only in Nigeria for holidays, and kept wondering how to demonstrate home ties.
Thanks for all who made comments with key points and encouragement. (from ladyG to Abujaniv).

Congrats

seyewest:
Can we move on from this passport palaver.. I spoke with an officer at the Immigration Office and he said if you have exit and entry stamp on your passport it will not be collected unless you want them to have it.
Your international passport is your evidence of travel history and if you have a valid visa on your passport will you leave it with Nigeria Immigration even if there's no visa stamp on it... you can still use it as an ID and use it for local flights in the country... I'm not accusing you of anything because it's fishy if they have to collect your expired passport with entry and exit stamp on it because there goes your evidence of your travel to those country which means it's not admissible and it's misrepresentation... I don't care about where you've been or what you do... if we can't accept reason on this thread we will lose our credibility maybe this is the reason why @LagosNIV did not bother with this issue.
NB By the way I did not call you criminal I questioned why you leave your passport with them.

Thanks for the clarification @seyewest.

Hallo house,

I was denied Yankee visa 2 years back , will like to apply this year and I have travel history with my family. All my siblings have Yankee visa and we intend to do a family vacation during summer.

My question is that when filling the form do I need to put sibling and my nuclear family as people am travelling with or do I put my nuclear family alone.

Thank you.

esosa4real:
Good News Fellas

So I applied for a B1/B2 visa to enable me attend a Medical Conference in Bleep state and then see a distant relative in Bleep state in America.

Please help me now, how do I get a quick cheap ticket to UTAH for feb 24th and return March 5th?

Congrats and you have a solid travel history,work and yes Abuja is kind of cool but the problem with Abuja is that most time they have just 2-3 VOS to interview around 100 applicants.

seyewest:
Can we move on from this passport palaver.. I spoke with an officer at the Immigration Office and he said if you have exit and entry stamp on your passport it will not be collected unless you want them to have it.
Your international passport is your evidence of travel history and if you have a valid visa on your passport will you leave it with Nigeria Immigration even if there's no visa stamp on it... you can still use it as an ID and use it for local flights in the country... I'm not accusing you of anything because it's fishy if they have to collect your expired passport with entry and exit stamp on it because there goes your evidence of your travel to those country which means it's not admissible and it's misrepresentation... I don't care about where you've been or what you do... if we can't accept reason on this thread we will lose our credibility maybe this is the reason why @LagosNIV did not bother with this issue.
NB By the way I did not call you criminal I questioned why you leave your passport with them.

No quarrels.. But please retract the fishy part it hurts when one is accused falsely.
I'm 100% sure nothing is fishy about retrieving a passport. It's happened to my mom like I said before and thank God someone else confirmed that. You shouldn't blame Faith111 but Nigeria immigration for their inconsistencies. They ought to retrieve from everyone or let everyone have theirs.

seyewest:


Congrats and you have a solid travel history,work and yes Abuja is kind of cool but the problem with Abuja is that most time they have just 2-3 VOS to interview around 100 applicants.

Yes you are right! They were just two of them. Obobs even with the solid travel hx and work, was sill scared of rejection because YANKEE sometimes is respecter of No man!

BTW thanks!!

Faith111:


Those that confirmed theirs was retrieved too had something fishy right?

I wonder who accepts an expired passport as a form of ID and how local flights will accept an expired passport when you have a valid one. You try to sound like you know so much but I have yet to be convinced.

I would have taken it for a kind gesture if you had simply asked questions without directly accusing me. I had problems when you insisted I had something fishy when you are not an immigration staff.

Even when I tried to explain and others confirmed, you went ahead to reaffirm your points..

And yes saying something is fishy is same as saying I'm a criminal. Please next time be objective in your response especially when you're not so sure. Be constructive in your criticism and Don't be quick to draw conclusions.

Finally, the LagosNIV is not a passport officer so I wonder what you expected him to contribute to an issue like this. If you are bothered about losing your credibility, I'm not because Integrity is my watchword.

Thanks for your time anyway, It is not my intention to have an argument. I only came here to get answers but it's unfortunate this is happening.

hian @seyewest The dude isn't lying at all and don't mind the immigration officer you asked, they always have double standards. See, what is happening is that of recent, they collect your old passport in some cities. My friend did his in Benin and it was collected but my mum renewed hers in the same Benin and it wasn't collected.

Lets be used now to Nigeria's ways of doing things!

,

Seem having a solid Travel History is very important when applying for US visit Visa but dont know may be that i apply to Student Visa Application because am intending to my apply for my student visa and i have no travel history though have been denied twice before.
My Question is having no travel experience is it an hindrance in getting Student Visa application successful?

esosa4real:
Good News Fellas

So I applied for a B1/B2 visa to enable me attend a Medical Conference in Bleep state and then see a distant relative in Bleep state in America.
I was curious before now and that's why I kept coming on nairaland. The reasons being that I was working in another Country and only in Nigeria for holidays, and kept wondering how to demonstrate home ties.
Thanks for all who made comments with key points and encouragement. (from ladyG to Abujaniv).

Today was my interview and went with all my documents which was eventually never checked including letter of invitation. I arrived the Abuja office by 6.30am as my appointment was for 7.30am and went through the security checks.

Vo: Good Morning
Me: Good morning sir
Vo: What do you do?
Me: I am a Medical Doctor and I work in a General Hospital in XXXX (country)
Vo: So what's your specialty?
Me: Well I'm an Internal medicine Resident but working in the ER.
Vo: Okay doctor what is a Spleen?
Me: I couldn't believe he would ask me a medical question so I started stuttering but by the time I remembered my N54,400 was going down the line right before my very eyes, I picked up and tried answering properly!
(He probed further and asked more about the spleen and I answered)
Vo: What are you going to do in the USA?
Me: To attend the ___ annual Medical conference
Vo: Have you travelled anywhere before?
Me: Yes, I have been to UK, Brazil, South Africa, Nepal and Ghana, and they were all for Medical Conferences except Ghana which was a tourist trip only.
Vo: You have been to Nepal?
Me: Yes Sir, I attended a WHO Medical conference there in 2010.
Vo: Okay, Your visa is approved, This slip will tell you about how to get your Passport.
Me: Thank You Sir

My sincere observations/Advices.
1. Travel History is very important. (I have been denied 3 times in early 2000s, after that, I gave yankee a pained break and invested my time and money into other countries and made goal oriented visits which paid off today during the interview).
2. Today, I kinda studied all those denied visas before me, I wont lie many were quite justifiable. I could sense desperation is some, some claimed to just do business (even if you do business, package what you tell the vo well...what is "I do business".......Another said he was going to watch Wrestle mania......mind you these guys do not need to study psychology to know who is lying or not, only a very comfortable and rich Naija man will leave his Country to go and watch a wrestling match...so lets learn to come up with better excuses/reasons and make applications that suit our personalities.
3. The Abuja office is the best as regards fairness. Yes some people will argues this bu TRUTHFULY, I have been denied us visas at a young age in the Lagos office on very flimsy excuses. Infact I have been of the opinion after then that for USA interview, forget ties and all that story, that its just depends on the Vos mood and quota.
But in Abuja, I listened to those given visas and those refused, they were making decisions based on home ties, overall demeanour/confidence, good utterance and apparent desperation......just a few exceptions!

4. Last last pray ooh, forget all the language I dey talk here, me that I am advising about utterance, didn't I gbagun when I was answering medical question? Yes I did and was expecting rejection.......until God favoured me.....infact I have read here of those who had all their act together and were still denied.

Thanks yall and wish you all Good luck.

Please help me now, how do I get a quick cheap ticket to UTAH for feb 24th and return March 5th?

lol. You nor go kill person..

lymelyte:
lol. You nor go kill person..

lol,,,,my braa, wetin man neva see for visa wakaa...

esosa4real:


hian @seyewest The dude isn't lying at all and don't mind the immigration officer you asked, they always have double standards. See, what is happening is that of recent, they collect your old passport in some cities. My friend did his in Benin and it was collected but my mum renewed hers in the same Benin and it wasn't collected.

Lets be used now to Nigeria's ways of doing things!

Thanks for your input. I'm glad people on this thread are confirming same. My annoyance is she is so sure something is fishy. She talks like she called immigration officers all over Nigeria and stood with me during my renewal seeing them hand my passport over to me or she saw them seizing it for reasons best known to her.

#deleted# lolzzzz.... thought we are over this....

seyewest:


Why did Nigerian Immigration seize your passport? I thought they normally ''cancelled without prejudice'' when there's no problem.. Maybe something is fishy here.

[[quote author=esosa4real post=52890116]
hian @seyewest The dude isn't lying at all and don't mind the immigration officer you asked, they always have double standards. See, what is happening is that of recent, they collect your old passport in some cities. My friend did his in Benin and it was collected but my mum renewed hers in the same Benin and it wasn't collected.

Lets be used now to Nigeria's ways of doing things!

/quote]


Please as i will like us to forget about this issue, I will like to say that the above bolded statement does not refer to Lady @Faith being dishonest. Nobody has actually said there's any iota of doubt in her statement that her passport was been retrieved back from her. What I think we should get to know is the fact that so long as the old passport contains so much information that Lady faith might still need is (travel history record....) is the reason why it's baffling that the Nigeria immigration will choose to retain the passport. The statement '....something is fishy' might not be directed to @Lady Faith, it might be directed to the Nigeria immigration itself considering so many anomalies and some dishonest activities that so many immigration officers get involve in. Thanks.

[quote author=penitential post=52892479][/quote]
I've promised not to say anything about this issue but I never called her fishy or said she's fishy... The situation might be fishy but I know my intention was not to insult her.

Bros, your comment got me rolling on the floor i swear. How on earth will someone say he is visiting the US to watch wrestle mania. Have cable/satellite TV gone extinct? Nothing wey we no go see on top visa matter.. Lols

lymelyte:
lol. You nor go kill person..

seyewest:

I've promised not to say anything about this issue but I never called her fishy or said she's fishy... The situation might be fishy but I know my intention was not to insult her.

I guess this settles it now.... Lady Faith, please take this as an apology.....

yinksob002:
Bros, your comment got me rolling on the floor i swear. How on earth will someone say he is visiting the US to watch wrestle mania. Have cable/satellite TV gone extinct? Nothing wey we no go see on top visa matter.. Lols

you never hear word, in LadyG voice " I want to go and touch The empire building in new York ",... please help, am applying too, it's save using hotel address at contact, thanks

yinksob002:
Bros, your comment got me rolling on the floor i swear. How on earth will someone say he is visiting the US to watch wrestle mania. Have cable/satellite TV gone extinct? Nothing wey we no go see on top visa matter.. Lols

na so we see am o.Some people like to waste money.

def111:


you never hear word, in LadyG voice " I want to go and touch The empire building in new York ",... please help, am applying too, it's save using hotel address at contact, thanks

it is safe.

esosa4real:
Good News Fellas

So I applied for a B1/B2 visa to enable me attend a Medical Conference in Bleep state and then see a distant relative in Bleep state in America.
I was curious before now and that's why I kept coming on nairaland. The reasons being that I was working in another Country and only in Nigeria for holidays, and kept wondering how to demonstrate home ties.
Thanks for all who made comments with key points and encouragement. (from ladyG to Abujaniv).

Today was my interview and went with all my documents which was eventually never checked including letter of invitation. I arrived the Abuja office by 6.30am as my appointment was for 7.30am and went through the security checks.

Vo: Good Morning
Me: Good morning sir
Vo: What do you do?
Me: I am a Medical Doctor and I work in a General Hospital in XXXX (country)
Vo: So what's your specialty?
Me: Well I'm an Internal medicine Resident but working in the ER.
Vo: Okay doctor what is a Spleen?
Me: I couldn't believe he would ask me a medical question so I started stuttering but by the time I remembered my N54,400 was going down the line right before my very eyes, I picked up and tried answering properly!
(He probed further and asked more about the spleen and I answered)
Vo: What are you going to do in the USA?
Me: To attend the ___ annual Medical conference
Vo: Have you travelled anywhere before?
Me: Yes, I have been to UK, Brazil, South Africa, Nepal and Ghana, and they were all for Medical Conferences except Ghana which was a tourist trip only.
Vo: You have been to Nepal?
Me: Yes Sir, I attended a WHO Medical conference there in 2010.
Vo: Okay, Your visa is approved, This slip will tell you about how to get your Passport.
Me: Thank You Sir

My sincere observations/Advices.
1. Travel History is very important. (I have been denied 3 times in early 2000s, after that, I gave yankee a pained break and invested my time and money into other countries and made goal oriented visits which paid off today during the interview).
2. Today, I kinda studied all those denied visas before me, I wont lie many were quite justifiable. I could sense desperation is some, some claimed to just do business (even if you do business, package what you tell the vo well...what is "I do business".......Another said he was going to watch Wrestle mania......mind you these guys do not need to study psychology to know who is lying or not, only a very comfortable and rich Naija man will leave his Country to go and watch a wrestling match...so lets learn to come up with better excuses/reasons and make applications that suit our personalities.
3. The Abuja office is the best as regards fairness. Yes some people will argues this bu TRUTHFULY, I have been denied us visas at a young age in the Lagos office on very flimsy excuses. Infact I have been of the opinion after then that for USA interview, forget ties and all that story, that its just depends on the Vos mood and quota.
But in Abuja, I listened to those given visas and those refused, they were making decisions based on home ties, overall demeanour/confidence, good utterance and apparent desperation......just a few exceptions!

4. Last last pray ooh, forget all the language I dey talk here, me that I am advising about utterance, didn't I gbagun when I was answering medical question? Yes I did and was expecting rejection.......until God favoured me.....infact I have read here of those who had all their act together and were still denied.

Thanks yall and wish you all Good luck.

Please help me now, how do I get a quick cheap ticket to UTAH for feb 24th and return March 5th?

Congrats,did u upload photo while filling the online application?

LagosNIV:
Many applicants are still failing to upload their visa photos as part of the application process, creating delays and bottlenecks in Consulate processing on the day of interview. Effective immediately, visa applicants who do not upload their photos when submitting their visa application will be turned away and advised to complete their application by uploading a proper photo.

This will usually require the rescheduling of their appointment. The process for uploading photos is easy and is thoroughly explained in our on-line application. Avoid disappointment and delay—upload your photo as part of your visa application!

Hi,is it now compulsory to upload a photo even if one has confirmed his or her application?

bravedude:



Congrats,did u upload a photo of while filling the online application?

Thanks, yes I did upload a photo. If you don't, you might be sent back to reschedule and get it sorted now!

yinksob002:
Bros, your comment got me rolling on the floor i swear. How on earth will someone say he is visiting the US to watch wrestle mania. Have cable/satellite TV gone extinct? Nothing wey we no go see on top visa matter.. Lols

I thought with the advent of the Internet and nairaland forums, people will be better armed and oriented. When I heard wrestlemania I nearly laugh for que oh, but I nor fit cos me sef nor know my outcome. There was one girl on the que that involuntarily laughed out loud (LOL), God save am sha, she was given a student visa when it got to her turn.

babylawyr:
Okay, so here we go.
Lady G, Justwise, sheuk, et all. come and hear my story oo

Background: i was denied in 2013. I felt my circumstance has changed significantly, i have a better paying job. i have visited more countries. It has been three years since the denial. So i decided to try again, i reapplied last month and fixed the interview for today 7:15am.

Pre-Interview: i read the whole thread USA Visit Part 1 and 2. I repeat, i read Part 1 and 2, everything. I was reading only transcripts tho, every night when i get home i read and read and read. I read like i was going for a job interview, i prepared all my answers. I prayed too oo. i prayed and prayed and prayed, i did a 9 days Novena in church by myself ( i can share the Novena prayer if anyone is interested),

I remember a man saying he removed his shoes at the embassy and said a prayer. LOL. Well, i removed my shoes too. It was not my plan but after all the standing, queuing, walking up and down. My feet began to ache i wore heels and they were uncomfortable (but lovely). i sha stylishly removed them one leg at a time, used each feet to touch the floor for like one second, said a quick prayer and wore them back. LOL. (the things we do for visa)

Interview:

VO: Why are you going to the US.
ME: im going on vacation, sightseeing and to see my sister.

VO: where are you going.
Me: ****, Atlanta, Georgia

VO: Have you travelled before.
Me: Yes i have, I have been to the UK, Istanbul, Dubai and Ghana.

VO: What do you do.
ME: Im a lawyer, i work as a ******* in ********* (telecoms)

VO: How long have you worked there.
ME: ** months. However, prior to that i worked in a law firm for 4 years and 2 months.

VO: Are you married
ME: No, not yet

VO: Do you have any children
ME: No, not yet *chuckles*

She types for like one minute (which felt like forever).

VO: Sorry, our systems are a bit slow today
Me: No worries (heart in mouth. praying silently).

She brings out the white paper.

VO: Pick up your visa at ............ *white paper* (i was not listening anymore). I felt like break-dancing.

No documents checked, she didn't even flip through the passport to see my visas. Hence, my conclusion that the decision was made already.

Advise:
1. Ignore the touts totally. I saw some people rushing to get 'entrance slip/card' from them. Imagine! i was amazed.
2. Dress the role. As a lawyer, i wore a black dress. Also wear comfortable shoes. There is a lot of standing queuing and waiting.
3. Even though you upload your passport successfully on the portal, please go with your passport. They scan passports now to their system.
4. Pray pray pray pray pray. With God on your side, who can be against you?

Thank you to everyone who ever shared a transcript.

Also, reading from Part 1 to Part 2, i want to commend Lady G, FPL, Omobendel, seyewest, Tzetzefly, Justwise, i saw a lot of 'sharp practices' and 'not so honest advise/conversation' (for lack of a better word) going on in the initial part of Part 1 of the thread. The quality of advice has improved greatly and thank you for not condoning sharp practices, promoting honesty and sanitising the thread.

God bless. (drops mic)

good to hear your story. I really think if you meet up to the embassy requirement, they have no right to deny you a visa, the interview is just to fulfill the visa process. Before you get there, they already went through your paperwork and give it a GO or. NO-GO. No matter the window you go the outcome would be the same.

Last November when i applied for a visa, i purchased my flight ticket along side, didn't have panick what if i get denied and i even went to the embassy with a flip flop, short and a t-shirt and still got my visa. Meanwhile, some go heavily dressed and yet get denied, that shows your appearance does not matter, what really matters is your eligibility(paperwork). They must have a reason to deny you and they issue a receipt for the purpose of denial as well. Just make sure you don't leave them with no reason for denial.

The reason most people get denied is because they have no time to read the entry requirement, instead they go over to pay an agent for it, when they can go online and do everything by themself.

I don't need visa to travel always, but each time i do, i always get all my documents ready. on the deal day, wake up and do everything as normal ritual, then go for the interview. There was a time one embassy interviewer congratulated me, i replied her jokenly " Why congratulating me when I'm going to your country to spend my money"

Orufi:
I'm sorry, painfully, I wasn't scammed. It was at the embassy all these happened. I was invited.

And it was there my visa was cancelled too. In fact I was just back from the US weeks before.

Sure, you came in for an interview, but we NEVER ask for usernames and passwords.

I am telling you that you were scammed, up to you whether or not you want to believe it though.

@seyewest and others please help me with cheapest ticket to new Orleans,have searched and couldn't get a lesser price. Earlier on I asked if I can get to New York first then get a local flight from there to new Orleans ,as a first time traveller hope that won't raise an eyebrow at new York POE? Please help

INI3456:
@seyewest and others please help me with cheapest ticket to new Orleans,have searched and couldn't get a lesser price. Earlier on I asked if I can get to New York first then get a local flight from there to new Orleans ,as a first time traveller hope that won't raise an eyebrow at new York POE? Please help

i would take to bush airport , Houston. then connect to new Orleans by bus or plane.

Driving from houston to new Orleans is like 5hrs or so

INI3456:
@seyewest and others please help me with cheapest ticket to new Orleans,have searched and couldn't get a lesser price. Earlier on I asked if I can get to New York first then get a local flight from there to new Orleans ,as a first time traveller hope that won't raise an eyebrow at new York POE? Please help

Departure and return date.