yinkslinks:
Sir I don't know if truly you are a VO or just a nickname but what I know is that if someone is going for a conference, he should go with his invitation letter should in case he/she is asked. I feel you comment should be you don't need an invite letter if you going on vacation. Truly those that want to show the VO things without being asked get less believe. It's advisable to go with all documents cus u never know what they will ask for. As for the passport, I have seen where a VO gave back the old passport without even looking at it. Those VO can have good and bad days that's all I see.

I suppose it's true anyone can choose a nickname and be a "Visa Officer." That said, I can assure you that I most definitely am a VO. I normally moderate the Immigration Visa forum but a colleague mentioned that this thread had some interesting bits to it.

Part of our job is to dispel myths about the visa process. I don't know how I can make this more clear: You do NOT need an invitation letter for any reason. If you don't have the invitation letter for your conference on the rare occasion we ask for it, it will not affect the decision one way or another. Sometimes we are just curious. The simple fact is we don't trust any documents shown to us because we know how easy it is to forge one. If you don't want to bring your old passport, even when I suggested you should, that is also up to you.

Regards,
VO

Mz 'know all' and 'Rude thing' is just amused...

ladylco:
You all are correct one way or the other, just like yinslinks have mentioned, if you are going for a purpose other than vacation, it makes more sense to go with documents or letter of invite to proof your purpose of visit incase you are asked. For vacation, I do not think you need any document per say as plans can change during your visit and you may have strings of activities during the visit without any concrete plans per say, provided you have adequate cash. I for one do not make any plans per say (in terms of accomodation) when going on vacation as am always on the move, I can tour several states in one visit even when I visit Europe as I always have enough fund. I save up for my vac a year ahead especially purchase of my ticket and forex so all I do on the travel date is just pick my bag and jet off (although an expensive indulgence I stopped about a year now , economy is not smiling now )

So what am say in essence is that you go with all necessary document you can layyour hands on incase you are asked to show any, so that you are not left hanging or allow lack of not having the document cost you your visa. The US VO sometimes may not have the patience for you to provide your document later so please be prepared as N54somthingK is no joke now

I give up

Regards,
VO

VisaOfficer:


I give up

Regards,
VO

Hehehe
Better do! Some preconceptions are so cast in the mind's stone that any attempt to correct it sounds alien.
The part I like about your former post is where you say that the absence of the letter can not cost one the visa...

Hi all, I got the blue slip today. I work in a federal agency and earn about 360k monthly and had my masters degree in the UK after which I obtained a two year residence permit from which I returned back to Nigeria . The permit expired in 2012.I relocated to Nigeria as soon as I got my residence permit in but used it to visit the UK on a couple of ocassions as the immigration stamps would prove. I have also been to Dubai for vacation.I am the head of IT service Management in my organization

Transcript

Vo:morning. Passport please

Me: morning and gave him my new passport with no visas and th old one with visas. He accepted both

Vo: where are you go to in the USA

Me: I am going to new haven Connecticut to attend my sisters husbands graduation from Yale school of management, Yale university

Vo: where do you work

Me: told him and explained my duties as filled in my form and even mentioned some well known service providers I interact with in my office. Also mentioned I have been working there for four years.

Vo: what were you doing in the UK while scanning through my old passport

Me: I told him I schooled there for a year after which I returned to Nigeria. I only used the residence permit for visiting purposes to the UK when I came back to Nigeria after my masters.

Vo: are you married

Me: no I am not married

Vo: sorry you are not bla bla bla and handed me over a blue slip. He said something about ties I didn't really hear well.

I think the system allows vos to use discretion. This was my first time applying for a USA visa. No documents were checked. My colleague at work got his visa on Monday and he has never travelled out of the country before and he said he is going to attend his cousins graduation. my brother however got interviewed in a different window and got his visa approved for the same purpose with Dubai and Kenya being his travel history and my brother is not married too.My brother runs his own travel agency which he has done for three years. I think that's a good example of a positive discretion. I don't think I will be applying again as I don't have any other need to visit the USA at this moment .Will be going to Dubai instead for summer and Sun. God bless Nigeria. God bless America and everywhere else.

@lyoncrescent, if you can afford it, reapply. The next vo's discretion may be better
Pele

Lyoncrescent:
Hi all, I got the blue slip today. I work in a federal agency and earn about 360k monthly and had my masters degree in the UK after which I obtained a two year residence permit from which I returned back to Nigeria . The permit expired in 2012.I relocated to Nigeria as soon as I got my residence permit in but used it to visit the UK on a couple of ocassions as the immigration stamps would prove. I have also been to Dubai for vacation.I am the head of IT service Management in my organization

Transcript

Vo:morning. Passport please

Me: morning and gave him my new passport with no visas and th old one with visas. He accepted both

Vo: where are you go to in the USA

Me: I am going to new haven Connecticut to attend my sisters husbands graduation from Yale school of management, Yale university

Vo: where do you work

Me: told him and explained my duties as filled in my form and even mentioned some well known service providers I interact with in my office. Also mentioned I have been working there for four years.

Vo: what were you doing in the UK while scanning through my old passport

Me: I told him I schooled there for a year after which I returned to Nigeria. I only used the residence permit for visiting purposes to the UK when I came back to Nigeria after my masters.

Vo: are you married

Me: no I am not married

Vo: sorry you are not bla bla bla and handed me over a blue slip. He said something about ties I didn't really hear well.

I think the system allows vos to use discretion. This was my first time applying for a USA visa. No documents were checked. My colleague at work got his visa on Monday and he has never travelled out of the country before and he said he is going to attend his cousins graduation. my brother however got interviewed in a different window and got his visa approved for the same purpose with Dubai and Kenya being his travel history and my brother is not married too.My brother runs his own travel agency which he has done for three years. I think that's a good example of a positive discretion. I don't think I will be applying again as I don't have any other need to visit the USA at this moment .Will be going to Dubai instead for summer and Sun. God bless Nigeria. God bless America and everywhere else.

You obtained a U.K. residence permit... red flag.

ladylco:
You all are correct one way or the other, just like yinslinks have mentioned, if you are going for a purpose other than vacation, it makes more sense to go with documents or letter of invite to proof your purpose of visit incase you are asked. For vacation, I do not think you need any document per say as plans can change during your visit and you may have strings of activities during the visit without any concrete plans per say, provided you have adequate cash. I for one do not make any plans per say (in terms of accomodation) when going on vacation as am always on the move, I can tour several states in one visit even when I visit Europe as I always have enough fund. I save up for my vac a year ahead especially purchase of my ticket and forex so all I do on the travel date is just pick my bag and jet off (although an expensive indulgence I stopped about a year now , economy is not smiling now )

So what am say in essence is that you go with all necessary document you can layyour hands on incase you are asked to show any, so that you are not left hanging or allow lack of not having the document cost you your visa. The US VO sometimes may not have the patience for you to provide your document later so please be prepared as N54somthingK is no joke now

This is incredible! Did you read the VOs post at all?

LadyGuinivere:
@lyoncrescent, if you can afford it, reapply. The next vo's discretion may be better
Pele

Thanks LadyGuniverse for your reply and effort on this thread. I can afford it but i dont think i want to apply again.The ties thing is one funny business and if their tie is marriage as i am not sure what it is , that one sef is not happening anytime soon. In addition My brother is going with my sister since his own visa got approved and my brother in laws mum also got a visa for the same purpose. I think both families will be well represented . Even my family members this morning were livid and told me to apply again Asap but i just laughed it over and calmed them down. no be just graduation. It would have been nice to go though cos they all attended my own graduation. Will do the Dubai Visa and spend my summer there. Maybe when i go for an executive education program at harvard or wharton business school in the near future, i will apply again but for now its not a do a die affair, which is why i am not applying again.

TWoods:


You obtained a U.K. residence permit... red flag.

Red flag how. when i schooled in the UK, i was entitled to apply for a post study visa to replace my student visa.it was the norm then and an extension of the fresh talent scheme for students who schooled in scotland( you can google it). i had to leave 800 pounds in my uk account for three months and fill a form and all that. At no point was the balance allowed to go below 800 pounds which was the requirement. This was done from the end of my program in september till november. i applied for the post study visa with the bank statement and all in december and i got it in january. On the visa it is boldly written residence permit. same january i came back to naija on my own and visited the UK a couple of times for vacation till the visa expired.

Sorry for the epistle but just wanted to make things clear so you can explain the red flag at least for others who may be in a similar situation as i said i am not applying again

farmventure:


The dude didn't even allow me finish my answer on where I would be visiting before he cut me short with another question, If the denial was as a result of travel history, I believe aside this, the guy didn't give me fair hearing during the interview, hardly smile and was just dishing out the blues . I know I prepared well, I read and read this thread more than when preparing for exams, did series of research and Wify grilled me with Several FAQ from transcripts(both successful & unsuccessful ones) here and from their web. Manhattan couldnt' be the sole place to visit during a 10days visit. If Manhattan is expensive, how do they determine if one can afford it or not, isn't that part of the reason for question asked by cbp at POE.

@LadyG: thanks for the advice, maybe would differ my vacation to around September when my wife would be on leave, then we can both go maybe Dubai or a Shenghen country, then we can both apply again because make we talkvtruth, America has lots of tourist attractions sights can behold, such experience would be awesome.

that is the normal attitude of the officer at window 1, he always like to dash out blue paper. He cut me short too when I was explaining my job and duty to him.even though he wants to deny visa, at least he should have allowed pple to express themselves. He refused us too (my wife & I) on last march 27.

VisaOfficer:


Perhaps I can help here:

You do not need an invite letter.
You do not need a statement of account.
Read the U.S. website before you pay the visa fee.
Do your research before you come for your interview.

This is sound advice.

You are free to bring all the reams of paper you can carry but after having personally done 30,000 interviews (and counting), I can't remember more than a handful of times I bothered asking for something. In fact, the more you try to show me the less I believe you.

The only exception are old passports, especially if they show prior travel. Those, I do like to see.

Regards,
VO

God bless you for me VO. Tell them!

Good morning VO.

TWoods:


You obtained a U.K. residence permit... red flag.

Red Flag how?

TWoods:


This is incredible! Did you read the VOs post at all?

How incredible? Oh yeah I did! for records, my first US visa was for conference and I was ask to show evidence that I paid for the conference as I mentioned the cost. This is first hand personal experience .....so what do you have to say about that?

Besides I never said what the VO said is wrong neither did I say that the VO's comment should not be listened too. Did you read my post at all?

What are the odds of not getting a visa sent it for drop box

VisaOfficer:


I give up

Regards,
VO

Dear VO,

Pleeeeeeeeeease do not give up , we still need you here

Best Regards.

Anybody home

LadyGuinivere:
@lyoncrescent, if you can afford it, reapply. The next vo's discretion may be better
Pele

I seconded....

seyewest:
I seconded....

In my own opinion, i would suggest he waits a little before reapplying so he doesnt appear desperate.

@ladyguinivere abs @seyewest how long is one expected to wait after the first denial?

yinkslinks:
Sir I don't know if truly you are a VO or just a nickname but what I know is that if someone is going for a conference, he should go with his invitation letter should in case he/she is asked. I feel you comment should be you don't need an invite letter if you going on vacation. Truly those that want to show the VO things without being asked get less believe. It's advisable to go with all documents cus u never know what they will ask for. As for the passport, I have seen where a VO gave back the old passport without even looking at it. Those VO can have good and bad days that's all I see.

VisaOfficer is a VO. And I am a VO. And if you take more than 2 minutes to do some research you will realize this.

In that same amount of time you can also read through a few of the transcripts and you will learn that letters of invitation are NOT required.

TWoods:


You obtained a U.K. residence permit... red flag.

Red flag how?

I had a UK residence permit when I went for my US visa & was granted.

@LagosNIV and all. I've been a silent reader. I've been following this trend and we prepared well for the interview. I, my hubby and daughter had our interview yesterday but unfoutunately the VO that interviewed us was indecisive and was quiet for more than 2 minutes before giving us the blue paper without any reason for denial. We're thinking to re apply again as soon as possible maybe in a week time because we're goin for a wedding and is a family call, if it was for vacation we would have burst it and go somewhere else. Please what will you advice? Thank you all

TWoods:


You obtained a U.K. residence permit... red flag.

What makes it a red flag? When he completed his Masters in the UK, they still issued the 2 years post study permit. I do not think there is any red flag in his case. I would re apply immediately if i were him.

babiechic:


In my own opinion, i would suggest he waits a little before reapplying so he doesnt appear desperate.

@ladyguinivere abs @seyewest how long is one expected to wait after the first denial?

As for me if it was for Conference and I felt I did not have the opportunity to explain myself better in the first interview I will reapply asap but if it was for holiday/vacation I can wait for 3 or 4 months while for ceremony is a bit tricky because if you don't attend will they cancel the event and for some event at least 1 or 2 of the family must be present.

Pls I asked a question what are the odds of it getting a visa when u do drop box

kino47:
Pls I asked a question what are the odds of it getting a visa when u do drop box

It could be in any form, you could be call upon for interview to explain your previous trip if the activity of your visit was questionable. or if the information you fill does not gel with your previous details you may be called for explanation.

However if nothing, you get your passport back with visa within the due time once approved,

Am sure you post will get to the notice of the VO and you may get a response from him/her

Best of luck

kino47:
Pls I asked a question what are the odds of it getting a visa when u do drop box

What/Who is ''it''?

stere117:
@LagosNIV and all. I've been a silent reader. I've been following this trend and we prepared well for the interview. I, my hubby and daughter had our interview yesterday but unfoutunately the VO that interviewed us was indecisive and was quiet for more than 2 minutes before giving us the blue paper without any reason for denial. We're thinking to re apply again as soon as possible maybe in a week time because we're goin for a wedding and is a family call, if it was for vacation we would have burst it and go somewhere else. Please what will you advice? Thank you all

You can give it a trial, maybe apply alone for now

Lyoncrescent:


Red flag how. when i schooled in the UK, i was entitled to apply for a post study visa to replace my student visa.it was the norm then and an extension of the fresh talent scheme for students who schooled in scotland( you can google it). i had to leave 800 pounds in my uk account for three months and fill a form and all that. At no point was the balance allowed to go below 800 pounds which was the requirement. This was done from the end of my program in september till november. i applied for the post study visa with the bank statement and all in december and i got it in january. On the visa it is boldly written residence permit. same january i came back to naija on my own and visited the UK a couple of times for vacation till the visa expired.

Sorry for the epistle but just wanted to make things clear so you can explain the red flag at least for others who may be in a similar situation as i said i am not applying again

All the detail above may have been useful to you but will not be relevant to the VO considering your US visa application. A residence permit may have been viewed as prior immigrant intent in another country, hence the need to demonstrate stronger ties. It is possible they viewed the residence permit as akin to a US green card (note that a US green card is also a stamped visa I-551).

But take the above as my opinion, you are free to reapply and another VO may see things differently.

ladylco:


How incredible? Oh yeah I did! for records, my first US visa was for conference and I was ask to show evidence that I paid for the conference as I mentioned the cost. This is first hand personal experience .....so what do you have to say about that?

Besides I never said what the VO said is wrong neither did I say that the VO's comment should not be listened too. Did you read my post at all?

Wonder why you saved your acerbic comment for me rather than directing them to the VO who was far more pointed in his response to you. Your "first hand" information is useless in light of the response of an actual VO on this thread.