learner007:
When it's your Time, it's your time...Visa approved today at Walter Carrington. In HIS time, HE makes all things beautiful. Off to work, transcripts later. Thank you to all

eddyme:
Hello everyone, my bro just go this information from utah valley state university..Does this mean he will be admitted?.

chingynas:
Good Morning House, Hope we all had a great weekend. Please I need an important information as I'm about to miss my interview tomorrow to settle some important issues. Please can i reschedule today for an emergency interview or will i have to wait till after i miss my interview tomorrow to reschedule for an emergency interview... I need all views on emergency interview
cc All the Gurus in the House oo

jolowizzy11:
good morning guys ...I don't know how the 1-20 work or loom like.... do they send it by email or what ? please kinda put me tru... tanks all

SPERMANC:
pls guys am going for Cleveland State University ohio am kind of confused about the credit hours stuff cos i saw each credit hour has a particular amount to pay so my question is as an undergraduate student am i allowed to do 2 or 3 credit hours (na the tuition fee i de fear)

ghs007:
I got accepted with a full ride scholarship to McNeese State University in Louisiana but my I was denied a visa during my first interview. My second visa interview will come up soon so I need you all to help me analyze the answers below. Thank you.

1). Why are you going to the US?
I am going for my bachelor of science degree in engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering. This degree will enable me to be competitive enough in the Nigerian professional world.

2). Why US?
The United States has one of the best educational systems in the world and an academic experience gained from a US university is greatly valued in Nigeria by potential employers, so pursuing my higher degree from a well structured educational system will undoubtedly help me stand out and have an added advantage over my pairs once I return to Nigeria.

3). Why that school?
Aside the fact that I have been offered a place in the Honors college with a full ride scholarship due to my good test scores and application, McNeese State became my first choice after I had a one on one conversation with the director of international programs, Preble Girard, during the last college fair organized by education usa. There, I was told about the diversity in engineering degrees, small class sizes, hands on educational experience, and benefits of being in the honors college.

4). Why mechanical engineering?
I have a flair for mechanical engineering courses and I am also very good at it, so I believe a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering will bring out the potential in me and at the same time be beneficial to my country.

5). What has changed?
During my previous interview, I was quite nervous so I couldn't explain myself to her satisfaction.

6). Have you traveled out of Nigeria before?
No, I have never had a reason to. It's because of my education that I want to travel now.

7). When did you graduate from high school?
2017

. What courses will you be taking?
During the fall semester of my freshman year, I'll take courses in Calculus, Engineering graphics, General Chemistry, English Composition, Foundations for Engineering Freshman Success, and a History general education elective. All of which are 17 credit hours.

9). Why do you think you got the scholarship?
It's because of my good test scores, GPA, class rank, recommendation letters, and essay.

10). How many schools did you apply to?
I applied to 2 schools and I got admitted with scholarship offers from both of them.

Sorelee:


Your proposed transcript is okay, but I think you should work on the bolded.I think it would be more convincing to the VO on why you chosed the school if you elaborate on what you would benefits being in the honors college . All in all I think your transcripts is okay.

My opinion.

Junera:
Good Morning Room!!! I got admitted to Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, and my interview is next week, but I applied with GRE or SAT, so I will be doing a compulsory one semester English course, and on my F1 English as a second language is there as the course, I am to study and not Biotechnology I applied for, but on my DS160, I wrote I will be studying Biotechnology because the English course is because I didn’t provide GRE or SAT, and holla at me if you’re also a UVU admit.

learner007:
When it's your Time, it's your time...Visa approved today at Walter Carrington. In HIS time, HE makes all things beautiful. Off to work, transcripts later. Thank you to all

SPERMANC:
pls guys am going for Cleveland State University ohio am kind of confused about the credit hours stuff cos i saw each credit hour has a particular amount to pay so my question is as an undergraduate student am i allowed to do 2 or 3 credit hours (na the tuition fee i de fear)

learner007:
When it's your Time, it's your time...Visa approved today at Walter Carrington. In HIS time, HE makes all things beautiful. Off to work, transcripts later. Thank you to all

ghs007:

I hope the answers are not too long?

lasthero:
hello house. please i want to ask.

while waiting for my I-20 that will arrive in 3 weeks time, what can i do at the background?

can i pay for SEVIS or pay for visa fee?

Also, i see most transcript here to have sponsors. in my own case, my savings and mutual fund investment covers my expenses for the first year($25k plus) and i have statement of account with genuine source to proof it. my I-20 also reflects personal funds. Hope i am good to go?

Junera:
Good Morning Room!!! I got admitted to Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, and my interview is next week, but I applied with GRE or SAT, so I will be doing a compulsory one semester English course, and on my F1 English as a second language is there as the course, I am to study and not Biotechnology I applied for, but on my DS160, I wrote I will be studying Biotechnology because the English course is because I didn’t provide GRE or SAT, and holla at me if you’re also a UVU admit.

folmus:


We wish you goodluck! But you are not telling us the truth. You didn't provide TOEFL or you didn't meet the required score. A compulsory English course is not equivalent to GRE or SAT. You will need a compelling interview to convince your VO about your major not stated in your i-20 when asked.

femi312:
If you ask me its seems like you have a mountain to climb and you don't know. How do you plan to explain this to a VO? That the course showing on your i20 is not the intended course? All these discrepancies fasten a VO's decision. When people say go and write Toefl, its not that they hate you. Do you know how much you will waste on compulsory English course? You will end up wasting millions because you decided not to take a very easy Toefl exam of about $160. If you have time, my advise for you is to plan to write toefl and send it to your school.

Junera:
When I called the school, they said I should explain to the VO, that they would understand, so people don’t get visa without having a standardized test result, even when admitted?

femi312:
Each case is different and Vo treat it as such, so saying people get or don't get might be wrong. However, lets know the outcome of your interview.

teedee223:
Hello everyone,

I'm a silent follower on this thread. Learnt a lot from here in preparing for my Visa interview.

I had my interview on Tuesday, 8th of May, 2018 - 6:45 am batch.

Went through 4 security checks before entering the interview hall. Did my fingerprint and document verification also.

Joined the interview queue around 7:25 am ... Overhead other applicant's answers (some approved visa, others rejected)
I had to stop focusing on them so as not to get too nervous.

CGI directed me to booth 10 (around 7:45 am) - a man in his very late 30s


Transcript below:

VO: Good Morning, How're you doing today?

ME: I'm very fine, and you?

VO: I'm doing fine.

VO: Pass me your passport and I-20

ME: (passed)

VO: You're going for Masters. Where are you going for your Masters?

ME: (didn't hear what he said) sorry, I didn't get that

VO: Where are you going for your Masters?

ME: Ooh... (my brain then kicked in) ... University of Illinois. Going for an MBA program

VO: Which school did you finish from?

ME: Obafemi Awolowo University

VO: When did you finish school?

ME: September 2014

VO: What did you study?

ME: (.....) Engineering

VO: What have you been doing since then?

ME: Entrepreneurship. I co-founded a technology startup after school. We build Mobile apps, Web apps, VAS applications and general software solutions for businesses and to solve local problems. We have worked with ... (VO then cuts in)

VO: ok ok ...tell me about a live service you've built that is currently being used.

ME: Currently, we have a Location Based Service that helps ............... to find ................... anytime they need it (explanation was longer than this sha...I continued explaining the service till I saw the satisfactory expression on his face)

VO: So how many staffs do you have?

ME: 15 staffs (developers and product leads)

VO: Are you married?

ME: No

VO: Kids?

ME: No

VO: How do you intend to fund your studies? (total of $60,000 for the first year - $40,000 tuition and $20,000 living expenses)

ME: I have $40,000 in scholarship - $20,000 for the 1st year, and another $20,000 for the 2nd year. I also have $35,000 in student loan for the first year and $10,000 as personal savings

VO: (checked through my I-20 to confirm the scholarship) Can I have the loan approval letter and your statement of account?

ME: Sure. (passed them to him)

VO: (spent about 1 minute reading the loan approval letter and about 3 minutes scrutinizing my personal statement of account)

VO: I'll be approving your Visa now (He then issued the white paper) You can have your I-20 back. Make sure you keep it very well, you'll need it at the point of entry. Failure to produce it means you'll be sent back on the first flight to Nigeria
(at that point, he smiled at me)

ME: (smiled back) Thank you very much (left the hall around - 8:00am)


Thanks to Nairaland and everyone that has shared their experiences so far... It gave me the confidence going for the interview. I made sure I reviewed all the transcripts here and tried to understand why they might have been denied or approved, then used the feedbacks to prepare my answers.


Tips & Advice:

1. Try to go through all transcripts posted here...including the one uploaded to Dropbox (the very first post on page 1 of this thread)

2. We all have different cases to present and support for our visa to be approved.
Try to look critically into your own case and ask yourself if it makes sense to you...Try to review your answers from a VO point of view...
Ask yourself - "If I am the VO, will I approve the visa for this applicant based on his/her answers?" If not, then keep reiterating your answers till they make sense to you. Try to learn from other people's experience (transcripts)

3. Try to attend to the applications yourself (DS-160 form, paying for DS-160, Scheduling interview time etc)
Look at it as a process you have to go through yourself, and you might have 1 or 2 things to learn in the process...

I saw some people turned back because the agent they used filled the wrong application number while paying their DS-160 fee...

4. Create a checklist of all the documents you need (both required and supporting documents), and get them ready and printed at least 48 hours to your interview. This will prevent you from forgetting any document and give you more time to focus on your possible interview questions and answers

5. Create a possible list of all Questions they might ask (based on your own peculiar case) and provide best answers to them
No need to lie in your answers... even if you will, make sure it makes sense, and you can prove them (just incase they ask)

6. Get there early enough (30 minutes before your set time is just OK)

7. You do not need your phone or smartwatch (except you have about 1,500 or 2,000 to give the security guys)

8. Get enough rest before the interview

9. Believe in yourself, talk confidently and of course, your body language is very important too (just be moderate with it)

10. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY & PRAY (you can ask friends and family to join you in prayers too) If you can FAST too... that'll be fine.


Goodluck to future applicants.

Junera:
No, I don’t have TOEFL, SAT OR GRE, admission to the school is in two category, with English Proficient and without Proficient, when you chose without, you will have to do the English course, and it is stated on the admission letter that when you finish, you will enter your course you applied for proper.

Humble11:


Please help analyse my interview. Got denied today

Vo : good morning

Me : good morning sir

Me : how was ur night

Vo: great, thank you

Vo: which school are you going ?


Me: I'm going to study master of science in information technology in Iglobal university located at Leesburg pike, Vienna, Virginia

Vo: what was your last education?

Me: bachelor of science in Computer Science

Vo: what year did you finish undergraduate study?

Me : 2015 ( vo countenance changes and started typing)

Vo: why did you choose this school and how many schools did you apply also how many gave admission?

Me : I applied to 3 schools and the 3 gave admission

Me : I have chosen IGU for some reasons, firstly IGU offers some elective track courses which catches my interest and I know it would be of benefit to my career ( vo cut in..)

Vo: what relationship does the 3 schools has?


Me : (I was confused at first)...OK after when I had concluded on what to study, then I searched using Google to see schools offering this course. The I realised xyz school has information Science and ABC school has information Science, but IGU has information technology which I really wanted

Vo: (continue typing ) who Is sponsoring you?

Me : dad

Vo: what is he into?

Me: he is a building contractor and also has hotels

Vo: are you married?

Me: am engaged

Vo: do you have kids?

Me : yes

Vo: how many kids?

Me: just a kid

Vo: how old?

Me : a year old

Vo: have you traveled out of the country b4?

Me: No, I haven't

Vo: sorry, I'm going to give you blue paper to read why you are not eligible for this now


There was a Dr in front of me that was really drilled by this Vo

folmus:


Stop asking Native speakers" how was your night" Its meaning is not the domesticated one Nigerians translated their mother tongue to mean. You asked the VO about his sexual escapade last night. Meanwhile, your choice of school get K-leg o.

Junera:
No, I don’t have TOEFL, SAT OR GRE, admission to the school is in two category, with English Proficient and without Proficient, when you chose without, you will have to do the English course, and it is stated on the admission letter that when you finish, you will enter your course you applied for proper.

folmus:


So you feel that's a better choice. Instead of writing TOEFL @ $195, you want to spend millions of Naira doing English course?