5 Common Visa Interview Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Chances

Visa Interview in Nigeria is not a tea-party for
most visa applicants. If anything, it’s a more
dreaded adventure to many Nigerians than
being drilled by the police over the counter.
Before you disagree, visit some embassies in
Nigeria and see things for yourself. If you have,
then observe more closely next time. You’ll see
how much of fear most Nigerian visa applicants
possess going into a visa interview – say the US
visa interview in Nigeria.
Most can barely calm their shaky, nervous body.
They lose their voices almost completely hearing
the first questions. You can immediately sense a
nervous breakdown – a sign that gives the visa
applicant away as fake, unprepared or
unqualified.
What Happens When You’re Nervous During
Visa Interview in Nigeria?
The last thing you’d wish is to appear nervous or
unconfident during a visa interview. It’s nearly
the exact feeling a job applicant catches in a job
interview.
Imagine your arms shaking, your tongue stuck
in your mouth and your face beaming with fake
smiles. Think of it; how would the Visa Officer
perceive you? They are humans too. They’ll think
the same way other people will think when
such signs show. Regrettably, the result is
almost always brutal!
The thing is, you can’t make yourself vulnerable
to fear and self-intimidation and expect miracles
at the interview. Yes, miracles do happen – but
are rare. Rather than hope for a miracle to
happen, work out the miracle. The keyword is
PREPARE!
Common Mistakes You Should Avoid During
Visa Interview in Nigeria
You already have it up there. Nearly everything
depends on you, the applicant.
You can command the way the interview
should go. Don’t fall for cheap self-convicting
assertions like “it’s only in the powers of the
Visa Officer that I get a visa.” Yes, it’s at the
discretion of the VO to issue visas. However,
this largely depends on your performance at the
visa interview. You do well, you smile in luck. If
it’s bad, “sorry, try again next time” becomes the
consoling words.
Do you want to avoid hearing these consoling,
but, hurtful words? Then, learn from these
common mistakes Nigerian visa applicants
make during a visa interview in Nigeria.
Improper Application Filing
You didn’t expect this one, right? Well,
disregarding it may prove your biggest undoing.
Your first point of contact with the embassy and
the VO is your application. It reveals everything
and anything about you the embassy needs and
wants to know. Regardless of how you fill your
form, do not neglect the “rule of consistency.”
Don’t fill something else in your form and say a
different thing during an interview.
A client who applied for the US visa in Nigeria
visited our office in Abuja seeking help with
preparation for the interview. Before one of our
Support Staff rolled out the interview template,
she reviewed his application. While the young
man ticked the “Married” box on the form, he
was still single. Besides, he bore a different
surname from his wife’s. It required some extra
effort to correct the mistakes. Though,
thankfully, he was successful at the interview.
Nevertheless, it’s not entirely wrong to have
different surnames than your wife does. But you
don’t want to know how some VO make a
mole out a molehill.
Wearing Defeated Appearance
The visa interview process sometimes turns
comical, especially when you raise your eyes on
the faces of some interviewees and see the
look they wear.
What do they say about the first impressions
again? They matter…right? Then walk the talk.
Smiling could be a difficult thing to give a try for
some Nigerians. If you’re one of those, please,
don’t approach the VO with that kind of face
that should be seen only in graveyards. Smile.
But don’t fake it.
How should you approach a VO at first sight?
Unveil your vulnerability, tell them you are a
newbie, tell them you don’t know what you’re
there for? Or do you appear so unconfident that
even a not-too-smart VO can tell you only
jumbled the information on your application
form?
Another one, say no to pity–party. It’s laughable
that most Nigerian visa applicants dwell in this
myth. Well, sorry if you’re in that gang. But
unfortunately, the opposite is the reality. Visa
Officers want convictions born out of strong
reasons and not emotional blackmail. You want
to visit their country, tell them why they should
give you a pass and how you intend to visit and
return – that’s it!
That the US visa application in Nigeria is 80%
turned down is partly attributed to the above
fact.
Dressing Doesn’t Really Matter, But It Does
That could be confusing, right? How can what
doesn’t matter still matter? That sounds like
play-upon-words – on a lighter note though.
Anyways, you don’t need to suit up to “win a
visa” as some Nigerians would say about the US
visa in Nigeria. If you are applying for a
business visa in Nigeria, a conference visa, or a
tourist visa in Nigeria, you can be very Nigerian
in your appearance. Besides, there’s no rule
book on how you should dress – only
commonsense.
Smart, neat denim, good traditional attire could
do. After all, for the US visa interview, the VO
barely sees every part of you. But it doesn’t
conceal the fact that you should dress fine.
As they say, your dressing reveals your identity
– tells who you are. So, you need to dress
wisely and smartly.
The code the best travel agency in Nigeria will
give you is “be confident!”
True, confidence is everything. But here, don’t
forget the common saying that “too much of
everything is bad!” Overconfidence could mean
you are too zealous. And when you create such
an impression that you are overzealous, you
cast huge doubts in the mind of the VO.
So, don’t make it look that you want it so badly.
When asked questions, you don’t tell tales to
impress. Go straight to the point. Confidence in
a visa interview should only mean the ability to
answer questions with clarity and precision.
Anything extra will unveil an “effort to impress.”
Asking Questions Helps
Before you set out for your visa interview, pls
ask questions ENOUGH!
What do I mean by this?
Granted, you can never have ENOUGH in
preparing for a visa interview. However, you
should endeavor to know much of what is
required. That’s enough!
The interview can swing either way – success or
failure. The VO may want to dribble you,
drawing questions from answers you supply. In
the end, you either win or you’re caught. The
best way is to have a template and prepare for
such uncertain moments in the interview.
If you use a travel agency, let them give you
everything you need to know before you
proceed. At travelwahala, for instance, we
engage clients in mini-interview drilling with our
demo interview. This keeps the client mentality
ready and armed with ideas that can scale
them through.
Ensure you ask questions when the process is
gloomy.


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