A Kenyan who recently successfully applied and got their US visa has shared how their experience at the US Embassy in Nairobi was. This Kenyan was a beneficiary of the academic airlift program that is run by Mr. Bob Mwiti. The program is known as Kenya Airlift Program.
Yesterday, family and friends of Tirus Wagacha from Kiambu county, bid him farewell at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, as he embarked on his transformative journey to pursue Ms Data Analytics at Kansas State University, beginning January 2024.
Since inception, Mwiti says that the program has managed to facilitate over Sh. 2 billion in unsecured student loans for tuition fees and living expenses through their US-based lending partners.
“We have also directly funded over Sh. 100 Million to cover the relocation expenses incurred by our students. These include School Application fees, Air tickets, Visa fees, SEVIS fees, Enrollment deposits, Rent and Lease deposits among others,” says Mwiti.
Now here’s the US visa applicant’s experience as was shared by Mr. Mwiti:
My interview was scheduled for 7:15 am. I arrived at the US embassy in Nairobi at 6:00am. There were a few people who were waiting in line for the embassy gates to be opened.
I went through the first and the second security checks and arrived at the waiting bay at around 6:50 am. I was asked to line up for the final verification and fingerprint scan and waited in line for an available VO.
There were only 2 VO’s who were available.My turn came and I went to counter 4.
Attempt : 1st
School: Grand Valley State University
Program: Data Science and Analytics
COA : 29,000
Student Loan: Yes
Status: Approved
Embassy: Nairobi , Kenya
Me: Good morning madam
VO: Good morning to you to pass me your document.
(Handing over the documents)
B1/B2 Visa questions I was asked at US Embassy Nairobi, my answers and results
VO: why do you want to go to do master?
(Looking me straight in the eyes as i explained the reason)
Me: I want to go to do master as an F1 student since it represents a strategic step in my career development.The masters at Grand valley state is an ideal path to acquire in-depth knowledge in analytics and broaden my horizon and make meaningful contribution to the field of data science when i return to my home country.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: I graduated on 1st December in 2020 with a bachelors degree in informatics and computer science from Strathmore univeristy with a gpa of 3.40 out of 4 which translates to a second class upper honours here in Kenya.
VO: What have you been doing for the last two years?
Me: I have been working as a system analyst for XYZ company (and stated my roles)
(The VO just put together my i-20 and passport together. For a second i thought she was giving it back to me. But then she places them in a tray behind her and handed me the blue slip!!!!)
VO: Congratulations welcome to the United States of America. Your Visa will be ready in 2 days.
I picked the blue slipped and dashed out of there.
