Japa Story: Lady who Lost $30,000 to visa fraud, now a tech guru, US citizen
Blessing Nwachukwu had her life ahead of her when she decided to leave Nigeria for Russia at 21. Interestingly, her rough journey to Moscow in 2009 laid the foundation for a significant success story in the United States of America, USA.
Leaving her fatherland with just $65 and a plane ticket to study at the People’s Friendship University of Russia, Blessing could only imagine herself landing in a greener pasture. But life didn’t immediately smile at her as she had thought.
‘It was rough’
Recounting her rough journey to Russia, Blessing said in an interview with Vanguard, “I moved from Nigeria to Moscow, Russia, in 2009, when I was 21 years old. I moved with only $65, a plane ticket, my visa, and the usual two suitcases. But it was a very rough journey.”
To survive in Russia, she resorted to selling food items sent by her mother and teaching herself how to make hair for profit despite having no prior experience.
To augment her income, she took up a cleaning job for an American church, and when she had made enough money to settle her tuition, she decided to buy a laptop, paid for internet access and pleaded with the school to allow her to pay in installments.
With the internet, she discovered there was a high demand for English teachers in Russia, who were paid well ($30-$100 per hour).
“I chose to buy a laptop and an internet. With that I started applying for jobs. I noticed that they were looking for English teachers in Russia. It’s one of the most sought after professions and they pay really well. They used to pay like between $30 to $100. hour,” she said.
Blessing’s teaching career significantly advanced when a Russian millionaire hired her to be a governess for his one-year-old daughter.
This opportunity opened doors to teaching jobs with other wealthy families, and Blessing began training and referring other Nigerians, effectively carving out a significant niche in the market by offering more affordable rates than American teachers.
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According to her, she was earning a substantial $3,000 to $4,000 per month between 2010 and 2012.
However, life in Russia presented significant challenges, including prevalent racism against black people, the extremely cold climate, and the lack of dual citizenship options at the time.
“I was making a lot of money. But one day, I told myself I really could not stay in Russia because to be honest, at the time, I don’t know about now, Russians were not used to black people. So, there was a lot of racism going on,” she said.
These challenges prompted her decision to start looking for other opportunities in Canada and the US.
Sadly, her plans were tragically disrupted when her passport was stolen and she was scammed out of $30,000, her entire savings, including the money from her mother, by some dudes who promised her a Canadian visa.
Realising her American dream
Back in Nigeria, Blessing started the Blessy Jackson Show, a YouTube channel, and was also applying to a film school abroad.
While she struggled to find her feet in the content business, her Russia-based best friend, Faithful advised her to return to Moscow to start her PhD programme.
“My best friend Faithful, was very supportive during the time. She used to take care of me and sent me money from Moscow. She applied for me to do PhD. She paid $6,000 for everything — my tuition, my flight, everything, and brought me back,” Blessing said.
In April 2014, Blessing’s dream came true. Her mother, who had just received her gratuity from the defunct Nigerian Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), asked her to return home and handed her an open check.
She said, “My mother said ‘Tell me anywhere you want to go, and I’ll make it happen for you’. Faithful and I came back home. That was the time of Ebola. She paid for our trip to come back, which I’m glad I did because that was the longest I had ever stayed with her before she died.
“She wanted me to decide what I wanted to do in my life. I always wanted to go to Canada. It was my dream country and I can’t explain why. I know nothing about the United States, but for some reason my spirit just picked the US. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t have an idea what I was going to do when I come to United States.”
Making it in the US…
Despite having been denied a US visa twice before and having Canada as her dream country, she decided to apply for a US visa again for film production after realizing her previous denials were likely due to applying for the same degree she already held.
After getting her US visa, Blessing, in January 2015, went back to Moscow, terminated her PhD programme, packed her belongings and headed for the US.
After settling in in Georgia, Blessing, motivated by the good salary her ex-husband earned in tech, transitioned into tech-related jobs, pursuing database administration and website development.
She said, “When I saw the money my ex-husband was making in tech, it kind of motivated me to want to make that sort of money. So I shifted to database administration, from there I started creating website for companies. A lot of companies, small businesses not even big ones, would pay me over $2,000 to create a website for them. And when I saw that kind of money; I was like oh my God, I could have my own business creating websites and I could also be working for someone.”
After making some good money in tech, she ventured into real estate, buying up properties at a time when people didn’t even care about properties in the US.
“I started buying properties and turned them into Airbnbs and that’s how my money more than tripled.”
Ten years after relocating to the US, Blessing’s tech and real estate business has pushed her net worth to over N3 billion.
“My net worth is over $2 million to be honest — in properties and other things. And I’m doing really great.”
When asked if she plans to return to Nigeria, the middle-aged lady, who is now a US citizen, said America has become her home.
“This is where I want to reside till I pass on. It is where I want to be buried,” Blessing stated.