San Jose passport stamping experience

L

lindaMac

Registered Users (C)
The big day arrived - we got to San Jose INS on Monterrey rd at 6.30 am per the experiences of others in this forum. Our hearts sank when we saw how many people were in line already - at least 30 or 40. By 6.50 a guard came out and " read the riot act" regarding sharp objects , cameras, cell phones with cameras etc etc - also no food - had to run back to the car to take baby food back - water and baby formula ONLY.
I had figured from others on this forum that we could go in the appointments line but when I tried to confirm this the guy ( which I only realized afterwards was a guard and not an INS officer and was therefore not well informed) said -NO - NO appointment - other line. This ended up costing us at least an hour - because when I double checked about 10 min later with one of the INS guys ( white shirts , no guns !!) - he told us to go to the appointments line - but by then we were way back compared to what we would have been. Once inside it was pretty pleasant and would have been quite bearable if we didn't have a 5 year old and a baby to contend with for the next 3 hours.

We got called up at about 9.30 - had to hand in all EAD's, H1's , APs etc etc - also required photo and did fingerprints - then had to wait about another 10 min for them to do " a background check" - ( ok , so what have they been doing for the last 3 years?)
We were out of there by 9.50 am which given our nearly 4 years of dealing with the INS was not too bad in the spectrum of things. They were very friendly.

Now we wait for the plastic card and then hopefully no more INS for 10 years !!

Regards and speedy green cards to all .

LindaMac
wac0206155*****

rd 12/07/2001
nd 12/12/2001
fp 5/2002
2nd fp 10/03
rfe for 3 paystubbs and 2002 tax return and W2 -11/03
approved 12/30/03

passports stamped today 1/14/04
 
so you have to bring your own pictures?

or they take the pictures right there, like with the temp EAD? congratulations btw
 
Congratulations again!!!
That means one can go in appointment line. BTW what time do they start letting people go in? No questions asked? Well, thats good that you don't have to spend whole day with little kids.
 
lindaMac,

Do you have to hand in all EADs, H1s, APs, irregardless of whether they're expired or not?

I guess I'm jumping ahead of myself, I haven't even got my
AOS approval yet! But just wanted to know.

Thanks.

Phoenix Saint.
 
lindaMac,
Congratulations and thanks for sharing this experience.

phoenixsaint,
I think you need to hand in all of them. Anyway, after passport stamping, you need none of them no more.
 
Yes - you have to hand them all in ( expired ead's etc) - although they looked at some and gave them back. Just have them all on you just in case - they took our expired ap's.

DEFINITELY every one go straight to the appointment line.

They open the doors at 7 am - I think if you go straight to the appointment line at about 6.30 - you will be out by 8.30 or 9 - per the experience of others on this site - we just got confused by the guard who said if it was not an appointment you had to go to the other line - basically they consider all INS letters requesting you to attend as an appointment.

and btw - take a book or something. No entertainment laid on !!!

You have to take your own photos and the approval letter you get gives you all the details - 2 photos, must be taken within the last 30 days.

Good luck everyone
 
Thanks lindaMac,

By the way, how would they know if the photos were taken
within the past 3 months? The thing is, I've got photos that I can use but that are older than 6 months.

Thanks.

Phoenix Saint.
 
I think the letter stated the photos had to have been taken in the past 30 days - if you haven't changed much I suppose you could use old ones - but to be honest - when you've waited 4 years for this (in our case) and spent nearly $ 15 000 out of pocket on immigration lawyers and INS fees , medicals etc( our case) - then to skimp on the last 10 bucks for photos and end up with a problem seems a little crazy.
The only thing they asked us about the photos were if we had them all done at the same place ( my husband, myself and son) - I suppose that may have been their way of figuring out if they were recent. In theory I suppose they could ask for proof that they were recent if they don't look recent, since they do state "last 30 days" on the request.
 
lindaMac,

Thanks for your insight.

I'm not a cheapskape but it costs me around $60 to do immig photos for myself, wife, and daughter, so it does add up with all the EADs, APs, etc. Now, if INS did not take so long to process our AOS's I would have saved a lot of money.

No matter what INS or others who would provide excuses for them or who would rationalize the current delays say, the bottom line is that after 9/11 legal immigrants from all countries are being penalized. I would not be surprised if this delay was intentional.

Bottom line is, with mostly non-European, non-Christians from
non-European countries comprising the current immigrant (or would-be immigrant) population, the U.S. is not that eager to accept new immigrants (or for accepting any immigrants no matter where they're from in the current economic climate).


This is why the current I-485 litigation is so justified. The message to INS is "do not penalize those who are already in the legal process", "do not take out or vent your frustrations, fears, and anger on immigrants going through the legal process".

Sorry that an issue about photos developed into a whining session!
Phoenix Saint.
 
keep shopping

Phoenix.. i just took my pictures. (at the great mall in milipitas for those in the south bay) .. and it was just $10 for two pictures.. so keep shopping.. usually the guys who take all kinds of pictures.. not only immigration are a lot cheaper...

ps i wanted to do the pictures on those vending machines at the mall.. like i did for my first EAD 5 years ago and they accepted... that would have been $2.. but my wife didnt want take the risk..
 
I agree with you guys - none of it is fair - and most people on this website are lucky in that their sponsoring companys paid for the legal fees, h1bs etc - we've paid for everything from h1b's to photos ( a zillion times) to I-140 medicals which were really expensive , chest x rays , some more ead's some more ap's , a 2nd round of h1b's - one for me and one for my husband - its been very expensive - cost about 3 x what my pharmacy degree cost me 10 years ago !!!!!
 
People,

it ain't fair and it ain't right. It's enough that we are contributing to the U.S. high tech economy, keepin it going, creating, innovating, and all those other good things that we do. Hell, the way I see it most of us need to be paid to immigrate to this country. But the reality is BCIS, lawyers and everbody in between
are robbing us big time! As if that's not enough, on top of the crazy BCIS/lawyer fees, they make you wait forever, just to piss you off and make life hard for you.

If you're patient and saintly enough to endure all of the above,
you are awarded a GC after 10 years. How's that for fun times?
Shit that's why I have "Saint" in my user name....

Phoenix Saint.
 
Originally posted by lindaMac
I agree with you guys - none of it is fair - and most people on this website are lucky in that their sponsoring companys paid for the legal fees, h1bs etc - we've paid for everything from h1b's to photos ( a zillion times) to I-140 medicals which were really expensive , chest x rays , some more ead's some more ap's , a 2nd round of h1b's - one for me and one for my husband - its been very expensive - cost about 3 x what my pharmacy degree cost me 10 years ago !!!!!
Click to expand...

Let me guess... you must've attended pharmacy school in SA which cost hardly anything. Most pharmacy grads now graduate with about $100,000 in loans, so I guess you win some and lose some. Anyway enjoy your freedom. Thanks for all the updates. Happy pill counting and you can now tell your boss and some of your patients how you really feel.
 
Just a thought, per IRS rules, lawyers' fees which result in taxable income are tax deductible. Since your green card will enable you to work permanently in the US and thereby generate income, may be your lawyers' fees are tax deductible.
 
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