Hi Ciba, please add me to your plastic card tracking list. I am on the 485 list as Frankus (pfdv)
Date stamped: 4/9/01
San Jose
EB3 (South Africa)
ND 10/24/01
Approved 4/3/01
Here are some comments for passport stamping experiences.
I arrived at 5:30 on 4/9/01, and there were over 100 people ahead of me. I got into the building at 10:00am and received a number at about 10:15am. They stopped giving numbers at 11:30am (That is, no more people admitted for processing). I finished at 1:30pm, after the 60 numbers in front of me had been called. There were three congressmen/women who arrived with TV cameras to do a press conference about how bad waiting times are at the San Jose service center. According to a press release that they gave out, the deadline for filing applications under the LIFE (Legal Immigration Family Equity) act is April 30, 2001. They believe that the current long lines are as a result of this deadline, so the lines may be shorter after April 30.
Other points:
The best landmark for finding the center is a big palm tree in front of the center. Park in the lot behind the center. Don\'t park in the connecting road between the street and the parking lot (marked "no parking"
as the guards will chase you when they arrive at 6:30. There is a "roach coach" food truck that was there when I got there at 5:30, so you can get hot coffee, sodas, sandwiches etc. There are also portable toilets outside the building, so you don\'t have to worry about drinking lots of coffee early in the morning ;-) If you make friends with the people in line, they will keep your place while you go and put stuff in your car. So you can bring lots of things (chairs etc.) and it shouldn\'t be a problem. Food is not allowed in the center at all, so finish up or put it in the car when you are getting close. They do not mind if you take in and use personal electronics (cellphones, portable music players etc.) in the center. There are water fountains and bathrooms in the center. Once they received numbers, some people left the center briefly. I didn\'t do this, but it seems that if you ask the guard at the exit, he will let you back in through the exit. Watch out for people who jump the line, particularly at the front of the line as it gets close to the entrance. I saw at least two people. If you have waited for four/five hours, why should they only wait for ten minutes? Everybody must watch - even if they jump in behind you, kick them out. If you don\'t want to speak to them yourself, the easiest thing to do is wait until you get to the front and tell the guard that this person jumped the line. The guard will kick them out for you.
Thanks for all the info on this site, and thanks again Ciba. Good luck to all of you.
Frankus
Date stamped: 4/9/01
San Jose
EB3 (South Africa)
ND 10/24/01
Approved 4/3/01
Here are some comments for passport stamping experiences.
I arrived at 5:30 on 4/9/01, and there were over 100 people ahead of me. I got into the building at 10:00am and received a number at about 10:15am. They stopped giving numbers at 11:30am (That is, no more people admitted for processing). I finished at 1:30pm, after the 60 numbers in front of me had been called. There were three congressmen/women who arrived with TV cameras to do a press conference about how bad waiting times are at the San Jose service center. According to a press release that they gave out, the deadline for filing applications under the LIFE (Legal Immigration Family Equity) act is April 30, 2001. They believe that the current long lines are as a result of this deadline, so the lines may be shorter after April 30.
Other points:
The best landmark for finding the center is a big palm tree in front of the center. Park in the lot behind the center. Don\'t park in the connecting road between the street and the parking lot (marked "no parking"
as the guards will chase you when they arrive at 6:30. There is a "roach coach" food truck that was there when I got there at 5:30, so you can get hot coffee, sodas, sandwiches etc. There are also portable toilets outside the building, so you don\'t have to worry about drinking lots of coffee early in the morning ;-) If you make friends with the people in line, they will keep your place while you go and put stuff in your car. So you can bring lots of things (chairs etc.) and it shouldn\'t be a problem. Food is not allowed in the center at all, so finish up or put it in the car when you are getting close. They do not mind if you take in and use personal electronics (cellphones, portable music players etc.) in the center. There are water fountains and bathrooms in the center. Once they received numbers, some people left the center briefly. I didn\'t do this, but it seems that if you ask the guard at the exit, he will let you back in through the exit. Watch out for people who jump the line, particularly at the front of the line as it gets close to the entrance. I saw at least two people. If you have waited for four/five hours, why should they only wait for ten minutes? Everybody must watch - even if they jump in behind you, kick them out. If you don\'t want to speak to them yourself, the easiest thing to do is wait until you get to the front and tell the guard that this person jumped the line. The guard will kick them out for you.Thanks for all the info on this site, and thanks again Ciba. Good luck to all of you.
Frankus