Gundappa Vishwanath - ***stamped At Nwk***

G

Gundappa vishwanath

Registered Users (C)
Passport Stamping at Newark and other stories…
Friends, I finally reached another important milestone in my green card journey
  - My wife, my 4-year old son and I got our passports stamped at Newark today.
Sorry about this long mail. I hope you will find it interesting reading.
Green Card saga (Short version): Category
  EB2 RIR. Priority Date : July 1998. Labor cleared : Oct 1999 (More of this later).
  I 140 done: May 2000. I 485 applied: July 28, 2000. Finger Printing Done: Nov
  2000. RFE (for company letter) generated by INS: July 11, 2001. Responded: Aug
  2nd. Received by INS: Aug 8th . Approved: Aug 14th. Received courtesy copy:
  Aug 18th (with an appointment for a Wednesday at INS, Newark). Stamped: Aug
  22, 2001. Done.

Please see the attachment for the full story......
 
Congratulations.. I might have seen you today at the INS office

Hi I got my passport stamping done today at the INS office in Newark. My call number was 325. ( INS fuzzy MATH.. 399 followed by 300 and repeat). Any way the saga is over. I was at the office around 8:45 am and was done by 11:25.

Have a question for you....
Did you have to surrender your SS card for changes? Do you get a new one in the mail.

Thanx in advance. Good luck
 
No Title

Hello 485-P probably now should be called 485-all-done. No, my SS card is still with me. As a matter of fact of I have two old SS cards as well. Same number, different annotations. The latest one (hopefully) will have no caveats...

Good luck..

GRV
 
Important update to this enjoyable square cut.

I also got my passport stamped yesterday. Just wanted to make my addendum to this text

- Yes, 301 rolls to 399 and back. Difference is in the color band attached to the application (For DB dudes out there - that\'s the composite PK). Each application has a number and a color code, which makes the otherwise capricious application number bind to that time instance \'t\'. Color bands observed yesterday by me were - White, Red, Blue followed by Green. So, you could see people of all colors intermix in harmony and wait cordially to be stamped. Of course, everyone enjoyed the confusion that prevails when someone with application # 338 just walks in, looks at the display of 338, rushes to the counter thinking "wow!, I\'m one lucky dog..look at all of you ha ha", to be rudely rebuked by the wonderful uniformed personnel on the other side of the counter.

- If you can avoid taking your little kids to this torture chamber, please do. Imagine being holed in a room 60 X 200 with 150 other people and waiting for atleast 1-1.5 hours before you are called. Not that it\'s a nuisance for others, it\'s a torture for the kids themselves and an aggravation for parents. This is nothing but a DMV, but DMV has better rubber stamps - mind you.

- There is no credence to the waiting time announced by the respectable IIOs at the counter. It\'s a function of your looks, your anxiety quotient, mood of the IIO, your number and the crypto-seed embedded on the computer next to the IIO. It was 6 months for me, 3-4 months for illegal cuban immigration across in the next counter and 2-4 months for another soul right across me.

- The overall wait for anyone should be around 2 hours. If you get in around 6:30 a.m., you will the first ones to be called and should be out by 8:30. If you make it later, you will have to wait inside. Of course, it will be a different story if all folks arriving at the center decides to do it at the same time

At the end of it all, I bet you all will ride back home thinking "Wow! am I relieved, but was it worth all of the .."
 
Congrats GV

Your experience with INS and others (Air India, Your employer etc.) will provide lots of tips to other future GC people. Best of luck!!!

Can you tell me how to reach Broad Street office from newwark penn station by walking? Any important landmarks that you can remember for reaching the place? Thanks
 
Passport stamping for Children

Hi,
Congrats to all of you who got their passports stamped.

There is always a quesiton in many people\'s mind which is
do I have to take my children for passport stamping or not ?

Some people said yes some said no.

Here is the answer I found in these discussion boards.

1. You do not have to take the kids for passport stamping. You
   will get their card in mail directly from Service Centre.
   Please do not stop here. Please read next point.

2. But please remember, if you are planning to travel out of US
   then you need either stamp or card. So you decide what
   you want to do.

3. If it is me then I will definitely take them for stamping.
   This way we do not have to worry about the getting the cards
   ontime if we plan to travel out of US.
Thanks,
 
Walking guide to INS Newark

Hello Srinivas,

When you get out of the train at Newark, look for the exit sign to street and taxis. You will exit to the main gate and you will see a lot of taxis on your left. On your right is (I think Raymond Boulevard) perpendicular to the McCarter highway.

You could walk on Raymond for about 4-5 blocks, and turn left on Broad Street. The office is approximately 6-7 blocks on your left from the intersection of Raymond and Broad. Most people seem to know where is Broad Street and the Prudential buildings are.

The main landmark is the white multi-story Prudential building (which is on Broad Street). You have to walk a few blocks further down. In retrospect, may be a taxi is the simpler solution - should not cost you more than $5 I think . I had probably underestimated the distance when I looked at the map. Hope that helps.

Thanks

GRV
 
congratulations

hello grv,

good luck to you my friend. you are a free bird now. your detailed message will help a lot of people for the passport stamping experience.

btw i have sent you a private message.

enjoy.

regards
prakash
 
No Title

Prakash, Appreciate it old friend. Thanks to all your private messages, we kept our cool and we are through.

I am looking forward to a similar mail from you.

GRV
 
This may be contrarian thinking, but..

I am wondering what would have been the wait time if you arrive at say 11:45 (after all, the appointment is from 8 - 12). My guess is that it should have probably taken only hour extra.

I was beginning to see the movement of people coming to an end. When I re-entered at 10.45 with my son, there was just one couple ahead of me. The X-ray boys meanwhile were practising mock gun-fights...

GRV
 
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