I went to get my passport stamped yesterday (June 8, 2001) at San Jose INS office. I got there around 2am, there were
roughly 75 people ahead of me. Some of them came the previous day. Since it is already June, it only gets chilly after
3am, and lasts till 6:30am. If you are wearing T-shirt and shorts, consider to bring a jacket or a blanket with you. Those
light-weight folding chairs which can be found in Wal-Mart, cost only 8 dollars each, are excellent for people who
prepare to wait during the night.
At 7am, lines started to move, guards let 5 people to get in at one time. I got in the building around 7:55am, and my
token was the fifth issued for C category. Although the estimated waiting time on my token said was 1 hour and 12
minutes. However my number wasn\'t called until 9:50am.
The lady at the counter took my approval notice, I-94, EADs, and APs, and stapled them together. She keyed in my A
number to get the case status, and verified my address. On form I-89, she took my signature and index finger print twice.
She stamped my passport, and wrote down my A number, I-485 case number, approval date, and I-89 was processed
on June 8, 2001 and so on below the stamp on my passport. The whole process took over 10 minutes. I left the INS
building at 10am.
My two cents: since you have to wait at least 8 hours to get your passport stamped, why not come in early, say around
2am. In that case you probably won\'t have to come the 2nd time (if you don\'t get in), and if you get out early like I did,
you won\'t even miss work. Additionally, a summer night out isn\'t that bad I spent most of the night watching stars.
Good luck on the rest of people who are still waiting for their approvals, your time shall come soon. Have faith.
iris
roughly 75 people ahead of me. Some of them came the previous day. Since it is already June, it only gets chilly after
3am, and lasts till 6:30am. If you are wearing T-shirt and shorts, consider to bring a jacket or a blanket with you. Those
light-weight folding chairs which can be found in Wal-Mart, cost only 8 dollars each, are excellent for people who
prepare to wait during the night.
At 7am, lines started to move, guards let 5 people to get in at one time. I got in the building around 7:55am, and my
token was the fifth issued for C category. Although the estimated waiting time on my token said was 1 hour and 12
minutes. However my number wasn\'t called until 9:50am.
The lady at the counter took my approval notice, I-94, EADs, and APs, and stapled them together. She keyed in my A
number to get the case status, and verified my address. On form I-89, she took my signature and index finger print twice.
She stamped my passport, and wrote down my A number, I-485 case number, approval date, and I-89 was processed
on June 8, 2001 and so on below the stamp on my passport. The whole process took over 10 minutes. I left the INS
building at 10am.
My two cents: since you have to wait at least 8 hours to get your passport stamped, why not come in early, say around
2am. In that case you probably won\'t have to come the 2nd time (if you don\'t get in), and if you get out early like I did,
you won\'t even miss work. Additionally, a summer night out isn\'t that bad I spent most of the night watching stars.
Good luck on the rest of people who are still waiting for their approvals, your time shall come soon. Have faith.
iris