APRIL 2018 AOS FILERS

[Tomalley 160]

On 2018/7/6 at 1:38 AM, Matiela said:

sorry but I honestly don't know, I don't think either one is "the best", I just check them both. I have the same situation as you (the 'ready to be scheduled' I got since may 22)...

 

sure my fellow PA immigrant (LOL), I'll share my experience!  (and that's great that you can check it less that daily, I maybe should just try doing that... don't know if I'll be able to!)

I think I shared about the knowledge (multiple choice) test at the DMV above in this thread, so about the road test: I found this couple links with info about my specific DMV, Penn Hills:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/comments/6jikvp/roaddriving_test_at_penn_hills/
• https://ivan-ruchkin.blogspot.com/2013/02/passing-drivers-test-in-north-hills.html

which means, if you google for the name of the couple centers closest to you you might find people telling about their experience there and even the exact route they take you during the exam!

anyway, the test itself is not hard, but they're strict with a few things. in my DMV, they took me for a tiny trip down the road the DMV is in (35 mph) and then a very short "loop" through a side road (residential - 25 mph), exit that and back to the DMV through the same road.

• I failed my 1st test (jun 14) bc I did a wide turn (instead of sharp) left when exiting a main road to a side one. there were no cars around and it was absolutely safe to do so, but they want you to stick to every little rule regardless of context so that's something to watch out for!
• I failed the 2nd because I skipped a stop sign (it was very easy to see but didn't even realize it was there!). the thing is that I had practiced the course a thousand times and this time they just made me enter the side road from last time's exit and leave from last time's entry point. I got super nervous that I hadn't practiced it that way and completely ignored the stop sign.
• the 3rd time I was already quite nervous from the previous two times so I made no fatal mistakes but was very hesitant all the time, making lots of jerky movements (accelerating and stopping very abruptly) so I lost a lot of points. also I think I hit 40 mph for 2 seconds when the limit was 35
• the 4th time was yesterday and I did everything perfectly! yay me I was also super nervous but after a good parallel parking the guy told me "you have 0 points so far so you're doing great, this is where you want to be to pass the test" and I calmed down a lot. 

additional notes I wrote down after each try:

• no wide turns ever
• parallel parking:
  • turn signals on again if they turn themselves off after turning the wheel (right from beggining to end of parking maneuvers, left when exiting the spot)
  • look behind shoulder when going back ALWAYS
  • look behind shoulder again when leaving spot
• remember how to defrost windows (asked at beginning)
• announce: "I'm going to move up a little" when needed so they don't get scared
• memorize where the car is parked! LOL
• ALWAYS wait until there are no cars or it's super obvious other cars are yielding to you. there is no rush.
• accelerate/deccelerate as smoothly as possible
• always keep the speed within 4 mph above and 4 mph below the speed limit (except when it's very obvious that you have to slow down because it's very curvy or full of potholes, they will probably forgive you for going even slower in that case. so if the limit is 35 never exceed 39 and never go below 31)

hope that helps. I'm just happy I don't need to take my passport everywhere now and can leave it safely at home. also being able to drive on my own is nice haha. good luck!

You already got your driver license? It is for one year? I got my temporary learners permit. They can’t even give me a real learners permit because they had to verify my documents....

[AmbMar18 52]

2 hours ago, Diorella said:

hello.. thank you for the reply. i was reading the california AB 60 bill for undocumented immigrants. can we use this instead? if we wait for the greencard or EAD. we have to wait a little longer to get DL.. how sad😞

Yes. This is what we did. We went to the DMV and they tried to turn us away since his 1-94 expired within 30 days. I pushed back a little and asked for a supervisor. Meanwhile I did a quick google search and came across the verbiage on the AB60. When the employee came back that was exactly her response, "ok my supervisor said we can submit under AB60" He took his written test and got his permit, good for up to one year. He has his behind the wheel test in a few weeks. 

[Diorella 31]

5 minutes ago, AmbMar18 said:

Yes. This is what we did. We went to the DMV and they tried to turn us away since his 1-94 expired within 30 days. I pushed back a little and asked for a supervisor. Meanwhile I did a quick google search and came across the verbiage on the AB60. When the employee came back that was exactly her response, "ok my supervisor said we can submit under AB60" He took his written test and got his permit, good for up to one year. He has his behind the wheel test in a few weeks. 

thank for the info.. i might try this one also. hope it will work for me too.

[AmbMar18 52]

38 minutes ago, Diorella said:

thank for the info.. i might try this one also. hope it will work for me too.

 

38 minutes ago, Diorella said:

thank for the info.. i might try this one also. hope it will work for me too.

Good luck! Never fun dealing with the CA DMV. Make sure to go here and go through the steps and print and bring with you the info right from the DMV website along with any evidence you checked off that you have.  https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/ab60_checklist

[Matiela 98]

2 hours ago, Tomalley said:

You already got your driver license? It is for one year? I got my temporary learners permit. They can’t even give me a real learners permit because they had to verify my documents....

yep, already got the license, good for one year. they took a couple weeks to give me the learner's permit initially because they needed to snail mail DHS asking if I was a good little immigrant or not, and then they gave me the permit (thankfully I could take the knowledge test before that, or I would have forgotten everything I crammed the day before). what was really surprising was that, for once, not being a citizen made me pay LESS, not more (like $10 less) for the permit. granted, if I had to keep renewing this every year in the end it would cost way more...

[Diorella 31]

46 minutes ago, AmbMar18 said:

 

Good luck! Never fun dealing with the CA DMV. Make sure to go here and go through the steps and print and bring with you the info right from the DMV website along with any evidence you checked off that you have.  https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/ab60_checklist

thanks.. this is a lot of help, my husband doesnt want to try this because he says i am here legally but i want to give it a try. i am so tired staying at home without him driving me around everytime i need to go somewhere.

[dgal29 43]

Does anyone here experienced case status from " Ready to be scheduled for an interview on may 31st" to "We reviewed your biometrics and are still processing your case"

I thought next update will be the schedule of the interview. Now I am confuse if that is a bad news or what

[Tomalley 160]

1 hour ago, Matiela said:

yep, already got the license, good for one year. they took a couple weeks to give me the learner's permit initially because they needed to snail mail DHS asking if I was a good little immigrant or not, and then they gave me the permit (thankfully I could take the knowledge test before that, or I would have forgotten everything I crammed the day before). what was really surprising was that, for once, not being a citizen made me pay LESS, not more (like $10 less) for the permit. granted, if I had to keep renewing this every year in the end it would cost way more...

Wow, I can’t believe you paid less. I paid 65$ for the learner ‘s permit and $6 more to take the driving test. 

 

And the staff suggested me to get my driver license after I get my green card so I don’t need to renew DL, which can save $65.  Very expensive!

[NancyLyz 58]

5 hours ago, Tomalley said:

Wow, I can’t believe you paid less. I paid 65$ for the learner ‘s permit and $6 more to take the driving test. 

 

And the staff suggested me to get my driver license after I get my green card so I don’t need to renew DL, which can save $65.  Very expensive!

i'm not even sure how long the driver's license will be valid considering a conditional green card will only be good for 2 years. 

[Tomalley 160]

6 minutes ago, NancyLyz said:

i'm not even sure how long the driver's license will be valid considering a conditional green card will only be good for 2 years. 

DMV here told me DL with a green card can be valid for 8 years.. I don’t know if they know about conditional GC.

[NancyLyz 58]

12 minutes ago, Tomalley said:

DMV here told me DL with a green card can be valid for 8 years.. I don’t know if they know about conditional GC.

Eh whatever the case is, I think it's always good to have a driver's license. It really depends.

[Tomalley 160]

2 minutes ago, NancyLyz said:

Eh whatever the case is, I think it's always good to have a driver's license. It really depends.

I have a learner’s permit but I can drive if someone is over 21 with a DL in my car. So , basically I can drive but I need somebody in my car..

[kirikiristar 8]

Sigh. Hearing about so many people "Ready to schedule interview" makes me depressed.

My screen is still stuck on the "biometrics complete".

I have also gotten to 2 job interviews at the last stage, where they decided to tell me that they need someone to "Start right away" and they cannot wait. 

 

Literally reading forums is all that keeps me sane...

[NancyLyz 58]

6 minutes ago, kirikiristar said:

Sigh. Hearing about so many people "Ready to schedule interview" makes me depressed.

My screen is still stuck on the "biometrics complete".

I have also gotten to 2 job interviews at the last stage, where they decided to tell me that they need someone to "Start right away" and they cannot wait. 

 

Literally reading forums is all that keeps me sane...

Why don't you try expediting your combo card? As long as you have your biometrics done, you should be able to submit a request via calls to the USCIS customer service.

[kirikiristar 8]

5 minutes ago, NancyLyz said:

Why don't you try expediting your combo card? As long as you have your biometrics done, you should be able to submit a request via calls to the USCIS customer service.

Is it possible to do so? Im at the 91 day mark, so Im still within "normal processing times". I dont have a job offer to prove "financial" loss (nor am I in the red)... do they normally ask for proof?

What other reason for expediting can I give?

Edited July 10, 2018 by kirikiristar