San Jose, CA AoS filers

[Silmaril 8]

Hello,

 

We're a couple from Santa Cruz assigned to San Jose, CA. We're filing for AoS.

We thought it work be useful to start a thread for local filers to share their experiences--biometrics, interviews and everything else!

 

We've heard this is one of the slowest locations, and cases from SF are also being assigned here so it may slow down further.

We wonder if applicants from the South Bay have been assigned to Fresno or Sacramento?

 

We recently had a biometrics appt. at the SJ ASC (took nearly two hours in total, though the fingerprinting proper was quick), but still no "fingerprint review completed" status update.

Would love to hear other folks' experiences.

 

Best of luck to all!

Edited November 4, 2019 by Silmaril
Typo

[AJCM 17]

Welcome @Silmaril to the AOS club and hope you're ready for a long wait. While VJ has some helpful datapoints on the estimate wait, you might find it helpful to scour through the forums here as well as others (alternate sites that shall not be named according to VJ polices) for some timelines from other SJC filers. I was able to gather about 26 datapoints from AOS filers registered to the SF office and found that:

2nd half of 2017 through year end 2017 filers: average wait time from priority date to notice for interview: 516 days
2018 filers: 449 days (numbers for SF are being dragged down due to redirects to Sac and SJC offices)

 

It took an hour or two of digging around different forums/posts, but you can probably get a similar idea while learning a lot about the process re: San Jose office. The wait has been tough for us, but knowing there's a community of folks online who are all in the same boat has been really helpful. Good luck!

Edited December 6, 2019 by AJCM

[Silmaril 8]

Thanks @AJCM

Our attorney mentioned a 14-15 month wait time for SJC filers, which agrees with your analysis. 

 

I've found reading through people's interview experiences at SJ (and SF, Sac etc.) here:

https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=&cty=San+Jose+CA&dfilter=5

 

useful. SF/SJ applicants can apparently be interviewed at Sacramento and Fresno as well. 

 

It's disappointing that the Bay area is so slow/understaffed relative to demand. At least a few San Diego & San Bernadino filers from August seem to have received interview notices already.

Too bad there seems to be no option to volunteer for interviews outside the area. 

Almost tempted to move temporarily just to get this over with, but that will probably cause more problems than it would solve. 

[AJCM 17]

The additional vetting associated with employment-sponsored GC applications has been punishing for the Bay Area. We're at the intersection of being one of the most diverse regions in the country, as well as some of the most heavily employer-sponsored populations, as well. Pair that with some mission reprioritization by the current administration + the demoralization of government employees, and voila. If it helps, know that SJ has rarely been as backlogged as SF in the past.

 

Btw (for anyone else reading too) I ended up posting my itemized findings for SF here: 

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by AJCM

[dittoditto 21]

We're assigned to the San Jose office. We applied in March. Combo card in August. And just got notification that the interview has been scheduled. Haven't gotten the letter yet with the date but we're expecting the interview to take place 6 weeks from now.  Unexpectedly faster! We were expecting 2 years

[Silmaril 8]

Thanks for commenting, and congratulations! Do you know if your interview will be at SJ or perhaps Sacramento or Fresno, which I understand is now a possibility?

Are you a military family? One other commenter received a quick interview since they were on the verge of deployment. 

Best of luck and please let us know how it goes!

[dittoditto 21]

14 minutes ago, Silmaril said:

Thanks for commenting, and congratulations! Do you know if your interview will be at SJ or perhaps Sacramento or Fresno, which I understand is now a possibility?

Are you a military family? One other commenter received a quick interview since they were on the verge of deployment. 

Best of luck and please let us know how it goes!

As far as I know, it'll be in SJ. Once we get the letter (i think in 5 days). No, we're not military. Spouse is on a student visa. We're a same-sex couple, for what it's worth

[Jpgs 14]

Hi guys! First post here.

 

Today I received update that my case was scheduled for interview on January 6th.

 

• I applied on August 2nd, 2019

• Biometrics on August 28th 2019

 

• EAD received on December 19th 2019

 

• Interview ready to be Scheduled on December 20th 2019

 

• Interview scheduled on January 6th 2020

[Silmaril 8]

48 minutes ago, Jpgs said:

Hi guys! First post here.

 

Today I received update that my case was scheduled for interview on January 6th.

 

• I applied on August 2nd, 2019

• Biometrics on August 28th 2019

 

• EAD received on December 19th 2019

 

• Interview ready to be Scheduled on December 20th 2019

 

• Interview scheduled on January 6th 2020

Congratulations, and best of luck with the interview!

 

It's very interesting to note that both rhe earlier poster who filed in March and yourself have January interviews.

Mysterious are the ways of USCIS, hopefully a sign that processing is becoming more efficient.

[Jpgs 14]

Just now, Silmaril said:

Congratulations, and best of luck with the interview!

 

It's very interesting to note that both rhe earlier poster who filed in March and yourself have January interviews.

Mysterious are the ways of USCIS, hopefully a sign that processing is becoming more efficient.

Yeah! I was just joking with my family that maybe they want me to be part of a mandatory draft! Haha

[Silmaril 8]

USCIS timelines are even more enigmatic than I thought, and in a good way.

Just read that two *San Francisco* AoS filers from September 2019, @May531 and @Save85, have had interviews scheduled!

That's awesome...from all that I've read, even with the move to offload cases to Sacramento, SJ and Fresno, SF was even slower than San Jose.

I wonder how USCIS has managed to optimise the process.

 

Hopefully those two folks and others here have fast and stress-free interviews. We would very much appreciate updates!

@Jpgs have you received an interview date by any chance? Will it be in San Jose?

Best of luck to all! We filed in late September (NOA early October) and can't wait to complete this process too!

[Jpgs 14]

On 1/10/2020 at 9:45 PM, Silmaril said:

USCIS timelines are even more enigmatic than I thought, and in a good way.

Just read that two *San Francisco* AoS filers from September 2019, @May531 and @Save85, have had interviews scheduled!

That's awesome...from all that I've read, even with the move to offload cases to Sacramento, SJ and Fresno, SF was even slower than San Jose.

I wonder how USCIS has managed to optimise the process.

 

Hopefully those two folks and others here have fast and stress-free interviews. We would very much appreciate updates!

@Jpgs have you received an interview date by any chance? Will it be in San Jose?

Best of luck to all! We filed in late September (NOA early October) and can't wait to complete this process too!

Hi! Yes, I received it yesterday  it will be in San Jose on February 10th!!

[beachlover 9]

On 1/12/2020 at 8:16 AM, Jpgs said:

Hi! Yes, I received it yesterday  it will be in San Jose on February 10th!!

Good luck on your interview!  My F-1 family based AOS interview was last Friday, Jan 17th in the San Jose office.  Typically, I would've been assigned to San Francisco but because they are easing the backlog, they are sending cases to other CIS offices.  The SJ office is nice, clean and looks like it was recently remodeled. Parking was not difficult at all.  Lots of spaces to park!  The moment you enter the front door, even the security guards are very helpful and friendly.  They probably know that most folks that are there are experiencing some nerves so they do their best to lighten the mood.  The CIS officer that interviewed me was very friendly but very thorough.  They typically do not indicate the status of your case at the end of your interview but because my lawyer did an excellent job putting my application together, she said, "Wow, your application is complete and very well put together. I wish all cases were like this. All supporting documents are in order.  I am submitting your case for approval today."  My jaw dropped to the floor because this is not typical.  They don't really give approval on the spot.  By the time I got home, my case update said "New Card Is Being Produced".  I am extremely grateful and I am now only 5 years away from applying for US citizenship.  

 

Helpful Tip: As soon as you clear security, you need to get a number from the Line 1 desk before sitting in the waiting room. Do not be late.  Check in 30 minutes before your appointment.  The desk clerk said that if anyone checks in 5 minutes before their appointment, they cannot accept them.  (Yikes!)  Keep us posted on your interview experience and case!

Edited January 22, 2020 by beachlover

[Jpgs 14]

14 minutes ago, beachlover said:

Good luck on your interview!  My F-1 family based AOS interview was last Friday, Jan 17th in the San Jose office.  Typically, I would've been assigned to San Francisco but because they are easing the backlog, they are sending cases to other CIS offices.  The SJ office is nice, clean and looks like it was recently remodeled. Parking was not difficult at all.  Lots of spaces to park!  The moment you enter the front door, even the security guards are very helpful and friendly.  They probably know that most folks that are there are experiencing some nerves so they do their best to lighten the mood.  The CIS officer that interviewed me was very friendly but very thorough.  They typically do not indicate the status of your case at the end of your interview but because my lawyer did an excellent job putting my application together, she said, "Wow, your application is complete and very well put together. I wish all cases were like this. All supporting documents are in order.  I am submitting your case for approval today."  My jaw dropped to the floor because this is not typical.  They don't really give approval on the spot.  By the time I got home, my case update said "New Card Is Being Produced".  I am extremely grateful and I am now only 5 years away from applying for US citizenship.  

 

Helpful Tip: As soon as you clear security, you need to get a number from the Line 1 desk before sitting in the waiting room. Do not be late.  Check in 30 minutes before your appointment.  The desk clerk said that if anyone checks in 5 minutes before their appointment, they cannot accept them.  (Yikes!)  Keep us posted on your interview experience and case!

Thank you!  that is very good information!
 

I’m glad you had a good experience and that you got approved on the spot!  

[dittoditto 21]

3 hours ago, beachlover said:

Parking was not difficult at all.  Lots of spaces to park!  

Congrats on your approval. We were there last week and my husband got approval when we got home too. The tracking number says the card will be delivered tomorrow :-)

 

The day before our interview, our lawyer warned us about parking because the lot was full and people had to park on the side streets.  This freaked us out so we got there much earlier, but hung around in the parking lot.  For us, parking wasn't bad. But people's experiences may vary!