San Jose, CA AoS filers

[Silmaril 8]

We just received our “Interview has been scheduled” online update, hopefully we’ll get the notice in the next week or so. Far sooner than we expected!

 

Still no update on the EAD/AP though I see posters here with later NOA dates being approved for the EAD. Very mysterious are the ways of USCIS!

[beachlover 9]

On 1/21/2020 at 11:46 PM, dittoditto said:

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!

Thank you, and congrats to your husband's approval as well!  In regards to parking, I guess luck was just on my side that day.  An RV could've parked there too without problems that day. Haha!

 

I know what the journey is like and I sincerely wish everyone on this thread the best and hope they receive their approvals soon.  The waiting is always the worst part.  I received my Green Card yesterday and I was over the moon!  I have 5 years to chill until the N-400 application.  

[beachlover 9]

On 1/23/2020 at 9:58 PM, Silmaril said:

We just received our “Interview has been scheduled” online update, hopefully we’ll get the notice in the next week or so. Far sooner than we expected!

 

Still no update on the EAD/AP though I see posters here with later NOA dates being approved for the EAD. Very mysterious are the ways of USCIS!

Congrats on your scheduled interview!  You should receive a Notice of Action within a week from that update.

 

I applied for an extension of my EAD/AP because the processing time for San Francisco is quite long.  The interview/approval/GC arrived before the EAD/AP had any movement past the notice that they were going to use my previous biometrics. The CIS officer said during my interview that since she is approving my AOS, the EAD/AP won't arrive anymore.  No complaints here.

[Mike E 11,723]

We filed in March 2019 and were interviewed in January 2020, about when our lawyer originally predicted.  
 

In some ways not surprised an August filing could and did get a January interview. The process is still mostly paper work driven. So if each case worker gets a pile of cases to work on each time, then some piles will get emptied before others.  

[Mike E 11,723]

On 12/10/2019 at 10:39 AM, 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?

Our lawyer says residents of Gilroy are now serviced in Fresno.  

[Mike E 11,723]

On 1/21/2020 at 11:46 PM, dittoditto said:

 

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!

Interesting. San Jose field office is a massive parking lot.  In 5 trips there since 2017 I’ve never had any trouble finding parking. And I’ve been there at 6:30 am, mid morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon.  Will make a note to get there earlier for ROC in two years.  

[Silmaril 8]

Thanks for sharing your insights, San Jose locals!

 

Any recommendations for quick and reliable (as in accurate paperwork) civil surgeons in the vicinity? 
Thanks!

[Jpgs 14]

Just went to my interview today.

 

The officer wasn’t the nicest person in the world, but he wasn’t rude. He seemed to care about my J1 visa and my trips to the US than anything else.

 

He said my case will be held for review as he wants to confirm some things regarding the application.

We left feeling pretty confident and hope for a positive response soon.

 

Will update you guys once I hear anything else.

 

Good Luck! 

[Silmaril 8]

5 minutes ago, Jpgs said:

Just went to my interview today.

 

The officer wasn’t the nicest person in the world, but he wasn’t rude. He seemed to care about my J1 visa and my trips to the US than anything else.

 

He said my case will be held for review as he wants to confirm some things regarding the application.

We left feeling pretty confident and hope for a positive response soon.

 

Will update you guys once I hear anything else.

 

Good Luck! 

Thanks for the update and here’s hoping your wait isn’t too long.
 

I’d guess the J-1 questions were related to the home residency requirement for that visa?

 

I wonder if you had the “grumpy” San Jose IO that some other posters have mentioned. Regardless, I’m sure all of us genuine couples will prevail in the end!

 

[Jpgs 14]

8 minutes ago, Silmaril said:

Thanks for the update and here’s hoping your wait isn’t too long.
 

I’d guess the J-1 questions were related to the home residency requirement for that visa?

 

I wonder if you had the “grumpy” San Jose IO that some other posters have mentioned. Regardless, I’m sure all of us genuine couples will prevail in the end!

 

Thank you!

 

Yes. He didn’t seem do know a lot about the topic. I have my home residency waiver and everything, so hopefully there are no issues 🤞🏼 
 

He felt more serious than grumpy. Nice guy in general, he just didn’t smile once haha but I think thats how he is.

[lisa_with_visa 10]

Hi,

 

we filed in August and have our Interview next week Friday. It is a marriage based AOS. Can someone share if you had similar experiences and what questions were asked? My EAD arrived today (1 week before GC) kind of useless. Hoped to have it earlier but better late than nothing. 

[Silmaril 8]

Best of luck with the interview, we're a couple of weeks away from ours.

 

Hopefully others will chime in, but have you looked through the reviews here?

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

[Silmaril 8]

On 2/14/2020 at 8:18 PM, Silmaril said:

Best of luck with the interview, we're a couple of weeks away from ours.

 

Hopefully others will chime in, but have you looked through the reviews here?

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

Lisa, you may find the interview experiences described on this thread below useful. Let us know how it goes and good luck!

 

 

 

[lisa_with_visa 10]

Hi,

 

we had our interview and the experience was very good. We arrived 30min earlier and went through the security pretty fast. The security was very nice. I read other opinions about the security staff but they were very nice and kind. I had similar experience doing the bio. 

The interview was straightforward. Oath and then questions out of the I-485 like everybody else. The officer was really nice and it was actually a good conversation. We got approved 1 hour after the interview and are now waiting for the card to arrive. 

 

I wish you all the best experience and luck for your interview.   

[Silmaril 8]

We too had a decent experience at the SJ office. We had sent a lot of evidence with our original packet, including joint bank account and credit card statements, 401k beneficiary statements, joint health insurance, photographs dating back several years etc. The officer examined passports, birth certificates, social security cards, took the I-693 and our photos, and asked us the 485 questions thoroughly. We were then told we'd probably be approved soon, and the approval was posted online a couple of hours later. Hopefully the GC arrives safely in a few weeks.

 

Thanks to everyone who posted their experiences here. I hope this thread continues and helps other Bay Area filers.