diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnection.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnection.java
index 5c5d5bc84..4c97af217 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnection.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnection.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.Job;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.JobInfo;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.QueryJobConfiguration;
+import com.google.cloud.bigquery.QueryJobConfiguration.JobCreationMode;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.exception.BigQueryJdbcException;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.exception.BigQueryJdbcRuntimeException;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.exception.BigQueryJdbcSqlFeatureNotSupportedException;
@@ -159,10 +160,10 @@ public class BigQueryConnection extends BigQueryNoOpsConnection {
     this.authProperties =
         BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.parseOAuthProperties(url, this.connectionClassName);
     this.catalog =
-        BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.parseStringProperty(
+        BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.parseStringPropertyLazyDefault(
             url,
             BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.PROJECT_ID_PROPERTY_NAME,
-            BigQueryOptions.getDefaultProjectId(),
+            () -> BigQueryOptions.getDefaultProjectId(),
             this.connectionClassName);
     this.universeDomain =
         BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.parseStringProperty(
@@ -1064,7 +1065,7 @@ private BigQuery getBigQueryConnection() {
     }
 
     BigQueryOptions options = bigQueryOptions.setHeaderProvider(HEADER_PROVIDER).build();
-    options.setQueryPreviewEnabled(String.valueOf(this.useStatelessQueryMode));
+    options.setDefaultJobCreationMode(this.useStatelessQueryMode ? JobCreationMode.JOB_CREATION_OPTIONAL : JobCreationMode.JOB_CREATION_REQUIRED);
     return options.getService();
   }
 
diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionProperty.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionProperty.java
index 17be15d86..361627661 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionProperty.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionProperty.java
@@ -17,12 +17,14 @@
 package com.google.cloud.bigquery.jdbc;
 
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
 class BigQueryConnectionProperty {
 
   private final String name;
   private final String description;
   private final String defaultValue;
+  private final Supplier<String> defaultValueSupplier;
   private final List<String> validValues;
 
   public String getName() {
@@ -34,6 +36,9 @@ public String getDescription() {
   }
 
   public String getDefaultValue() {
+    if (defaultValueSupplier != null){
+      return defaultValueSupplier.get();
+    }
     return defaultValue;
   }
 
@@ -43,6 +48,7 @@ public List<String> getValidValues() {
 
   BigQueryConnectionProperty(Builder builder) {
     this.name = builder.name;
+    this.defaultValueSupplier = builder.defaultValueSupplier;
     this.defaultValue = builder.defaultValue;
     this.description = builder.description;
     this.validValues = builder.validValues;
@@ -79,6 +85,7 @@ static final class Builder {
     private String name;
     private String description;
     private String defaultValue;
+    private Supplier<String> defaultValueSupplier = null;
     private List<String> validValues;
 
     private Builder(BigQueryConnectionProperty bigQueryConnectionProperty) {
@@ -105,6 +112,11 @@ Builder setDefaultValue(String defaultValue) {
       return this;
     }
 
+    Builder setLazyDefaultValue(Supplier<String> defaultValueSupplier) {
+      this.defaultValueSupplier = defaultValueSupplier;
+      return this;
+    }
+
     Builder setValidValues(List<String> validValues) {
       this.validValues = validValues;
       return this;
diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.java
index dcf31a7ff..01f9b9f9a 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.java
@@ -331,11 +331,11 @@ private static boolean isFileExists(String filename) {
     }
   }
 
-  private static boolean isJson(String value) {
+  private static boolean isJson(byte[] value) {
     try {
       // This is done this way to ensure strict Json parsing
       // https://github.com/google/gson/issues/1208#issuecomment-2120764686
-      InputStream stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(value.getBytes());
+      InputStream stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(value);
       InputStreamReader reader = new InputStreamReader(stream);
       JsonReader jsonReader = new JsonReader(reader);
       jsonReader.setStrictness(Strictness.STRICT);
@@ -366,16 +366,18 @@ private static GoogleCredentials getGoogleServiceAccountCredentials(
       final String keyPath = pvtKeyPath != null ? pvtKeyPath : pvtKey;
       PrivateKey key = null;
       InputStream stream = null;
-
+      byte[] keyBytes = pvtKey != null ? pvtKey.getBytes() : null;
+      
       if (isFileExists(keyPath)) {
-        key = privateKeyFromP12File(keyPath, p12Password);
-        if (key == null) {
-          stream = Files.newInputStream(Paths.get(keyPath));
-        }
-      } else if (isJson(pvtKey)) {
-        stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(pvtKey.getBytes());
+        keyBytes = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(keyPath));
+      }
+
+      if (isJson(keyBytes)) {
+        stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(keyBytes);
       } else if (pvtKey != null) {
         key = privateKeyFromPkcs8(pvtKey);
+      } else {
+        key = privateKeyFromP12Bytes(keyBytes, p12Password);
       }
 
       if (stream != null) {
@@ -703,9 +705,9 @@ private static GoogleCredentials getServiceAccountImpersonatedCredentials(
         impersonationLifetimeInt);
   }
 
-  static PrivateKey privateKeyFromP12File(String privateKeyFile, String password) {
+  static PrivateKey privateKeyFromP12Bytes(byte[] privateKey, String password) {
     try {
-      InputStream stream = Files.newInputStream(Paths.get(privateKeyFile));
+      InputStream stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(privateKey);
       return SecurityUtils.loadPrivateKeyFromKeyStore(
           SecurityUtils.getPkcs12KeyStore(), stream, "notasecret", "privatekey", password);
     } catch (IOException | GeneralSecurityException e) {
diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.java
index 50d0d33bb..9c01fd948 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
 import java.util.Properties;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
@@ -340,7 +341,7 @@ final class BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility {
                   BigQueryConnectionProperty.newBuilder()
                       .setName(PROJECT_ID_PROPERTY_NAME)
                       .setDescription("A globally unique identifier for your project.")
-                      .setDefaultValue(BigQueryOptions.getDefaultProjectId())
+                      .setLazyDefaultValue(() -> BigQueryOptions.getDefaultProjectId())
                       .build(),
                   BigQueryConnectionProperty.newBuilder()
                       .setName(LOG_PATH_PROPERTY_NAME)
@@ -680,6 +681,16 @@ static String parseStringProperty(
     return defaultValue;
   }
 
+  static String parseStringPropertyLazyDefault(
+      String url, String propertyName, Supplier<String> defaultValueSupplier, String callerClassName) {
+    LOG.finest("++enter++\t" + callerClassName);
+    String parsedValue = BigQueryJdbcUrlUtility.parseUriProperty(url, propertyName);
+    if (parsedValue != null) {
+      return parsedValue;
+    }
+    return defaultValueSupplier.get();
+  }
+
   static List<String> parseStringListProperty(
       String url, String propertyName, String callerClassName) {
     LOG.finest("++enter++\t" + callerClassName);
diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionTest.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionTest.java
index 1cc0ad7bb..b14428790 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionTest.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryConnectionTest.java
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 import com.google.api.gax.grpc.InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider;
 import com.google.api.gax.rpc.HeaderProvider;
 import com.google.api.gax.rpc.TransportChannelProvider;
+import com.google.cloud.bigquery.BigQuery;
+import com.google.cloud.bigquery.QueryJobConfiguration.JobCreationMode;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.exception.BigQueryJdbcException;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.storage.v1.BigQueryReadClient;
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.storage.v1.BigQueryWriteClient;
@@ -381,4 +383,37 @@ public void testBigQueryReadClientKeepAliveSettings() throws SQLException, IOExc
       assertTrue(grpcProvider.getKeepAliveWithoutCalls());
     }
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBigQueryJobCreationMode_required() throws Exception {
+    String url =
+        "jdbc:bigquery://https://www.googleapis.com/bigquery/v2:443;"
+            + "OAuthType=3;JobCreationMode=1;";
+      try (BigQueryConnection connection = new BigQueryConnection(url)) {
+        BigQuery bq = connection.getBigQuery();
+        assertEquals(bq.getOptions().getDefaultJobCreationMode(), JobCreationMode.JOB_CREATION_REQUIRED);
+      }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBigQueryJobCreationMode_optional() throws Exception {
+    String url =
+        "jdbc:bigquery://https://www.googleapis.com/bigquery/v2:443;"
+            + "OAuthType=3;JobCreationMode=2;";
+      try (BigQueryConnection connection = new BigQueryConnection(url)) {
+        BigQuery bq = connection.getBigQuery();
+        assertEquals(bq.getOptions().getDefaultJobCreationMode(), JobCreationMode.JOB_CREATION_OPTIONAL);
+      }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBigQueryJobCreationMode_default() throws Exception {
+    String url =
+        "jdbc:bigquery://https://www.googleapis.com/bigquery/v2:443;"
+            + "OAuthType=3;";
+      try (BigQueryConnection connection = new BigQueryConnection(url)) {
+        BigQuery bq = connection.getBigQuery();
+        assertEquals(bq.getOptions().getDefaultJobCreationMode(), JobCreationMode.JOB_CREATION_OPTIONAL);
+      }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.java b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.java
index b7fc03162..5129a7496 100644
--- a/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.java
+++ b/google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigquery/jdbc/BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.net.URL;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Paths;
 import java.security.PrivateKey;
 import java.util.Collections;
@@ -472,12 +473,12 @@ public void testPrivateKeyFromPkcs8_wrong() {
   // keytool -genkey -alias privatekey -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -storepass notasecret \
   //   -keypass  notasecret -storetype pkcs12 -keystore ./fake.p12
   @Test
-  public void testPrivateKeyFromP12File() {
+  public void testPrivateKeyFromP12Bytes() {
     URL resource = BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.class.getResource("/fake.p12");
     try {
       PrivateKey pk =
-          BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.privateKeyFromP12File(
-              Paths.get(resource.toURI()).toAbsolutePath().toString(), "notasecret");
+          BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.privateKeyFromP12Bytes(
+              Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(resource.toURI())), "notasecret");
       assertNotNull(pk);
     } catch (Exception e) {
       assertTrue(false);
@@ -485,18 +486,12 @@ public void testPrivateKeyFromP12File() {
   }
 
   @Test
-  public void testPrivateKeyFromP12File_missing_file() {
-    PrivateKey pk = BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.privateKeyFromP12File("", "");
-    assertNull(pk);
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  public void testPrivateKeyFromP12File_wrong_password() {
+  public void testPrivateKeyFromP12Bytes_wrong_password() {
     URL resource = BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtilityTest.class.getResource("/fake.p12");
     try {
       PrivateKey pk =
-          BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.privateKeyFromP12File(
-              Paths.get(resource.toURI()).toAbsolutePath().toString(), "fake");
+          BigQueryJdbcOAuthUtility.privateKeyFromP12Bytes(
+              Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(resource.toURI())), "fake");
       assertNull(pk);
     } catch (Exception e) {
       assertTrue(false);