EMERGENCY - Don't Have A-Number - Scheduled to Fly Tomorrow!

[Jon York 156]

My fiancee received her visa yesterday and we purchased an airline ticket for her to fly here tomorrow. I was going to pay the $160 visa fee today online, but they asked for her Alien Registration Number - which we've never received from anyone. And it's not printed in her visa. The cover letter she received with the visa said it "might" be printed on the visa - but it's not. Also, I understand it comes with the NOA2 notice - but we never received that notice. USCIS said they mailed it but we never received it. They wanted $400 to send it again and we weren't about to pay $400 for a $0.50 letter!

So, does anyone know how we can get the A-number? Will anyone give it to us over the phone? I'm on hold with the NVC right now - but I'll probably get a response here faster.

Thanks!

[Maritah 77]

Im so sorry to hear that, I got my Alien Registration Number in my RFE letter.

And as far I know, for the AOS the NOA2 letter its a requirement for the process.

I hope you can find a better solution cause that payment for get a copy of the letter its really expensive

Good luck.

[Redlove76 28]

My then fiancee didnt have to pay that fee. I believe k-1's dont pay that fee.

[clairegie 265]

You would have more luck getting it from the embassy than NVC.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Any fees related to the visa would have been paid prior to the interview taking place. The next fee that has to be paid is to start the Adjustment of Status process. The fee you may be referencing is a green card production fee that is paid by immigrant visa holders. Since a K1 visa is not an immigrant visa, such a fee would not be paid by a K1 visa holder.

[Stressed Out 81]

Yeah I thought it was only an immigrant fee and the K-1 is a non-immigrant visa.

[nitsirk7562 82]

K1's are exempt from this fee.

See here:

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

You are, however, going to need your NOA2 for your AOS submission. Try calling them again? $400 is insane but maybe they can offer another solution?

[Ilovemyman 147]

You dont need to pay nothing now until her aos, i dont understand wich fee you are trying to pay.

All she needs is her plain ticket and flight.

[baron555 934]

My fiancee received her visa yesterday and we purchased an airline ticket for her to fly here tomorrow. I was going to pay the $160 visa fee today online, but they asked for her Alien Registration Number - which we've never received from anyone. And it's not printed in her visa. The cover letter she received with the visa said it "might" be printed on the visa - but it's not. Also, I understand it comes with the NOA2 notice - but we never received that notice. USCIS said they mailed it but we never received it. They wanted $400 to send it again and we weren't about to pay $400 for a $0.50 letter!

So, does anyone know how we can get the A-number? Will anyone give it to us over the phone? I'm on hold with the NVC right now - but I'll probably get a response here faster.

Thanks!

You NEED a copy of the NOA2.

[sexymackeral 14]

Any fees related to the visa would have been paid prior to the interview taking place. The next fee that has to be paid is to start the Adjustment of Status process. The fee you may be referencing is a green card production fee that is paid by immigrant visa holders. Since a K1 visa is not an immigrant visa, such a fee would not be paid by a K1 visa holder.

This.

Unless you have some weird exceptional situation where the Embassy allowed you to interview before paying for the K1 visa, you should not have to pay anything else until AOS. Happy travels and good luck!

Preachin' to the choir- $400 for a COPY of the NOA2 is beyond ridiculous. I don't even know how on earth they can justify that expense...I mean that's more than the original cost to file an I129f!!!

[Girl from Celebes 588]

My fiancee received her visa yesterday and we purchased an airline ticket for her to fly here tomorrow. I was going to pay the $160 visa fee today online, but they asked for her Alien Registration Number - which we've never received from anyone. And it's not printed in her visa. The cover letter she received with the visa said it "might" be printed on the visa - but it's not. Also, I understand it comes with the NOA2 notice - but we never received that notice. USCIS said they mailed it but we never received it. They wanted $400 to send it again and we weren't about to pay $400 for a $0.50 letter!

So, does anyone know how we can get the A-number? Will anyone give it to us over the phone? I'm on hold with the NVC right now - but I'll probably get a response here faster.

Thanks!

I believe K-1 visa holders don't have to pay a fee.

[ISLANDBOY 21]

there is a icon on the USCIS website that you can click to have another copy of the NO2 mailed to you it take about 1-2 weeks and its FREE

[zubi1087 1]

k-1 dont pay that fee

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

My fiancee received her visa yesterday and we purchased an airline ticket for her to fly here tomorrow. I was going to pay the $160 visa fee today online, but they asked for her Alien Registration Number - which we've never received from anyone. And it's not printed in her visa. The cover letter she received with the visa said it "might" be printed on the visa - but it's not. Also, I understand it comes with the NOA2 notice - but we never received that notice. USCIS said they mailed it but we never received it. They wanted $400 to send it again and we weren't about to pay $400 for a $0.50 letter!

So, does anyone know how we can get the A-number? Will anyone give it to us over the phone? I'm on hold with the NVC right now - but I'll probably get a response here faster.

Thanks!

As you now know, you do not have to pay the immigrant fee. You get to pay the hefty AOS fee later of $1070 instead.

You will need something for when you file for AOS, since a copy of the NOA2 is required. Did you receive a letter from the NVC when your case passed through there on the way to the consulate? Can you print out the online update from your I-129F approval notice. You need to send something that shows proof of the I-129F approval along with a statement that you never received the NOA2. Others have successfully been approved for AOS without the NOA2 copy. You can do a search here on VJ about it.

As for the A#, we had a rare situation where my husband's A# was not printed on our NOA2 and it was not printed on the visa itself either. He asked the CBP officer at his POE if he could please write down his A# for him because he had never received it on any of his documents. The officer kindly complied. That is how we first found out what his A# was. You should be able to call the USCIS and ask what your A# is. You may need to speak to a tier 2 IO for that though, and while you have an IO on the phone, let them know you never received the NOA2 to begin with and could it be re-sent without paying for a replacement since you never received one to replace in the first place.

[Jon York 156]

Phew! You guys are right! We don't have to pay it! And I guess that's the reason her alien registration number wasn't on her visa - because it's a non-immigrant visa. So apparently if the number's not on the visa, you don't have to pay it.

Here's the info from USCIS itself:

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

Exemptions:

The following groups do NOT have to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee:

• Children who enter the United States under the orphan or Hague adoption programs;
• Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants;
• Returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s); and K non-immigrants.

And for good measure, just in case you do have to pay but you don't... you can pay it later:

Failure to Pay:

USCIS will not send you a Green Card until we receive your $165 Immigrant Fee payment. If you fail to pay your fee, USCIS will send you a notice requesting payment.

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

So even if she had to pay but didn't, she could still come here and would just have to pay it later. But you're all right - we don't have to pay it.

They just make it so darn confusing though! They send her a letter saying you MUST PAY THIS BEFORE YOU DEPART! And they don't say anything in the letter about the K-visa exception. So then I called the NVC and they said, "we have no access to her A-Number, call USCIS." So I call USCIS and they say, "WHAT $165 fee? We don't know what you're talking about!? Is that a USCIS fee!?" I didn't know at the time but I said yes. And it is a USCIS fee. But the person I talked to never heard of it!

As far as the NOA2 - we will never pay $400 to get a copy of it!! NEVER! But it doesn't matter. There was a long thread here on VJ a while back about this and several people said they never needed it. When they got to the point in the process where they were asked for it they just told them they never got it and they weren't going to pay $400 to get it. The officers told them, don't worry about it, we have a copy here! Of course they do!

Edited November 25, 2014 by Jon York