Wife had visa interview but was denied because we need a newer marriage certificate?

[Rsul96 2]

My wife's visa interview was today in Algiers. She did excellent in the interview and was told she was unable to be issued a visa under Section 221(g) and they took her passport and told her to submit a new marriage certificate.

 

I called the NVC and one of the representatives told me they took the passport because everything else looked fine but they just need those additional documents. 

 

However. The paper she has that said she was turned down because of an expired marriage certificate also had another box that said something along the lines of further consideration will be given when these documents are submitted. However the box that said that was not checked so I fear that no further consideration will be given. Is this accurate? The status of my case is "Administrative processing" or something like this. 

 

I'm also worried because the interviewing officer also told her I need to pay an immigrant fee as well before she can come here. However. I went to the website on the papers he gave her and it requires me to have an A number which is supposedly supposed to be given to her at the time of the interview. 

 

She never got anything that has an a number or anything like that. She only got a paper that has instructions on what to send in and how to send it and a sheet of instructions on paying the fee. 

 

Is the A number issues after the Visa is approved or was it supposed to be issued already? From what I understand in Algeria, they take your passport until they issue the Visa and then send it to you through aramex. My main question with this is whether or not she'll get her A number when she gets her passport back. I'm concerned we'll have difficulty paying this fee. 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Rsul96

[geowrian 22,335]

I can't speak to the marriage certificate part, other than if they request an updated one then I suggest providing a new one. I wasn't aware of expiration dates, but each country is different so I would assume the CO knows what is needed and requested it accordingly (until demonstrated otherwise).

 

The immigrant fee is paid after approval, and can be either before entry or after entry. I have no clue why it is being requested before approval...that doesn't make sense to me.

 

As for A-Number: https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/immigrant-fee-payment-tips-finding-your-number-and-dos-case-id

[Rsul96 2]

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I can't speak to the marriage certificate part, other than if they request an updated one then I suggest providing a new one. I wasn't aware of expiration dates, but each country is different so I would assume the CO knows what is needed and requested it accordingly (until demonstrated otherwise).

 

The immigrant fee is paid after approval, and can be either before entry or after entry. I have no clue why it is being requested before approval...that doesn't make sense to me.

 

As for A-Number: https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/immigrant-fee-payment-tips-finding-your-number-and-dos-case-id

Okay that link for the a number helped out. We never got that handout and I suspect that's probably because she isn't technically approved yet. 

 

The fee isn't expected before approval in our case he just said before entry into the US. 

 

We're just gonna follow the instructions on the form he gave us and send in a new one. We have a valid Algerian document showing our marriage but he didn't even care about that. He just carried about the marriage certificate. He said it needs to be unexpired (civil documents only last 3 months in Algeria bfore they must be reobtained). I wish the prep paperwork would have told us specifically that we needed a new one.

 

 

[geowrian 22,335]

9 minutes ago, Rsul96 said:

Okay that link for the a number helped out. We never got that handout and I suspect that's probably because she isn't technically approved yet. 

Correct

9 minutes ago, Rsul96 said:

The fee isn't expected before approval in our case he just said before entry into the US. 

Ah, okay. Then that makes sense. It's best to pay for it before POE so you'll get the physical green card sooner. However, it's not actually required to do so....one is permitted to pay the fee after entry. The immigrant visa, once endorsed at POE, acts as a green card for 1 year.

 

9 minutes ago, Rsul96 said:

We're just gonna follow the instructions on the form he gave us and send in a new one. We have a valid Algerian document showing our marriage but he didn't even care about that. He just carried about the marriage certificate. He said it needs to be unexpired (civil documents only last 3 months in Algeria bfore they must be reobtained). I wish the prep paperwork would have told us specifically that we needed a new one.

Makes sense. Yeah, just send that and it sounds like you're in good shape. Good luck!

[pushbrk 12,113]

It is best to pay the fee before entry but not a requirement.  You cannot pay the fee before the visa is in hand.  Payment of the fee AND US entry are the two events that must occur in order for the green card to be issued.