Where do I find my “A” (Alien) Registration Number?
One of the most confusion pieces of the K1 visa process is finding your Alien Number, otherwise known as an “A” number. The issue, of course, is that the vast majority of K1 visa applications will not have (or need) such a registration number, at least at the time they complete the I-129F. This is because most K1 applicants have never been profiled by the U.S. Department Of Homeland Security before they apply for a fiance visa. Even if you have a Social Security Number or have previously visited the US, chances are you don’t have any such number, especially if your previous American visas were non-immigrant visas (such as being a tourist). As defined on the USCIS glossary website:
Alien Registration Number (“A” Number) or Alien Number
A unique seven-, eight- or nine-digit number assigned to a noncitizen at the time his or her A-file is created. The 9-digit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services number listed on the front of Permanent Resident Cards (Form I-551) issued after May 10, 2010, is the same as the Alien Registration Number. The A-number can also be found on the back of these Permanent Resident Cards.
In other words, the “A” Number is usually only issued to people that are physically in the US who’ve been processed through Homeland Security already and who possess an A-file in their database, such as those who’ve applied for a Green Card or who are in the middle of a deportation process.
However, K1 visa applicants do also receive an A Number, at least eventually. In recent years, the first stage at which it appears is on the NOA2, which is the confirmation receipt that your K1 application has been approved (before it gets sent to the NVC, and the local U.S. Embassy).
Alien numbers can appear in various formats, such as:
- USCIS# XXX-XXX-XXX
- A-XXX-XXX-XXX
- Registration Number: XXX-XXX-XXX
- 0000000 (etc) XXXXXXXXX
Besides the NOA2, there typically are not very many other places you would find your ARN, until you begin receiving further confirmation receipts during the AOS (Green Card) process.
In some cases, however, your “A” number is written by hand onto the visa sticker in your passport, usually by immigration agents in US airports that process you into the country, and other times by US Embassy staff directly. That being said, it is important to note this is not “required” as far as your paperwork goes, and is done solely for the convenience of internal workflow processes of U.S. Embassies and other offices involved with Homeland Security and USCIS (i.e., it’s not done “for you” but “for them”).
In other cases, although rare, some people have discovered such A numbers handwritten onto their visa sticker do not match the number previously printed onto their NOA2. There is also another common confusion regarding “red” colored numbers printed on the visa sticker, which are in fact not your Alien number, but usually the visa number itself (or something else entirely).
In conclusion, most K1 applicants these days should receive their Alien number on the NOA2 notice. However, we recommend most clients to simply skip filling in their ARN on all forms, because it is truly not necessary and usually causes more confusion than it’s worth. Both your K1 visa and your Green Card will still be processed fine without filling out the A number field, because the U.S. government uses multiple identity verification methods to ensure they are working on the correct USCIS case.
Tags: A Number, A-file, Alien Registration Number, ARN, Identification
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