No Alien Number on I-551 stamp...is this a mistake??

[ddc599 0]

Hi everybody! After six months of being separated as newly weds, my husband and I were finally reunited this week when he entered with a Conditional Residency status (CR-1).

After we thought we were all free and clear of any more bureaucratic paper pushing for a while: We sat down tonight to file forms for financial aid (he's applying for school) and saw that he needs to enter his Alien number. After a lot of scouring his passport pages, backtracking and digging up old immigration documents, we discovered that he was supposed to have gotten this Alien number with a "red stamp" (is this the I-551 stamp?) when he came through immigration. However, all we can manage to find in his passport next to the visa is a stamp that says:

- "Department of Homeland Security US Customs and Border Protection" (around the border)

- "Admitted SFR"

- Jan 18 2010

- Class CR1

(please see attached image)

No nine digit number alien registration number what so ever. But in the information packet we received about immigration, it specifically says that the A# should be stamped in by the DHS immigration inspector.

Has a mistake been made?? Is this when the alien number is initially issued? Who do I go for questions to get this cleared up? We are very frustrated and confused. Financial aid applications need to be filed asap, and I am afraid of how long tracking down this number will be... Please help if you have any knowledge of this! Thank you~

[simps 2]

my wife has a cr1 as well and we are having some trouble as the a number is unreadable on her stamp. it should be underneath where the stamp is under the letters cr1. that's where it is on my wifes passport.

[simps 2]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=181547

this link shows where the a number should be