Errors booting Kali: "you need to load the kernel first"

Hi all,
I'm very new to Linux. I have used Ubuntu a little bit but I've never had an issue like this.
I followed instructions perfectly to create a bootable USB with Kali Linux. I downloaded the iso file and created the bootable USB. It will boot to the "kali linux live boot menu" but will not go past that.
When I select to boot, it gives two errors.
The first one says "error: premature end of file /live/vmlinuz-4.9.0-kali3-amd64"
The next says "error: you need to load the kernel first"

I have spent a lot of time researching these with no luck.

First thing I would do is verify the download against the hashes...to make sure your download is good. Assuming the download is ok, I'd try making another bootable USB, on another USB device, to rule out any hardware problems.

I have tried re-downloading and redoing it, but it always does the same thing

Well, if the hashes match, then you've got a good download. Any luck with using the same bootable USB on another machine, to rule out hardware problems?