AOS Age Difference

[janessnroland 0]

This is precisely what our lawyer said. He's seen cases where AOS was severely delayed, and in one case, his one client was denied AOS because in part, of the age difference. Also, they did not do well on their second interview.

He also mentioned, that dependent on what country the beneficiary is from, USCIS weighs this also when adjudicating. Particularly, according to him, from subsaharan Africa. As long as the marriage is bona fide, there shouldn't be a worry.

I'd only clarify this statement in red to say as long as you can prove it, there shouldn't be a problem. There are couples with legitimate relationships who have been denied or faced a difficult interview because they were not prepared with evidence to overcome the red flags.

The burden of proof is on the beneficiary to demonstrate the marriage is bona fide. Can;t stress the importance of being sure the evidence addresses the uniqueness of each situation.

In the abstract, it's actually the USCIS that has the burden to prove whether or not a marriage was entered for an immigration benefit. As for couples being denied because of lack of preparation, I haven't found one instance BIA decisions, nor the IJ docket, nor the administrative decisions on USCIS.

In this case I think "because of" means "as a result of". People who are not prepared to show evidence sufficient to convince the Conoff their relationship is bona fide will be denied as a result of not being sufficiently prepared. The reason given will be that the Conoff has concluded the marriage was entered into for immigration benefit rather than bona fide relationship. The conclusion, right or wrong will have been reached because of lack of preparation. In some cases, the Conoff is right to conclude this, so it's quite possible no amount of preparation would have been sufficient.

Interchange Conoff with USCIS adjudicator for Adjustment of Status but the principle applies equally to both.

It's my understanding, that being denied at the AOS interview is extremely rare. Usually, if they are suspicious, they allow the beneficiary and sponsor to gather more evidence to satisfy the AO in the form of an RFE. According to my lawyer who was a USCIS adjudicator, usually with cases such as this with large age differences (many of which he's adjudicated as an AO, and represented as an immigration lawyer), they conduct a Stokes on both of them. It used to be, that they would wait a few days to do it, but according to him, many couples that face deeper scrutiny are given the Stokes the same day. This apparently is a new development. In any event, I understand what you're saying at the outset of your response.

I am 46, US, she is 24. Manila. Are we going to have a problem and at what level?

Should i be concerned or just get prepared?

Thanks

[ELW 5]

I am 46, US, she is 24. Manila. Are we going to have a problem and at what level?

Should i be concerned or just get prepared?

There is really no way to predict who will have problems. They are more aware of the "red flags" at the Consulate level, however. Some well known red flags are the couple knowing each other a relatively short time, the USC women being more than 10 years older than the foreign man (questions about older men and younger women are far less), divorce in the recent past, etc. Most people have no trouble but those that do, often have one or more of the stereotyped red flags.

Just be well prepared with lots of proof of your ongoing relationship, don't worry!