Unconventional marriage

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kkj44

Registered Users (C)
I'm engaged to be married in a couple of months. She's a US citizen, I'm on H1B and plan to apply for a green card as soon as we are married. The unconventional aspect of our marriage is age difference: I'm in my early 30s, she's in her late 40s.

Someone recently mentioned to me that we may have a hard time convincing the USCIS that the marriage is legitimate, based on the age difference. I hadn't worried about it till now, thinking that since I have the truth on my side, they will understand. Am I being naive? Is there a big chance they won't see beyond this superficial red flag, and if so, are there any specific things I need to be careful about?
 
in this case, you could get married, stay married for a year or two (as much as your H1b will allow) and then apply for a GC. This way you will have more evidence that the marriage is bona fide, and more proof of joint life.
 
I'm hoping that this will not cause an issue for me either. I am 14 years older than my USC wife (mid 40's versus 30ish).

I have not filed yet, but expect to have it ready to be filed by mid October. And I'm hoping that the following details will help my case. We will have been married for 18 months at the time of filling, I am in the process of adopting my (step)son, and we are also working on getting licensed as foster parents. We would have had both the adoption and foster parenting thing done already had we not recently moved and changed states and counties (Have to be in a county for 6 months before filing the adoption). But, I figure that if I'm willing to become legally responsible for my (step)son and we are going to be foster parents, then it should help confirm that we have a bona fide marriage.

The key is to show as much as possible that this is a real marriage and the two of you are committed to each other and you have inter-mixed many aspects of your life (personal, financial, social, ...)
 
I think if they cause an issue over age then that's total ignorance and I would really hope it's not an issue for you. My mother is older than my father by 10 years. It's not abnormal to marry someone older than you.
 
while it is not abnormal in regular circumstances, you still have to prove that your marriage is bona fide and you are guilty until you prove that you are innocent when dealing with immigration.
 
kkj44 said:
I'm engaged to be married in a couple of months. She's a US citizen, I'm on H1B and plan to apply for a green card as soon as we are married. The unconventional aspect of our marriage is age difference: I'm in my early 30s, she's in her late 40s.

Someone recently mentioned to me that we may have a hard time convincing the USCIS that the marriage is legitimate, based on the age difference. I hadn't worried about it till now, thinking that since I have the truth on my side, they will understand. Am I being naive? Is there a big chance they won't see beyond this superficial red flag, and if so, are there any specific things I need to be careful about?
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I think you are needlessly worried. Provide good evidence of your relationship and you will almost certainly be approved eventually. Even if you have to jump through a few more hoops (maybe), they will NOT deny you merely because of an age difference.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess my concern is that they have a "reject if there is doubt" mentality than a "keep digging until they're satisfied" mentality, and it seems that fear is largely unfounded.

I'm not sure if I want to delay filing though. It's not 100% certain my current H1B will be renewed next summer (it's contingent on my project receiving funding), and I'd hate to be away from my wife for an extended period of time.
 
KKJ44,
To be honest, each AOS officer probably has a unique way to satisfy himself/herself when adjudicating any married couple during the interview. It is normal to be a little nervous, probably most couples are. I was a little nervous during our interview. Now my wife and I are 17 months apart, same ethnic/religious group, same mother tongue, both have parents who were born in the same state in India, etc.
This is how our interview went:-

Officer to me: First marriage?
Me: Yes
Officer to her: First marriage?
She: Yes
Officer to me: Any kids?
Me: No (with a smile)
Officer to her: Any kids?
She: No
Officer to me: Ok, I cannot approve you today since your A-file hasn't arrived, but once it does I will. Thank you.

That was it. 91 days letter I got a letter informing me that my AOS was approved. Good luck!!!
 
Triple Citizen said:
KKJ44,
To be honest, each AOS officer probably has a unique way to satisfy himself/herself when adjudicating any married couple during the interview. It is normal to be a little nervous, probably most couples are. I was a little nervous during our interview. Now my wife and I are 17 months apart, same ethnic/religious group, same mother tongue, both have parents who were born in the same state in India, etc.
This is how our interview went:-

Officer to me: First marriage?
Me: Yes
Officer to her: First marriage?
She: Yes
Officer to me: Any kids?
Me: No (with a smile)
Officer to her: Any kids?
She: No
Officer to me: Ok, I cannot approve you today since your A-file hasn't arrived, but once it does I will. Thank you.

That was it. 91 days letter I got a letter informing me that my AOS was approved. Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Well that has got to be one of the shortest interviews ever... so he didn't even ask if you planned to overthrow the US government? ;)
 
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