Hi,

Getting ready to file tomorrow @ VSC - so hopefully this will be the last question from me for a while!!

I think I have everything ready, just need to do a cover letter and attach a check.

In the cover letter I wanted to know what y'all think about mentioning our large age difference between hubby and I. I saw in the Adjucator's manual on the USCIS website, it seemed like an automatic 'fraud' level would be set to highest with a large age difference.

So should I speak to this? I don't have a whole lot of evidence that supports our common interests/hobbies (we like DooWop music, but the 2 concerts we've been to in the last year don't have our names on the tickets, we both like shooting the breeze on politics, news junkies etc).

One of our affidavits mentions it briefly and that's its not an issue and honestly people don't seem to notice (hubby looks younger) and frankly I'm the more 'mature' one in the relationship ha ha He still has the mind of a teenager

I am including photos of us both, which I think take the 'sting' out of it. But we don't have any children (mainly because of it), 'cept the fur-kids

Things I am including in the packet:

- Joint home purchase after we were married
- Joint utilities, bank account, credit cards
- Joint tax returns
- Joint travel
- Joint Cards & Correspondence from friends
- Joint life, auto and home insurance, wills
- 3 Affidavits from friends

and some misc. other stuff ( he was arrested for a DWI (1st offense) after a night out with the guys, I had to get bail for him, (there's nothing like getting a call from the police department at 3am to tell you that your husband is in jail, I had already gone to bed since it was a work night and talked to him and he was on his way home when he got picked up) so I'm his Indemnitor until the case is over, and we've hired 2 attorneys to fight it (paid from joint account)). I'm not sure whether to include this, since its a) highly embarrassing b ) doesn't reflect well on his character.

Why do you wish to call attention to this situation?

Well I don't. But the USCIS Adjucator's Manual says:

Reasons for Assigning Fraud Level A. Fraud level A should be assigned when the adjudicator strongly suspects fraud. Reasons fraud level A might be assigned include:


- the petitioner fails to sign the form;
- there is insufficient evidence;
- a large age difference exists between the spouses;
- the married couple is not living together;
- a prior I-751 was denied;
- the petition was filed untimely without a good reason for being late; or
- any other reasons as the service center director may determine.


Obviously we don't have any other of the other issues on this list, but I'm asking because of our age difference...

Define large age difference?

I would not call attention to this... I would only deal with it if the AO made an issue....

Ok - that was my first inclination also. I worried about it before our AOS interview, but it didn't even come up then. I think that's because when people see us as a couple its not so obvious.

25 years difference.

A cover letter is not required. It's optional. Frankly, I think it is tossed in the trash when they assemble your documents in to one of their folders. I wouldnt worry about your age difference if you have evidence of a bonafide relationship.

Maybe I should have asked differently.... How does the USCIS define as a large age difference? Since it isn't defined as far as I know... this is something to deal with if and only if it is raised...

Thanks - yes, we have lots of evidence, and I have a lot of stuff in 'reserve' if they RFE us. Big packet as it is, and I tried to pare it down to the minimum relevant stuff.

I thought I should include a cover letter, to make a contents list of what is in each of the sections.... but perhaps they are self descriptive enough...

Don't worry about the age difference - you basically have the best evidence in the comingling of your assets and financial livelihood...which speaks volumes. Remember, fraud is highly prevalent in marriages where people don't comingle their lives - think, "okay, I'll marry you, but you can't touch my stuff". CIS sees true marriages as ones where the couples have their lives intertwined which as defined by what you've included in your packet:

- Joint home purchase after we were married
- Joint utilities, bank account, credit cards
- Joint tax returns
- Joint travel
- Joint Cards & Correspondence from friends
- Joint life, auto and home insurance, wills
- 3 Affidavits from friends

You're good to go. Don't bring up the age difference - let CIS figure it out.

Yeah, I don't know what is defined as a large difference in the USCIS - it's a good question... and its not in the manual online (at least that I can see)...



Thanks Stasshi

And the manual only says that it is possibly an "indication". If your evidence demonstrates that your relationship is bonafide and you have comingled your lives like any married couple would then you should have no issues.

Thanks fwaguy Ok, good I won't mention it. Really as much power as USCIS has over us, they surely cannot control who you fall in love with.

I am pretty much in the same boat as you are. The age difference between me and my spouse is 19 years. Which I reckon is a 'large gap' from the outsiders perspective. However, we have a very happy marriage for 4 years now and that's all that matters right? When we went for AOS interview, I was a little worried about that coming up as an issue, but our interview was a breeze and the adjudicator even said: 'you guys flow so well together'. How was your AOS interview? Personally, I think if someone was to commit a fraud, they would try to do everything 'perfectly' and among other things, marry someone their own age. In our case, if USCIS think our financial involvement is not enough or all the pictures and trips we took together are photoshopped, we are always ready to go for an interview once again, I don't have anything to hide. Frankly, in USCIS mind anything can be fraud, different ethnicity, race, religion, whatever.

The age difference is no big deal. Mine was 20 years, and it was never an issue although my wife looks much younger than her years, it does turn heads though. Don't do USCIS work for them, no cover letter, and about the DWI is your hubby the one seeking permanent resident status? If so you should include so that you appear to be honest beyond a fault. If you don't divulge and it becomes an issue, may raise red flags. If he is the USC no problem.

The cover letter is not even for that...you just give a mild introductory about you and your spouse, stating that you and your spouse are filing the I-751 jointly and blah blah and what you are showing as evidence, that's it...simple one page, nothing more.

At your I-485 interview that came an issue? it was brought up? if not then leave it as it is. If it was one of the question, then was one of the questions at your I-485. Here the one who start showing your story as evidence is you...so why tell something that is not actually an issue. If they assign your case for interview and that come up then you just explain it there. I mean, what you going to put in the cover letter about it..."even my husband and I have a large gap in age, we considered ourselves lucky to have each other...and blah blah"? Does not make sense. Your cover letter is really a cover for your evidence, your age age is not an evidence.

They can easily know what are your ages if they have your birth dates anyway.
Do not go over the manual as you were the adjudicator...is the same thing as a judge goes to court on juvenile cases. Even if the person was caught with the arm in his/her hands does not mean that automatically is considered the burglar.
An adjudicator use the manual as base but must use his/her own skills to look the ENTIRE picture.

Check the first line of what are you reading: the sponsor does not sign the form. If you notice is not a self explanatory phrase...involves many other things. Why a sponsor won't sign the form? Well ALL the waiver-divorce cases their sponsors should not sign the form because is a waiver case and you do everything by yourself, just for that it does not considered fraud, is actually part of the process.

And lastly the cover letter is optional, if you have enough evidence then you are good to go. Somebody can send an almost "perfect" package and could be more about organizational skills than social skills between the spouses and that does not mean is fraud either.

Good luck.

Thanks NoOne and JSouthwick for sharing your situations - glad to hear about other couples with similar difference.

Hubby is the USC with the DWI - so do you think I should include it or not?

Age difference can be a big issue if he is 93 and you are 25 - like it was for Ana Nicole and she had to fight till she died to get her share of the inheritance. For residency purposes if they see you two and it seems you two have a 'normal' relationship then the age won't matter. You better start transferring assets in your name to avoid legal issues later on! Just kidding. good Luck

Does it add value to the application or simply "noise"?

This came out of another post on the N-400 application for citizenship, hope it will be instructive. The person who wrote this was in an interview with a USCIS officer and the questions are directed to the applicant for citizenship, not the USC.
"She told me that as long as the tickets weren't for DUI or reckless driving, it didn't really matter and she wrote something across the three tickets I had filled in on the form (probably to that affect). She explained to her trainee that some people put tickets because the question asks if they ever were cited and that since a ticket is a citation they put it. She said some people didn't put tickets down and that was find too (if it wasn't for DUI or reckless driving)." From this recollection of the conversation between the applicant and the USCIS interviewer, it seems that the DWI, tickets, criminal behavior etc. is directed to the applicant not their USC spouse. I would not include it if I was the applicant and it wasn't me who received the ticket.

I would hold off on including the DUI information too, unless you receive an NOA for additional evidence. Then, showing you are the one who signed for him, it can act as additional evidence of financial interconnection. Instead of making reference to the age difference in a cover letter, why not show some photographs of the two of you together obviously looking like a couple and the age difference not apparent? A picture can be worth a thousand words, as they say.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the great replies - really appreciated!!! This is such a great community!!

Yes, we're definitely including pics of us...

Ok I'm breathing a bit easier now - thanks guys

You are the applicant and they only need to know about you. I like what Kathryn41 said about using it to show a financial interconnection. But only at an interview or in response to an RFE.


Could you please post a link to the Adjudicators Manual?? I probably should not read it, but then again.

Thanx so much and good luck. We file June 30.

Thanks, yes I decided not to use that stuff for the initial app after all the advice, and I didn't do a cover letter in the end, just used the tabs and section pages, and I think it should all be self explanatory. Anyway it went off in the mail carrier's hands about 30mins ago so now the waiting begins...

Field Adjudicator's Manual may be found here: USCIS link.