This question usually comes up when women marrying younger men, see or hear of their peers having more difficulty re-uniting with their foreign loved one, than older men marrying younger women. While the short answer to the direct question is, in my opinion, “no”, it can certainly feel that way sometimes.
What it comes down to is the primary question being decided by a Consular Officer in a Consular interview, or sometimes an Immigration Officer during an interview at a USCIS office in the USA. That question is, “Is this a bona fide relationship? In making this determination, the officer is required to make a number of fairly subjective judgments. Even though they have been trained to consider the totality of circumstances before them, including local customs and culture, they don’t always get it right.
For example, a 50 something American man marrying a 20 something woman from the Philippines or other Asian country, the age difference fits the local cultural norm. The counter example is the 50 something American woman marrying a 20 something, never married, Muslim man from Morocco, or even 30 something Christian man from Ghana or Nigeria. These relationships do not fit the cultural norms for the foreigner’s circumstances. They do however, fit nicely into common “fraud scenarios” seen often by Consular Officers.
It doesn’t seem fair and certainly doesn’t appear “equal” in terms of treatment, particularly if the couple isn’t aware these cultural issues are going to be considered.
Totality of circumstances, is something we are experts at assessing, during our free initial consultations. It helps us determine the details of how we will proceed with the initial filing and the ongoing discussions we will have with the client and foreign loved one, as we provide ongoing consultations throughout the immigration process. Those same circumstances also play a major part in determining our consulting fee. Services to assist couples in reuniting in the USA, are not a product from a catalog that is either one size or one price fits all, not to Platinum Immigration Services and especially not to Immigration Officials.