... in response to Re: My Pleasure Patrick . . ., posted by thesearch on Jan 2, 2002There is no "improved" data collection at INS. The INS REport that can be accessed from this site has gathered dust and the government has no interest in opening its files for another study. A reading of that report shows that there is no really good data to answer the frequent questions of age and/or divorce rates. The question of divorce rates was not analyzed nor was the age difference between the parties. However, the report does provide some indicia:
a) during the year that was the baseline for the study, the INS found only 28 cases where a foreign wife had petitioned for AOS because of abuse which suggests that the likelihood of a divorce for factors that would not otherwise cause a divorce with an AW is not that great. On the other hand, as has been repeatedly emphasized, this issue should be thoroughly explored with a prospective fiance.
b) the INS surveyed one month of K-1 petitions at the Vermont Service Center. Of those approved K-1's, 75% married, 25% did not and presumably returned home. The 25% figure suggests to me that in spite of its limitations the 90 day window does act as a gatekeeper against failed marriages, albeit imperfect, by allowing both the man and woman some time to assess whether marriage makes sense.