Foreign Brides

Why Do American Men Prefer Foreign Women?

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Here are a few quotes that are responsive to this question:  "Now you understand why US men prefer foreign born women: THEY TREAT US BETTER, RESPECT US, APPRECIATE THAT AFFECTION WE SHOW THEM, AND ACKNOWLEDGE OUR EFFORTS TO PROVIDE A BETTER LIFE."
"A huge percentage of American women are selfish, flighty, insecure, needy and psychotic, and quite capable of concealing those traits during the dating phase."
"White 'career' American chicks are the bottom of the barrel marriage-wise".
"Foreign women from South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia are at the top. Only guys who travel (in other words, guys who are successful and ambitious enough to travel a lot) find these. But they never, ever go back."
"Foreign-born women living in the US are the next best. They get married early...they are highly sought after by American guys for their wifely skills (hell, any woman who has ANY ability to be a wife is better than your average American chick, who knows NOTHING about being a wife).
"Bottom of the barrel---white American chicks Yecch".
"Here's a story: I knew a guy who was Hungarian (parents emigrated) who tried for 15 years to find a half-decent woman to marry. He's a doctor, by the way. Finally, after 8 psycho-weirdo US chicks, he went back to the 'old country' to find a wife The people there were lining the women up for him to meet...he's a rich American guy....they are considered the best husbands in the world."
"He found this lovely wife. She's a total gem, and he's happy as hell. 2 kids. Happy ever after."-------
" I was absolutely blown away by the quality of women on my trip to Eastern Europe. Classy, cultured, traditional values, how could you ask for more?"
"Popular Myth: Western men looking for foreign wives are only seeking subservient slaves."
" Truth: Most Western men today are evolved and modern and truly believe in the 50/50 system. Most Western men are dismayed by the lack of sincerity of Western women. I can do my own laundry and cooking thank you!"
"Foreign women are comfortable in their femininity. As a male, I am attracted to this. And I love her with all my heart."
"I believe that American women have priced themselves out of the marketplace. Too needy, too many head games, too easy to divorce."
"Not many foreign men want American wives either."
"American women-highest maintenance (I've never heard of a foreign bride demanding her husband buy expensive house  cars). Fattest in the world. Most likely to cheat. Highest rate of divorce (60^-US; 20%-US-foreign marriages). Largest payout in divorce court. Bitchiest. Most likely to nag constantly. Most likely to believe in feminism and "equality". Most likely to hate men. Spend least amount of time with her children. Worst at cooking and cleaning. fucked & chucked by tons of guys before tricking you into marriage."
 "Three reasons to marry an American woman:
1. You actually believe BBW=big BEAUTIFUL wife.
2. You believe nagging is essential for personal growth.
3. You really look forward to the day your BBW divorces you and you gladly fork over 50% of your hard earned assets, plus child support and alimony. Then,after that, you have to figure out how to live on 20% of your income."
Some further quotes:
" I can not date white American women anymore. I was in the navy:and, I have seen the light. Women from other countries just look better and treat you better too! I didn't pay for shit when I was overseas and I pay up the wazoo here. Any rational person can figure it out from here."
"American women are high-maintenance prima donnas with attitudes. I'd take a foreign born Russian or Latina woman any day. They are much nicer and normally MUCH SMARTER than most American women-plus they don't watch Rose and Ricci Lake- they go to the library or perform outside activities."
 "Dating or being married to an American women is like driving a beat-up Ford Escort. If you are only used to driving a beat-up Ford Escort, then you have no idea what it feels like when you drive a Bentley or Ferrari. You need to at least test-drive a Ferrari, so you'll have a reference point on what a real car feels like." 1.

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 The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act

"The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Subtitle D of Title VIII (Sec.831-834) of United States Public Law 109-162)(IMBRA is an attachment to The Violence Against Women Act signed by President Bush on January 5, 2006), or IMBRA , is a controversial United States federal statute that requires background checks for all marriage visa sponsors and limits serial visa applications. Additionally, the law requires background checks for all persons wanting to receive contact information, something that is necessary in order to communicate. The impetus for its introduction were two cases (including the Susanna Blackwell case in 1995 and the Anastasia King case in 2000) in which foreign women had been abused and eventually murdered by men who had used a K-1 fiancee visa issued by the US State Department to bring them to the United States. In the King case, the husband had physically abused a previous foreign bride before murdering Anastasia. King had met Anastasia through his own advertisement in a Moscow newspaper (not through an "international marriage broker"). In the Blackwell case, the husband had a clean record, therefore IMBRA would not have prevented her murder. It was intended to stop abuse of "mail order brides" by prospective husbands with criminal histories. At the same time, there are thousands of international marriages between Americans and foreigners without problem." 2.

 "Many immigrant spouses agree to become one largely to gain U.S. citizenship. However, the citizenship is conditional on remaining married for at least three years, creating an imbalance of power. There have been a number of documented cases of husbands using this advantage to abuse both mentally and physically their wife, knowing that their wife can be sent home at their whim humantrafficking.org estimated that " many more are believed to go unreported.". Even when one eventually leaves-whether to return home or after sufficient time has passed to get a divorce but stay a citizen, some of these husbands would continue to get new mail order brides. No system originally existed to track such serial visa applicants with a history of abuse." 3.

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  Criticism of IMBRA  The murders described above which were the impetus of this law, occurred after a couple was already married, however IMBRA regulates communication before anyone has gotten married (or may never be getting married to a foreigner). There is not a single documented case or prosecution of an American abusing a foreigner before marriage who has used an international pen pal service.
Critics of this law contend that its purpose to protect women depends upon the honesty of the IMB client in revealing any criminal history. There is no background check performed except the national sex offender data base. As such, any US client who has a criminal history may simply lie and fail to report it to the IMB.
Several international introduction services (the mail order bride industry) challenged the constitutionality of IMBRA, but the statute was upheld by a federal court in 2007. Free speech and identity theft concerns have also been raised.
Wendy McElroy wrote that " there is no reason to believe that violence against 'mail-order brides' is higher than against women in general. No evidence supports the criminalization of every American man who looks overseas for a wife." 4.

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"An international broker cannot provide contact or general information on a foreign woman to an American man unless that broker first collects and discloses to the woman the following information about the man:  1. Every state of residence since the age of 18. 2. Current or previous marriages as well as how and when they terminated. 3. Information on children under 18. 4. Any arrest or conviction related to controlled substances, alcohol or prostitution, making no distinction on arrests not leading to conviction. 5. Any court orders, including temporary restraining orders which are notoriously easy to procure. 6. Any arrest or conviction for crimes ranging from "homicide" to "child neglect". 7. Any arrest or conviction for "similar activity in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law" without specifying what "similar" means.
U.S. law will provide foreign women with extensive government information on American suitors which is not similarly offered to American women. Nor should it be.
Contacting a women for romantic purposes--internationally or domestically--is not a crime. Those who do so are not a priori criminals who must prove themselves innocent before being allowed an email exchange.
How many American men will be impacted by the IMBRA?
According to Rep. Larsen, between 8,000 and 12,000 American men find foreign wives through for-profit brokers each year. Presumably, a considerably higher number attempt but fail to find a wife who successfully emigrates." 5.

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" But no solid foundation of data underlies Sen. Cantwell's  (U.S. Senator from Washington State) claim of a "growing epidemic of domestic abuse among couples who meet through a broker." There is no reason to believe that violence against mail-order brides is higher than against women in general.  No evidence supports the criminalization of every American man who looks overseas for a wife.
And, yet, such men are easy targets. Men who seek wives abroad often explicitly state that women here are not worth marrying because they are too independent, ruined by feminism, or 'fill in the pejorative blank.' If some of those ideal wives subsequently say "goodby" at the first glimpse of a green card, I can't muster sympathy.
What I do sympathize with, however, are the privacy rights of people who are considered guilty until proven innocent. This is especially true when a government violates the privacy of its own citizens to benefit foreign individuals.
What view of the American man does IMBRA broadcast to the world? American men are so predatory and violent that the U.S. government must protect foreign women by providing police checks before allowing the men to say "hello".
The "Ugly American" has become an article of Federal Law, supported by Congress." 6.

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 Key Provisions of International Marriage Broker Regulation Act:

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" 1. Marketing of Children Prohibited  IMBs may not provide personal contact information, photographs, or other information about anyone under the age of 18 to any individual or entity (Section 833 (d)(1))
 2. Duty to Disclose Criminal and Marital History and Obtain Written Consent  Before a (for a fee) IMB may provide a foreign national client's personal contact information to a United States client, the IMB must: 

1. search sex offender public registries for information regarding the United States client;
2. collect certain criminal and marital background information through documentation or an attestation from the United States client;
3. provide to the foreign national client any records retrieved from the sex offender public registry search and the background information in her primary language;
4. provide to the foreign national client a government-prepared information pamphlet about the legal rights and resources available to the U.S. to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes;
and;
5. obtain the foreign national client's signed, written consent to the release of her information to the United States client. (Sections 833 (d)(2) and (3))

3. Penalty for Misuse of Information.  Any person who knowingly misuses any information obtained by an IMB (i.e. uses that information for any unauthorized purpose other than IMBRA's required disclosures) is subject to a fine or imprisonment of no more than 1 year, or both, in addition to other possible penalties that may be imposed under federal or state law.(Sections 833 (d)(3)(C))
4. Penalties for Other Violations/Nonpreemption An IMB is subject to a civil penalty of $ 5,000-$ 25,000 per violation or attempted violation of its obligations under IMBRA, and criminal penalties for not more than five years in prison. This is in addition to other possible penalties and remedies that may be provided for under federal or state law. (Sections 833 (d)(5) and (6)).
5. Definition of an International Marriage Broker  "International Marriage Broker" is defined as an entity (whether or not U.S.-based) that charges fees for providing matchmaking services or social referrals between U.S. citizens/permanent residents and foreign nationals. This definition also exempts non-profit religious or cultural matchmaking services, and dating services that do match U.S. citizens/residents with aliens as their principal business and that charge comparable rates and offer comparable services to all clients, regardless of gender or country of citizenship.
6. Informational Pamphlet about Legal Rights and Resources  IMBRA requires that U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Departments of State (DOS) and Justice (DOJ) and nongovernmental organizations with specialized expertise, to develop a pamphlet for foreign fiance(e)s and spouses about the K visa immigration process, the legal rights and resources available to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes, the illegality of marriage fraud (i.e., knowingly entering a marriage solely to obtain an immigration benefit) and U.S. legal obligations regarding child support. The pamphlet will also include a warning concerning the potential use of K visas by U.S. citizens with a history of violence, whose acts may not have resulted in a criminal record; as well as a notification regarding IMBs' obligation to disclose U.S. clients' violent criminal records.
7. Criminal Background Information Disclosed to Foreign Fiance(e) or Spouse IMBRA requires U.S. citizens petitioning to sponsor K visas to disclose convictions for a list of violent crimes on the " I-129F" petition form that they file with the DHS, including convictions for domestic violence and assault & battery, as well as convictions for elder abuse, child abuse or neglect, and stalking; and multiple (three or more) convictions related to alcohol/controlled substances. DHS must provide to DOS a copy  of the petitioner's I-129F petition form, together with any criminal background information (including information on protection orders) that DHS has gather on the petitioner under existing authority.DOS must provide these materials to the foreign fiance(e) or spouse . The U.S. consular officer conducting the K visa interview overseas must inform the foreign fiance(e) or spouse that this information may not be complete, and ask her (1) whether an  IMB facilitated her relationship with the petitioner and, if so, which one and (2) whether the IMB complied with IMBRA b providing her with the required disclosures and information. (Sections 832(a), 833(a)(5), and 833(b)(1))
8. Limits Place on How Many and How Often Fiance(e) Visa Petitions May be Filed; Petitioners with Violent Criminal Records Barred from Serial  Sponsorship IMBRA limits a US petitioner's sponsorship of K1 (fiance(e)) visas to 2 total, with no less than 2 years between the filing of the last approved petition and the current petition. A petitioner may seek a discretionary waiver of these limits from DHS. However, DHS cannot ordinarily waive the limits if the U.S. petitioner has a record of violent criminal offenses. (Section 832(a)(1)) " 7.

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Green Card Marriages  A green card is the way immigrants from other countries become a permanent resident of the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau "Every year over 450,000 United States citizens marry foreign-born individuals and petition for them to obtain permanent residency (Green Card) in the United States. In 2003, 184,741 immigrants were admitted to the U.S. as spouses of U.S. citizens. The applicant must already be married. There are conditional requirements in order to obtain a green card through the marriage process. The prospect must have a conditional green card. This becomes permanent after approval by the government. The candidate may then apply for United States citizenship. A conditional residence green card is given to applicants who are being processed for permanent residence in the United States because they are married to a U.S. citizen. It is valid for two years. At the end of this time period, if the card holder does not change the status of their residency, they will be put on "out of status."  Legal action by the government may follow. There are different procedures based on whether the applicant is already a U.S. citizen or if the applicant is an immigrant. The marriage must also be legal in, if appropriate, the emigrant's country.
Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986  A public law was passed to deter marriage fraud among immigrants. The major stipulation is that if the immigrant is married for less than two years, they are classified as conditional immigrants. The two year period is not from the time they get married, but from the time that residency is granted. In order to remove this classification the immigrants must apply for U.S. Citizenship ninety days before the second-year anniversary of still being considered conditional.
There are several reasons why the conditional immigration status can be terminated. Those include divorce, marriage is not valid, or the couple failed to petition the Immigration Service to remove the classification of conditional residency. If the Immigration Service suspects that an alien has created a fraudulent marriage, the immigrant is subject to removal from the United States The marriage must be fraudulent at its inception and can be determined by several factors. The several factors are the conduct of the parties before and after the marriage are relevant  and the bride's and groom's intention of establishing a life together. The validity must be given by the couple by showing insurance policies, property, leases, income tax, bank accounts, etc. The final decision is determined by if the sole purpose of the marriage was to gain benefits for the immigrant. The punishment for fraud is a large monetary penalty, possibility of never becoming a permanent resident of the United States, and jail time for the spouse. These Amendment Acts cover spouses, children of spouses, and K-1 visa fiances.
Intersection of Immigration Law and Family Law Immigrants who use the reason of family ties to gain entry into the United States are required to document financial arrangements.  The sponsor of a related immigrant must guarantee financial support to the family. These guarantees form a contract between a sponsor and the federal government.  It requires the sponsor to support the immigrant relative at a level equivalent to 125% of the poverty line for his or her household size. A beneficiary of the contract, the immigrant, or the Federal Government may sue for the promised support in the event the sponsor does not fulfill the obligations of the contract. The sponsor is also liable for the prevailing party's legal expenses.
Divorce does not end the sponsor's obligation to provide the support deemed by the contract.  The only ways to terminate the obligation are for the immigrant spouse to become a U.S. citizen, the immigrant spouse has worked forty Social Security Act eligible quarters (10 years), the immigrant spouse is no longer considered a permanent alien and has left the U.S., the immigrant spouse obtained an ability to adjust their status, or the immigrant spouse dies. A sponsor's death also cuts off the obligation, but not in regards to any support the sponsor already owes which will be paid out of the sponsor's estate." 8.

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Mail-Order Bride A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs (online or otherwise)and is selected by men for marriage. In nineteenth-century America, mail-order brides came from well-developed areas in the East to marry men in Western frontier lands. In the twentieth Century, the trend was towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more developed countries. In the twenty-first Century, the trend is now based primarily on internet-based meeting places which do not per se qualify as mail order bride services. The majority of women listed in the twentieth-century and twenty-first century services are from Southeast Asia, countries of the former Soviet Union and (to a lesser extent) from Latin America. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, large numbers of eastern European women have advertised themselves in such a way, primarily from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Men who list themselves in such publications are referred to as "mail-order husbands". Mail-order husbands come from primarily (in alphabetical order) Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States." 9.

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"International marriage agency

Mail-order brides work with "international marriage agencies."
An international marriage agency (also called an international introduction agency or international marriage broker) is a business that endeavors to introduce men and women of different countries for the purpose of marriage, dating or correspondence. Many of these marriage agencies are based near women in developing countries (such as Ukraine,Russia,Colombia,Brazil,China, Thailand and the Philippines). International marriage agencies encourage women to register for their services and facilitate communication and meetings with men from the developed regions of North America, Western Europe, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. This network of smaller international marriage agencies is often affiliated with web-based international dating sites that are able to market their services on a larger scale, in compliance with regulations such as the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act. International dating sites provide a wide variety of online communication, including instant messaging, email letters, webcam-based chat, phone translation, virtual gifts, live games, and mobile-based chat. ----
Services offered by marriage agencies typically include:

1. Introductions
2. Translation of correspondence between clients not speaking a common language
3. Excursions, in which a man is introduced to several women interested in marriage " 10.

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Mail order brides: motivations,situations, and stories

"Eastern Europe  Women in Russia,Ukraine,Belarus, and other Eastern European countries are common Caucasian mail-order bride candidates. Russian and other East European women are sometimes considered more attractive than West European and American women in appearance, dress and behavior.
Economic and social conditions for women in Russia are a motivational factor in finding foreign arrangements. ----Finding a foreign husband gives a women a chance to leave her country and find better economic opportunities. Marriage is a substantial part of Russian culture with 22 years being the age at which a woman is considered an "old maid." With 4,138,273 more women than men from the ages of 15 to 64, marriage opportunities are slim at home and worsened by the life expectancy differences between men (64.3 years) and women (73.17 years). In testimony before the United States Senate, Professor Donna Hughes said that two thirds of Ukrainian women interviewed wanted to live abroad; and, this rose to 97% in the resort city of Yalta.
Asia  Many international brides come from developing countries in Asia. The countries the women come from are faced with unemployment, malnutrition and inflation. Those who marry foreign men tend to be better educated than most women from their country or their husbands. However, economic factors are not the only driving factor for women in Asia to enter the mail-order industry. Filipino women often enter the mail-order industry in the hope of marrying abroad and then sponsoring their family for immigration. In some case, women are recruited on their physical appearance with an emphasis placed on youth and virginity. This is found among boutique agencies most of which cater to wealthy men from other Asian nations.
Australia  Since 2003, the Australian Federal Government's resolve to decrease what was deemed "inappropriate immigration" by then Prime Minister John Howard has gained momentum.  Initial reactions to the program were mixed. However, during the January 2004 visit to Eastern Europe by Australian Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Philip Ruddock, Australian-Russian relationships were strengthened while both nations committed to a timetable for reductions in Russian human trafficking into Australia. The Australian public further embraced its government's new policies following the media frenzy of the Jana Klintoukh case. This case first exploded into the public's view when current-events program Today Tonight aired footage of a young Russian-born Australian, claiming she was imported via an Internet site and was used as a sexual slave by her "husband" while being confined to his Sydney home.
Belarus  In 2005, President  Alexander Lukashenko attempted to regulate "marriage agencies" in Belarus and make it difficult for them to operate. He believed that Western men were draining his country of women of child-bearing age. However, as most agencies are being run from outside Belarus (either in Russia, European countries or the United States), he has been unable to stop (or otherwise regulate) this activity.
Canada  Canadian immigration laws have traditionally been similar to (but slightly less restrictive than) their US counterparts; for instance, not requiring the Canadian citizen to prove minimum-income requirements (as has been a long-standing requirement of United States immigration laws).  While there is still no formal requirement for a minimum salary, the sponsor must provide evidence of income in the form of their most recent T4 Income printout from the Canadian Revenue Agency as an attachment to their IMM 5481 Sponsorship Evaluation. Until recently (2001), Canada's immigration policy designated mail-order brides under the "family class" to refer to spouses and dependents and "fiancé(e)" class for those intending to marry, with only limited recognition of externally-married opposite-sex "common law" relationships; same-sex partners were processed as independent immigrants or under a discretionary provision for "humane and compassionate" considerations. In 2002, the Canadian Immigration Law was completely revised. One of the major changes was conjugal-partner sponsorship, available for any two people (including same sex couples) who have had conjugal relations together for at least one year. Canadian immigration authorities frown upon conjugal-partners sponsorship for heterosexual couples, and now require the couple to marry before a visa is granted (unless serious reason can be demonstrated why the couple is not yet married).
Colombia  This South American country is attracting more mail-order bride agencies in recent years, including ColombianSweethearts, ColombianCupid and AmoLatina]  As well, online dating agencies such as Match.com have developed a presence in Colombia. According to immigration statistics from the U.S. Homeland Security, Colombia has ranked in the top 10 of countries since 1999 from which fiancées have emigrated for the United States. As well, the number of Colombians being admitted to the U.S. between 1999 and 2008 using fiancé visas (including children) has increased 321 percent. A dissertation by Jasney E. Cogua-Lopez, “Through the Prisms of Gender and Power: Agency in International Courtship between Colombian Women and American Men,” suggests various reasons for this growth, including continuing cultural inequality between the sexes despite equality being codified in the country’s laws ( honor killings were not made completely illegal until 1980). Because of the large number of Colombians wishing to leave their country by marrying foreigners, a black market for marriages to foreigners has developed, with some people allegedly paying as much as 20 million pesos ($100,000 US) to illegal groups. According to Colombia Decrees No. 2668/88 and 1556/89, passed in 1988, foreigners are allowed to marry nationals in the country provided they supply the proper paperwork, including a birth certificate and proof that both parties are not already married. A notary is required, but because the laws are open to interpretation, the requirements can vary from notary to notary.
Philippines  The Philippines prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men. The Philippine congress enacted Republic Act 6955 (the Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law) in 1990 as a result of stories in the local media about Filipinas being abused by their foreign husbands. Because of this, Filipinas often use "reverse publications" – publications in which men advertise themselves – to contact foreign men for marriage to Filipina women.
South Korea  The New York Times reports, "Every month, hundreds of South Korean men fly to Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Nepal and Uzbekistan on special trips". Although these marriages can be successful, in some cases immigrant wives are mistreated, misunderstood and separated from their Korean husbands. One method men use when choosing young girls as wives is "Like a judge in a beauty pageant, the man interviews the women, many of them 20 years younger than he, and makes a choice".  The British newspaper The Independent reports, "Last year it was reported that more than 40,000 Vietnamese women have married South Korean men and migrated there." Cambodian women are also popular with Korean men seeking foreign brides, but in March 2010 the Cambodian government banned marriages to South Korean men. The Korea Times reports that every year, thousands of Korean men sign up for matches with Filipina brides through agencies and by mail order.  Based on data from the Korean government, there are 6,191 Filipinas in South Korea who are married to Koreans. After contacting a mail-order agency, the majority of Filipina mail-order brides met their husbands by attending "show-ups," a meeting in which a group of Filipino women are brought to meet a Korean man who is looking for a wife. At the show-up, the Korean man picks a prospective wife from among the group, and in a matter of days they are married. An anthropological study on Filipina wives and Korean men by professor Kim Min-jung of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Kangwon National University found that these Korean men find it difficult to marry Korean women, so they look for girls in poorer countries with difficult economic circumstances  The Korean men feel that because of the difficult circumstances from which the Filipina women come, cultural differences and the language barrier, they "will not run away". Further, she said, Korean men characterize Southeast Asian women as friendly, hardworking (due to agrarian backgrounds), "docile and obedient, able to speak English, and are familiar with Korean patriarchal culture". A recent study by matchmaking firm Bien-Aller polled 274 single South Korean men through its website concerning motivations for marrying non-Korean women and found that men choose foreign brides primarily for one of four reasons. "According to the poll, 32.1 percent of the men said they felt the biggest benefit of marrying foreign women is their lack of interest in their groom's educational background and financial or social status.  The next best reason was their belief that foreign brides would be submissive (23 percent), make their lives more comfortable (15.3 percent), and that the men would not have to get stressed about their in-laws (13.8 percent)."
Violence Against Foreign Brides in South Korea  There have been several murders of mail-order brides in South Korea. "On May 24, 2011, a South Korean man stabbed his Vietnamese wife to death while the couple’s 19-day-old baby lay next to her.  The man, a farmer, had been matched up with his foreign bride through a broker. In 2010, another Vietnamese woman was killed by her husband a week after they were married. In 2008, a Vietnamese woman jumped from an apartment building to her death after being abused by her husband and mother-in-law." In November 2009, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis Cruz warned Filipina women against marrying Korean men. He said in recent months that the Philippine Embassy in Seoul has received complaints from Filipino wives of abuses committed by their Korean husbands that caused separation, divorce and abandonment. As language and cultural differences become an issue, the Filipina women are regarded as commodities bought for a price.
Turkmenistan  On June 4, 2001 Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Turkmenbashi) authorized a decree that required foreigners to pay a $50,000 fee to marry a Turkmen citizen (regardless of how they met), and to live in the country and own property for one year. Authorities indicated that the law was designed to protect women from being duped into abusive relationships.  In June 2005, Niyazov scrapped the $50,000 and the property-owning requirements.
United States  Due to stringent U.S. immigration laws, there have been adaptations of the law and immigration process to provide regulation over immigration flow into the country, and protection for brides once they arrive. “In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act.. Section 652 of this legislation specifically addresses the mail-order bride industry.” Congress found the following: There is a substantial ‘‘mail-order bride’’ business in the United States. With approximately 200 companies, an estimated 2,000 to 3,500 men in the United States find wives through mail-order-bride catalogs each year. However, there are no official statistics available on the number of mail-order brides entering the United States each year. The companies engaged in the mail-order-bride business earn substantial profits. On January 6, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005" ( IMBRA) as part of the H.R. 3402: Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. The requirements of the law are controversial, and some commentators have claimed that it presumes that American men are abusers. In enacting IMBRA, Congress was responding to claims by the Tahirih Justice Center (TJC), a woman's advocacy group, that mail-order brides were susceptible to domestic abuse because they are unfamiliar with the laws, language and customs of their new home. The TJC insisted that special legislation was needed to protect them. The TJC asked Congress to consider several notable cases mentioned in the  Congressional Record. Critics of IMBRA claim that the TJC failed to ask Congress to consider the relative amount of abuse between mail-order-bride couples and other couples (including the thousands of spousal murders that occurred in the US over the past 15 years). Two federal lawsuits (European Connections Tours v. Gonzales, N.D. Ga. 2006; AODA v. Gonzales, S.D. Ohio 2006) sought to challenge IMBRA on constitutional grounds. The AODA case was terminated when the plaintiffs withdrew their claim.  The European Connections case ended when the judge ruled against the plaintiff, finding the law constitutional regarding a dating company. On March 26, 2007, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper dismissed with prejudice a suit for injunctive relief filed by European Connections, agreeing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and TJC that IMBRA is a constitutional exercise of Congressional authority to regulate for-profit dating websites and agencies where the primary focus is on introducing Americans to foreigners. Additionally, the federal court specifically found that: "the rates of domestic violence against immigrant women are much higher than those of the U.S. population".  The judge also compared background checks on American men to background checks on handgun buyers by stating, "However, just as the requirement to provide background information as a prerequisite to purchasing a firearm has not put gun manufacturers out of business, there is no reason to believe that IMBs will be driven by the marketplace by IMBRA".
Violence against mail-order-brides in the United States  In September 2003, 26-year-old Ukrainian engineer and mail-order bride, Alla Barney, bled to death on the floor of her car after her American husband, Lester Barney, 58, slashed her throat in front of the couple’s four-year-old son Daniel. Lester fled with Daniel from the scene in the parking lot of the boy’s day-care center. After an Amber Alert was triggered, he turned Daniel over to a friend and was taken into custody by police. Alla had been granted a restraining order against Lester a few months before, and had been given temporary custody of Daniel. Anastasia King, a young woman from Kyrgyzstan, was found strangled and buried in a shallow grave in Washington State in December 2000. At age 18, Anastasia received an email from a 38-year-old Seattle man, Indle King, from a mail-order-bride website. He flew to her country, and they were married soon after.  Two years later, after considerable strife, Indle wanted another bride. He was allegedly unwilling to pay for a divorce, so he ordered a tenant in their Washington home to kill Anastasia.  Weighing nearly 300 pounds, her husband pinned Anastasia down while the tenant strangled her with a necktie.  Both were convicted of murder. King’s previous wife (whom he had also met through an IMB) had a domestic violence protection order issued against him, and left him because he was abusive. Nina Reiser was a Russian-born and -trained obstetrician and gynaecologist. She was murdered by her husband Hans Reiser, a businessman and computer programmer whom she met after placing an ad in a mail-order bride catalog. She had a restraining order against him during their divorce proceedings. Nina was reported missing on September 5, 2006. That month Hans was detained by Oakland police due to suspicions surrounding the disappearance of his wife, and was later arrested for suspected murder.  On April 28, 2008 Hans Reiser was found guilty of first-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. On July 7, 2008 Hans led Oakland police to his wife's remains with an agreement to be charged with second-degree murder instead.
Violence against mail-order husbands by mail-order brides in The United States  In 2002 Tessie Buhawe Spotts (a native of the Philippines) was charged with the poisoning murder of her husband, Alfred Spotts, in Newberry, South Carolina. The couple met through an international magazine advertisement.
Legal matters for mail-order brides in the United States  Marriage agencies are legal in almost all countries. On Jan 6, 2006, the United States Congress enacted H.R. 3402: Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. This law requires certain actions prior to selling a foreign woman's address to a US citizen or resident, including:
The man must complete a questionnaire on his criminal and marital background.
The seller must obtain the man's record from the National Sex Offenders Public Registry database.
The questionnaire and record must be translated into the woman's native language and provided to her.
The woman must certify that she agrees to permit communication.
A lifetime limit of two (2) fiancé(e) visas is imposed, with a waiver required for the approval of any subsequent fiancée visa. 

Visa regulations

In order to bring a spouse into the United States, Form I-130 must be filed (an immigrant petition on behalf of a relative). After that, a K-3/K-4   V-1/V-2 Entry Visa for Spouse must be filed. The Immigration and Nationalization Service advises that “in some cases, it may be to a couple's advantage to pursue a K-1 fiancee visa before getting married. In other cases, applicants may find that it is more cost effective to get married abroad and then apply for an immigrant visa overseas. In many cases, the K-1 visa application process takes just as long as the immigrant visa process”. Couples must remain together at least two years.  “Despite well over 2,000 mail-order marriages a year, there is no information on the amount of mail-order brides entering the US. The purpose of this law is two-fold: to protect the safety of mail-order brides and to prevent fraud”. 11.

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RULES TO FOLLOW TO AVOID INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE AND DATING SCAMS

" 1. DO NOT sent money to any girl you have never met, are not in love with, or engaged to.
2. If you find yourself about to send money to a foreign girl you haven't met, are not in love with and not engaged to, PLEASE REVIEW RULE NUMBER 1!! Foreign women DO NOT EVER fall in love through correspondence and DO NOT EVER come to visit a total stranger on a tourist visa.
3. DO NOT send money to any girl you are writing to for internet support. (Depending on the agency's specific policies, it may be necessary to pay THE AGENCY for correspondence services like Express Mail or translations BUT always do so having researched the agency with reliable referrals.)
4. DO NOT expect to buy a girl's love with expensive gifts or cash.  Too many young girls join agencies to get in on the kind of cash their girl friends have gotten from a foreign boy friend. Too may foreign men shell out thousands of dollars to foreign super-model wannabes thinking their working their way toward a lifetime of " I Dream of Jeannie" only to get dumped completely before the first kiss.  DO give modest gifts, flowers, candy etc. to her and her family once you've met and fallen in love. My idea of a modest gift is anything up to $ 100. Cosmetics, clothing, small jewelry, nice wine, Godiva chocolate.
5. DO NOT buy your girl a cell phone, home computer or English lessons unless engaged.
6. DO wait until you girl's arrival in this country before you buy an expensive engagement ring. It should be fine to present you foreign fiancee with a modest engagement ring before her arrival in your country.
7. DO realize most scamming foreign women couldn't care less about foreign citizenship in your country. If they're not in this for a husband, they're probably in it for the money. The one's looking for a husband will ask you for love, attention, friendship, support, kisses, hugs and intimacy.  The one's looking for money will ask you for-well, MONEY!! Again, remember-when we become engaged, married and beyond our foreign women will be able to spend money on necessary things (foreign women are really quite frugal you'll find) and on the occasional toy for their child or gift for their family back home.  If you are smart and want your girl to be happy-DO NOT try to restrict your foreign bride to some kind of allowance you wouldn't give your 12 year old. BAD IDEA!
8. DO NOT expect any foreign girl to come here and visit you before you have met, courted, fallen in love and become engaged. Know you will ultimately have to get on the plane and go yourself if you are going to find HER!
9. DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH OR FILE A FIANCEE VISA FOR ANY WOMAN WHO HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED A TRUE ATTRACTION AND HEALTHY AFFECTION FOR YOU.
10. IF YOU SUSPECT YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED, DO AN INTERNET SEARCH FOR YOUR FOREIGN GIRL'S NAME TO SEE IF ANY OTHER MEN HAVE POSTED INFORMATION ABOUT HER. VISIT ANTI-SCAM SITES AND/OR READ RECOMMENDED BOOKS ON THE TOPIC TO INCREASE YOUR AWARENESS OF POSSIBLE RED FLAG BEHAVIORS." 12.

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