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.

Although historically mail-order brides came from well-developed areas to marry men in overseas colonies and frontier lands, the trend has reversed. Recently, the trend is towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more-developed countries. The majority of these women 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. In the past, international marriage agencies such as Cherry Blossoms allowed women to sign up to be listed in picture magazines; now, the internet has largely supplanted this method. Men who list themselves in such publications are referred to as "mail-order husbands". Nations that often receive mail-order brides are the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany and Australia.

The term "mail-order bride" is both criticized by owners (and customers) of international marriage agencies and used by them as an easily-recognizable term. It has been pointed out that there is a discrepancy between how international adoptions are regarded ("saving a child") and how international marriages are regarded ("buying a wife"). It has also been noted that "In feminist writing on mail-order brides, women’s and men’s voices remain absent. Instead, this scholarship assumes a one-to-one correspondence between the male gaze on the Web sites and women’s exploitation as domestic laborers in the home".

History

Mail-order brides were first seen on the American frontier during the mid-1800s. The first recorded business offering mail-order brides was Brooker & Son, who sold "authentic Thai brides". Men from the East were migrating West in hopes of claiming land, farming, establishing businesses and finding gold. Most of these men found financial success in the migration West, but the one thing that was missing was the company of a wife. Very few women lived there at this time, so it was hard for these men to settle down and start a family. They attempted to attract women living back East; the men wrote letters to churches and published personal advertisements in magazines and newspapers. In return, the women would write to the men and send them photographs of themselves. Courtship was conducted by letter, until a woman agreed to marry a man she had never met. Many women wanted to escape their present way of living, gain financial security and see what life on the frontier could offer them. They wanted to become something more than a maid, a factory worker or a schoolteacher; living on the frontier gave them the opportunity to experience hard labor. Most of these women were single, but some were widows, divorcees or runaways.

During the late 19th century, references began to appear to an "international marriage market". Key variables determining the relationship between migration and marriage were demographics, legal policies, cultural perceptions and technology. In the early United States, the difficulty and dangers of traveling and the uncertainty of life on the frontier resulted in communities where women were scarce. Imbalances between the number of available women and the number of men desiring partners created a demand for immigrant women. As a result of this imbalance, a new system of "picture brides" developed in predominantly-male settlements. In the early 20th century, the institution of "picture brides" developed due to immigration restrictions. The Japanese-American Passport Agreement of 1907 allowed Japan to grant passports to the wives of immigrants to America. With immigration of unmarried Japanese women to America effectively barred the use of "picture brides" provided a mechanism for willing women to obtain a passport to America, while Japanese workers in America could gain a female helpmate of their own nationality.

Recent developments

"Mail-order brides" are defined as women who meet their spouses through the use of catalogs, agencies or advertisements. The mail-order bride business is a multi-million dollar industry that connects financially-secure men with women from impoverished countries. In some cases, these women later find themselves in abusive relationships due to cultural isolation and lack of education. A primary reason women choose to become mail-order brides is often similar to that of women living in the same country as the man: financial security. It has been shown that the national average of mail-order brides has been significantly lower in Third-World countries during periods of financial growth. The concept of mail-order brides has been a symbol of the economic inequality on a global scale. There are also cultural reasons for entering “the business”; in Russian culture, women commonly marry by age 23. Some Russian men do not want to marry “older” women, so those who are not married by their mid-20s may have little choice but to attract men from other countries. The reasons for seeking out mail-order brides, however, have drastically changed since the 1800s. Originally, brides were obtained for the stability they brought to men on the frontier and for their willingness to work. Today’s brides are acquired more for a man’s need for companionship and to fill a domestic role.

International marriage agency

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 developed regions of North America, Western Europe, South Korea, Japan, 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. International marriage agencies are frequently referred to as "mail-order bride" agencies. However, many consider the term "mail-order bride" derogatory and feel it demeans foreign women by comparing them to commodities for sale and by falsely implying that (unlike local women), they exercise no judgement over the men they meet and would marry anyone from a relatively-wealthy country.

Services offered by marriage agencies typically include:

• Introductions
• Translation of correspondence between clients not speaking a common language
• Excursions, in which a man is introduced to several women interested in marriage

Controversy

Fraud

There is some incidence of dishonesty, fraud, and poor service among international marriage agencies, and there is debate as to whether proscription or regulation is the better solution to these problems.

Legal issues

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) fiance visas is imposed, with a waiver required for the approval of any subsequent fiance visa.

Meeting process

During the 1980s, before widespread internet access, catalogs were the most popular way to meet potential spouses. Women from all over the world sent agencies photographs and biographies. Although catalogs are still used today, the internet has become the primary search tool for foreign brides. Women set up internet profiles through an agency, and men subscribe to these “introduction sites”. Operators of the agency website may edit the women’s profiles with Photoshop or other photo-editing software. As the owner of one such agency remarked, “if the girls aren’t beautiful, they don’t get on the board”. In some agencies, women pay to create an online account.

When a man finds a woman in whom he is interested, he begins their relationship by writing her; this “pen-pal” relationship is solely for the purpose of finding a spouse. Some men write to a number of different women until deciding on a particular bride. After the two have developed a trusting relationship, the man usually visits the woman in her native country and asks to marry her. Since most women fear marrying a man they have never met, this visit is a crucial part of the mail-order-bride process. The wedding can take place any time during the relationship; for example, men who buy Taiwanese brides sometimes marry only three days after the selection of their bride.

Originating in Russia, romance tours are also a common method for men to meet and be introduced to a large number of women, with a view to marriage.

Motivations

Mail-order brides have many different motives, depending on the region the brides is from. One common motive is better economic opportunity. Becoming a mail-order bride gives a young woman in an impoverished country the opportunity for a better life, while supporting her family back home. In most cases these young women send food, money, and clothing to their families back home. Living in a developed country would also allow them opportunities they might not have had such as education, a career and health care.

Russian women often believe that their role is to marry and raise children in an enriching environment. Becoming a mail-order bride would give them a husband, financial security and the ability to create their desired family. Their goal is to become successful mothers, not necessarily to fall in love with their husbands. The desirability of a foreign husband was amplified by "American Boy," a major 1990 Russian hit song. Filipino women, on the other hand, often follow in their sisters’ footsteps. Their families are more likely to force them to become mail-order brides because it is what their sisters experienced, and it brings their families economic independence. Love is not always a factor in mail-order marriages. Instead, these marriages can fulfill needs in both parties other than an emotional connection. For women, it may be financial independence and the chance of a better life; for men, it may be domestic capability and companionship.

East European women

Women in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other Eastern European countries are common Caucasian mail-order bride candidates. Economic and social conditions for women in Russia are a motivational factor in finding foreign arrangements. 52 percent of Russia’s workforce is made up of women, yet they often hold low positions of prominence in their home country and work jobs with less respect and lower wage (such as teaching or physician positions); and women earn 43 percent of what men do. Finding a foreign husband gives a woman a chance to leave her country and find better economic opportunities. Marriage is a substantial part of Russian culture, with 22 the cut-off age for being 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 difference between men (59.54 years) and women (73.17 years). Russian and other East European women are sometimes considered more attractive than West European and American women in appearance, dress and behavior, with the reverse being true for men. Despite a worsening economy in the United States and Western Europe, marriage agencies specializing in pairing local women with Western men remain common in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev.

Asian women

Many international brides come from developing countries in South and East Asia. A substantial portion of women from the developing countries of Asia join marriage sites because of financial pressures. They post profiles and photos with the ambition of marrying and gaining a stable financial future. The countries the women come from are faced with unemployment, malnutrition and inflation. However, those who marry foreign men tend to be better-educated than most women from their country or their husband's. 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 rare cases women are recruited based 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.

Latin American women

Women from some Latin American countries are said to be popular with men in the United States and Europe. Latin American seeking to be mail-order brides wish to marry a man from the United States, Canada or Europe in order to escape the economic and social disadvantages of their home countries. Some women in poor parts of Latin America are single mother, living on less than $1.25 a day; they feel that marrying overseas will provide for family and/or friends who need assistance in their home country. Although obtaining a better living standard and higher economic status is a factor in becoming a mail-order bride, it is not the only motivation young women have. They expect to trade love and romance for financial security and social mobility.

Reasons for choosing mail-order brides

Men have many different motives for international dating. In the United States, a prospective husband tends to be middle-aged, well-educated and financially sound. While most husbands are Caucasian, there are also a number of Asian-Pacific-American men who meet wives from their home countries. The men tend to be older than the women they marry. Men from developed countries have various reasons for desiring a wife from another region of the world. Eastern European, Asian and some Latin American areas are popular for finding mail-order brides.

A 1988 survey done by the University of Texas at Tyler shows that over half of the men who engage in mail-order marriages had been married at least once before; three-quarters of them wanted children. These men ranged from age 35–70, and were usually older than the women they chose. Younger men (under age 30) rarely choose mail-order brides. American men are sometimes attracted to Filipino women because they can generally speak English and the Philippines is the only Asian country that is predominately Christian (besides South Korea). Gender imbalances, with a male majority in such areas as the U.S. states of Alaska and Texas, South Korea, the People's Republic of China, the Middle East and the Canadian province of Alberta are often a reason, because men were unable to find wives in such regions.

Some men are attracted to women from poverty-stricken countries because they believe the sexual division of labor makes the women more likely to be domesticated. In many of these countries, men work and women stay home, tending to the children and the home. According to one of these men, “There is just something in their culture that makes marriage work”. These men like the idea of being the breadwinner and having their wife be the homemaker, something that is not seen as much in Western women because of greater job opportunities. They generally want women who do not want to work outside the home or deviate from their husband’s rules.

For Eastern European brides

Traditional gender roles of conforming to the economic dominance of men in a marriage and the appreciation and adulation of wives are what fuels American men to seek Russian brides; for some men, American women are too career-obsessed and materialistic.

For Asian brides

One man that chose an Asian mail-order bride stated, “I do favor Asian woman...There, women are truer, more loyal and have a mystical air or attitude”.

Outcomes

A number of mail-order brides are treated fairly and agree upon fair and just contracts with their husbands, allowing them many liberties and favorable treatment. In other cases, they are subject to abuse, disease and broken promises. Older data also showed that marriages with international brides met though mail correspondence had substantially-lower divorce rates than most marriages, although this may be because some wives are unwilling to divorce their husbands for fear of deportation.

Effects on global economy

Although the industry is growing, the economic effect is still largely limited to the countries from which the brides come. It was estimated that only .4 percent of total United States immigrants in 1996 arrived on marriage or fiancee visas. In 2005 “Cherry Blossom” (the largest mail-order agency in the United States) grossed $500,000.

U.S. marriage agreements

U.S. immigration policies for foreign wives are not well-understood, although mail-order bride services provide some information. “Most mail-order brides... believe that they must remain in abusive situations or else be deported. This is not the case thanks to 1994 Violence against Women Act. Under this law passed in 1994, spouses of US citizens or their children have the right to petition for permanent residency when they meet the following criteria:

• Must be legally married to the US citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Must reside in the United States.
• Must have resided with the US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse in the United States.
• Must have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage, or is the parent of a child who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse during the marriage.
• Is required to be a person of good moral character.
• Needs to demonstrate that removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship to the self-petitioner or the self-petitioner's child.
• Must have entered into the marriage in good faith, not solely for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits.”

Divorce rate

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that "...marriages arranged through these services would appear to have a lower divorce rate than the nation as a whole, fully 80 percent of these marriages having lasted over the years for which reports are available". The USCIS also reports that "... mail-order bride and e-mail correspondence services result in 4,000 to 6,000 marriages between U.S. men and foreign brides each year".

Immigration issues by country

Canada

Canadian immigration laws have traditionally been similar to (but slightly less restrictive than) their US counterparts; for instance, previously 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).

Taiwan

See also: Nationality Law of the Republic of China

In Taiwan, mail-order brides come primarily from Mainland China and Southeast Asia (especially Vietnam). The common age range for Vietnamese women is from 20 to 28. On average, Taiwanese men spend USD$10,000 on this type of marriage; however, only USD$500 to USD$1,000 will be received by the bride's family. The remainder is absorbed by marriage brokers of the groom and the bride.

Brides from Mainland China are known colloquially as dalu mei (Chinese: 大陸妹, pinyin: dàlù mèi, "little sister from the mainland"). Marriages and immigration are arranged by licensed marriage brokers. Spousal immigration is the only legal form of immigration from mainland China to Taiwan. To the Chinese, dalu mei are not normally perceived as members of the Mainlander minority of Taiwan. Mail-order grooms from China emigrate to Taiwan, although this is much less common. Pro-Taiwan independence parties (such as the Taiwan Solidarity Union) have expressed concerns that brides from mainland China (and their children) will adversely influence Taiwan’s political landscape as they acquire citizenship. However, these attitudes are not universal even among pro-independence supporters, and former President Chen Shuibian of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party made a point of welcoming these brides during his campaign activities in 2004. A local poll suggested that Mainland Chinese brides tend to vote for the same political party as their husbands.

Commentators have noted the emigration of foreign brides from mainland China and Southeast Asia is changing the ethnic composition of Taiwan; mail-order brides and their children outnumber Taiwanese aborigines. Some now consider foreign brides to be Taiwan’s fledging fifth ethnic group, and are interested in observing how Taiwan’s demographics will be gradually changed by this group. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of Vietnamese stores and restaurants in Taiwan operated by Vietnamese brides. The Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior has published domestic violence-prevention materials in Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai, and guide to life in Taiwan in Khmer.

Other Asian countries

South Korea and Japan also have accepted a large number of foreign brides; in South Korea, many brides are Chinese (the largest group) and Vietnamese. Japan accepts many brides from China, the Philippines and Thailand. They have become common in recent years, especially among rural bachelors who cannot find suitable wives in their small towns. South Korea has a notable gender imbalance, with an excess of available bachelors relative to single women. The implications for the ethnic composition of South Korea and Japan are similar to those for Taiwan, albeit less severe (due to their higher populations).

Mainland China has become a destination for internal mail-order brides, due to gender imbalances. These tend to come from poorer parts of China, North Korea, Burma and Vietnam which are considerably poorer per capita than China as a whole. Trafficking and criminal gangs are involved in the mail-order "business".

India has considerable mail-order bride activity, mainly within the country but also from Bangladesh and Nepal (where per-capita income is less than India as a whole). This phenomenon is projected to become more acute in China and India over the coming decades, due to the unnaturally-high number of males born as a consequence of sex selection via widespread ultrasound prenatal screening. Some estimate the excess male population will be in the tens of millions.

United States

The United States issues a K-1 "fiancée" visa that can be used within six months of issue and is valid for a 90-day entry into the U.S. The K-1 (and K-2 for accompanying minor children) is classified as a "non-immigrant" visa, although all immigrant-visa checks (i.e., FBI check and medical exam) are required for this visa. While this is issued as a single-entry visa, should the intending spouse return to her country within the 90 days and seek to return again to the U.S. for the purpose of marriage the embassy may issue a second visa. The USCIS reports that approximately 17,263 such visas were issued in fiscal 2001—7988 from Asia and 4714 from Europe (including the countries of the former Soviet Union). It should be noted, though, that the K-1 visa is used by Americans who met partners overseas (and, perhaps most commonly, by recent immigrants to the US). "Mail-order"-style engagements account for a tiny fraction of all K-1 visas. This type of visa application specifies the applicant's fiancé. If the visa holder does not marry the specified fiancé within the validity of the visa, she is required to return to her country of origin. However, if she marries her fiancé she and her husband can apply to obtain "green card" permanent-resident status with her husband (and possible co-sponsors) promising to support her for ten years (or until she obtains citizenship). This residency status is conditional for two years, after which the couple is expected to apply to have the condition removed. Removal requires the couple prove that they are married to each other in good faith. If the couple has divorced, the immigrant can apply for a waiver to remove the condition. In all cases, supporting evidence is reviewed by the USCIS; this evidence often consists of wedding and vacation photos, love letters, birth certificates of children, and evidence of mutual financial trust (such as joint bank account statements, leases signed by both spouses, bills, insurance policies and other documentation demonstrating a genuine marital relationship). If evidence is found to be suspect, further investigation by the USCIS may be required. This process is intended to prevent would-be immigrants from abandoning their sponsors immediately after obtaining residency, and fraudulent marriages solely for the purpose of immigration. There are exceptions; for example, a woman who is determined to have been a battered wife can self-petition under Violence Against Women Act provisions. Exemptions are also granted if a woman shows that the marriage was bona fide and her spouse died.

The parties can also marry before the fiancée enters the United States, in which case the spouse must retain her residence outside the United States and her U.S. citizen spouse (or permanent resident alien) can apply for a permanent residence visa for her. In that case, the visa is processed at the consulate; she is issued a "green card" valid from her date of entry into the United States, although she may also be subject to the two-year condition (as stated above) if the date of entry is less than two years after her marriage date. A K-3 non-immigrant visa can be issued to the overseas spouse to reunite her with her husband while the permanent residency visa (green card) is being processed. The average wait for a K-3 visa (12 months to 2 years), is usually a little longer than the wait for a K-1 visa (8 to 12 months).

Comparison with other matchmaking forms

Classified and online matchmaking services

Main article: Online dating service

Classified listings were a common matchmaking practice for many years. With the advent of the internet online matchmaking websites have proliferated, largely replacing traditional paper-based classifieds. Thus, online matchmaking is an updated form of the American mail-order bride tradition, with the main difference being the method used for broadcasting the personal ad.

Arranged marriage

Main article: Arranged marriage

An arranged marriage is one in which the marital partners are chosen by others (usually parents), based on considerations other than the preexisting mutual attraction of the partners. Note that this is not necessarily the same thing as a forced marriage.

Legal issues

Marriage agencies and mail-order bride publications are legal in almost all countries. Legal issues in particular countries are:

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.

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

South Korean men commonly arrange for mail-order brides. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2011 South Korea had 2,041,057 men aged 30-34 (the peak marrying years) compared to 1,863,373 women aged 30-34 and 1,687,376 women aged 25-29. Theoretically, if all Korean men married women their own age there would be only 91.3 women per 100 men; since women are usually slightly younger than their husbands, the ratio is actually in the range of 85-88 women. Consequently, there is a surplus of Korean men, and marriages to women from poorer Asian countries have become commonplace.

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 many of these marriages are 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, but in March 2010 the Cambodian government banned marriages to South Korean men.

The sections below focus on trends with respect to Filipina women and reports of abuse by South Korean men.

Frequency of Filipina marriages

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.

Matchmaking methods

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.

Motivation

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". Religious factors would lead Korean men who are observant Catholics to opt for Filipinas over other Asian women.

Violence against foreign brides

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 $5,000 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 $5,000 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".

Mail-order-bride murders

There were four incidents of mail-order brides being killed in the US during the first decade of the 21st century:

• 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.
• Susanna Blackwell met her husband through an international marriage broker called Asian Encounters, and left the Philippines to settle with him in Washington State in 1994. Her husband, Timothy Blackwell, physically abused Susanna, (including one incident in which he choked her the day after their wedding). Susanna reported the abuse to police and obtained a protection order against him. While awaiting divorce/annulment proceedings in a Seattle courtroom months later, Susanna and two of her friends were shot dead. Blackwell was convicted of murdering all three women.
• 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 gynecologist. She was murdered by her husband Hans Reiser, a businessman and computer programmer. 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.

Murder by mail-order bride

• In 2002 Tessie Buhawe Spotts (a native of the Philippines) was charged with the slow poisoning murder of her husband, Alfred Spotts, in Newberry, South Carolina. The couple met through an international magazine advertisement.

Lawsuits

• On November 18, 2004, a federal jury in Baltimore, Maryland awarded Ukrainian mail-order bride Nataliya Fox $433,500 ($341,000 of which were punitive damages) against marriage broker Encounters International and its Russian-immigrant owner, Natasha Spivack. Spivack arranged Nataliya's marriage to an American man with a history of violently abusing women, and who (after being matched with Nataliya) abused her over the course of their marriage. The jury found the marriage broker guilty of fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, willful and wanton negligence, unauthorized appropriation of Ms. Fox's name and likeness, and defamation. The jury found the mail-order-bride company's owner (Natasha Spivak) liable for failing to tell Nataliya about a federal law that allows foreign nationals to escape abusive marriages without fear of automatic deportation, and for actively misleading her about her legal options. The jury also found EI (Natasha Spivak) liable for misrepresenting that it screened male clients, when it did not; and publicizing Nataliya’s marriage to Mr. Fox as an EI “success” story without her permission, even after she fled to a domestic violence shelter. On April 14, 2006 a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the jury's verdict in full, noting that Spivack's conduct involved "moral turpitude".

• On March 26, 2007, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia upheld IMBRA against constitutional challenges brought by an international marriage broker, European Connections and Tours. After initially issuing an ex parte temporary restraining order against the law, the federal judge was persuaded (after hearing arguments) that entering the restraining order was wrong. Instead, he found that "IMBRA is highly likely to reduce domestic abuse – and may actually save lives".

• In 2006, an ad-hoc group of dating companies sued the federal government to overturn IMBRA in the Southern District of Ohio. After a period of litigation, the plaintiff group withdraw its lawsuit prior to trial.

International marriage process

The most successful form of international marriage agency is the internet dating site. These sites offer services such as email, translation, gift services or selling addresses of women interested in meeting men. Men either pay a monthly fee for membership (to contact as many people as they like) or pay a per-address charge.

An older form of matchmaking is the catalog agency. Women in foreign countries are recruited by an agency, and contacted through the answering of advertisements in local newspapers. The agencies then photograph the women and place their pictures and short descriptions in a catalog with other potential brides. After reviewing the catalog a man can identify several women he is interested in, purchase their addresses from the agency and begin writing the women. Once he narrows down his list, he will usually visit the country and meet several potential brides. If he finds a match, he will return home and apply for a fiancee (or marriage) visa and set a wedding date.

21st century

Although the mail-order bride industry has been established for centuries, many changes have been made in how it operates.

Increase in international marriages

In 1970, 34 Asian brides were issued fiancee-petitioned visas for entry into the United States; by 1983, the number of fiancee-petitioned visas issued to Asian brides had increased to 3,428. The number of marriage agencies increased as well. In 1986 there was an estimated 100 mail-order agencies in the United States; that number increased to an estimated 200 agencies by 1992.

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. There were 715 female naturalized citizens between the ages of 20 and 29 and 2,057 women of the same age living without US citizenship according to the 2010 US Census, accounting for 11.3% of the female population of that age bracket. “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”.

Rights of foreign brides

Foreign brides are often dependent on their husbands for citizenship, which can lead to the abuse of the brides by their husbands (since their husbands could have them deported). Foreign brides entering the United States on fiancee visas have 90 days to get married. If they do not marry the visa expires, and they must return to their home country; this has led to men using this 90-day period as a “trial run”. Once married, the bride is considered a Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR). The CPR designation is an attempt to prevent marriage fraud. After two years of marriage, the bride can petition to have the CPR designation removed; however, if she divorces while a CPR she is subject to deportation.

See also

• Romance scam

Bibliography

• "Romance on a Global Stage", a 2003 anthropology study by Nicole Constable, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh

External links

Australia

• Migrating as a Spouse, Partner or Fiancé(e)

Canada

• Citizenship & Immigration
• Legal Resource for Foreign Brides

United States

• Citizenship and Immigration Services