Issues With Mail Order Brides

There have been concerns over this issue reflects the lack of power the foreign-born woman has compared to either the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in these arrangements and the lack of regulations governing the way in which the international matchmaking organizations conduct their business. The phenomenon is not unique to the United States. Western Europe, Canada, and Australia are witnessing similar patterns with regard to the use of these agencies and the Beautiful Russian or Lithuanian girls who participate in foreign marriages.

Polarized views exist of the relationships and marriages that result from the use of IMOs. At one end of the spectrum is the view that the mail-order bride business is an international personal ad service used by "consenting adults and competent people." In 1989, the Swedish Government appointed an Ombudsman Against Ethnic Discrimination to conduct a 9-month investigation into mail-order bride businesses. The Ombudsman concluded that the business was neither unethical nor unlawful. However, girls seeking marriage do deserve protection.

Browsing through the IMO catalogs and web-sites reveals that many of these businesses are doing much more than just providing a name and address referral service. In fact, some of the web-sites are sophisticated concoctions providing both video and audio representations of the recruits. Other services-for-a-fee are available and include organized social gatherings, travel arrangements, and assistance with immigration paperwork (which may fall under the unauthorized practice of law provisions). A recent documentary produced by the Global Survival Network (GSN) reveals how mail-order bride businesses are used as fronts to recruit and traffick Russian women to Germany, Japan, and the United States for the sex industry. Specifically, GSN reports that traffickers have become interested in sending women to the United States because fiancée visas are easily obtained for Dating Russian Girls or Lithuanian women.

Really, the issues are not that complex.