International marriage agency

An international marriage agency, also called international introduction agency, is a business that endeavors to introduce men and women of different countries for the purpose of marriage, dating or penpals. Agency methods vary widely.

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 the 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.

Approximately 4,000-6,000 women go to the U.S. every year via these agencies. In addition, South Korean men have married over 40,000 Vietnamese mail-order brides alone, bringing them to South Korea, where there have been mixed results.But this is a small portion of the 100,000 to 150,000 eligible foreign women who advertise themselves on e-matchmaking sites each year.

History

In the late 19th century, commentators began to write of an "international marriage market". The key variables determining the relationship between migration and marriage were demographics, legal policies, cultural perceptions, and information and technology.

In the early United States, the difficulty and dangers of traveling and the uncertainty of life on the frontier resulted in early communities where women were scarce. Imbalances between the number of available women and the number of men desiring partners created a strong demand for immigrant women. As a result of this imbalance, a new system of "picture brides" developed in these predominantly male settlements.

In the early 20th Century the institution of "picture brides" sometimes 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 the immigration of unmarried Japanese women into America effectively barred, the use of "picture brides" provided a mechanism whereby willing women could gain a passport to America while Japanese workers in America could gain a female helpmate of their own nationality.

Services

Services that marriage agencies offer typically include:

• introductions
• translating correspondence between clients who do not speak a common language
• excursions in which a man is introduced to several women interested in marriage

Country-specific information

South Korea

One of the highest numbers of marriages through international marriage agencies or mail-order bride brokers occur in South Korea. The New York Times reports that, "Every month, hundreds of South Korean men fly to Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Nepal and Uzbekistan on special trips." Although sometimes these marriages work out, "In some cases, immigrant wives end up mistreated, misunderstood - and quickly separated from their Korean husbands."The method the men use when choosing these 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 London newspaper The Independent reports "Last year it was reported that more than 40,000 Vietnamese women have married South Korean men and migrated there." Among Korean men, Cambodian women are very popular, but in March, 2010, the Cambodian government banned outright any marriages with South Korean men.

Philippine-Korea International Marriage Issues and Official Stance of Government of Philippine

The Korea Times reports that every year thousands of Korean men sign up for matchmaking to Filipina brides through agencies and mail-order. Based on data from the Korean government, there are 6,191 Filipinas in South Korea who are married to Koreans.

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 inferior qualifications and difficult circumstances. The Korean men feel that because of the difficult circumstances out of which the Filipina women come, along with the major cultural differences and the language barrier, they "will not run away." Further, she said, Korean men characterize Southeast Asian women as girls who are friendly, work hard because they come from agrarian societies, and are "docile and obedient, able to speak English, and are familiar with Korean patriarchal culture."

Philippine has outlawed mail order bride businesses by enacting Republic Act 6955 in 1989. In October 11 2009 article on Korea Times, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis Cruz warned Filipino women against marrying Korean men using illegal matchmaking service. Cruz told Korea Times in October 2009 article that, "marriages contracted through these illegal matchmaking agencies don't involve courtship and there is an exchange of money. These become the root of problems between the mail-order brides and their husbands as language and cultural differences clash and the Filipina women are regarded as commodities bought by the Korean men." Luis Cruz stated that, in 2009, his office received 11 complaints from Filipina women married to South Korean men regarding domestic violence. According to Cruz, in the same October 11 2009 Korea Times article, "[Philippine Embassy] in Seoul has received complaints from Filipino wives of abuse committed by their Korean husbands that caused separation, divorce and abandonment."

Embassy's report on the matter states that combination of factors contribute to negative outcome of the marriages, such as husbands' infidelity, alcoholism, differing notion of marriage, and language barrier. However, Dr. Maragtas S.V. Amante of Hanyang University suggests that root cause of failure of such marriages may be due to mismatch of expectation on the part of both South Korean men and Filipino women, as well as misrepresentation of clear facts by the illegal marriage brokers.

Inter-Korea Marriages via Marriage Agencies

South Korea men marry female North Korean defectors through agencies in the South set up by former female defectors.

Murder of Vietnamese mail order bride by South Korean man

In July 2010, a 47-year-old South Korean man murdered a 20-year-old Vietnamese girl (his mail-order bride) when he claims that a ghost told him to do so, however, he was later found insane.

Controversy

Fraud

There is some incidence of dishonesty, fraud, and neglectful service from international marriage agencies. 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. Certain notable legal issues are:

• On Jan 6, 2006, the United States Congress enacted H.R. 3402: Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 [8]. This law requires certain actions prior to selling a foreign woman's address to a US citizen or resident, including:

1. The man must complete a questionnaire on his criminal and marital background.
2. The seller must obtain the man's record from the National Sex Offenders Public Registry database [9].
3. The questionnaire and record must be translated to the woman's native language and provided to her.
4. The woman must certify that she agrees to permit communication.
5. A lifetime limit of two (2) fiancé visas is imposed, with a waiver required for the approval of any subsequent fiancé visa.

See also

• International Marriage Broker Regulation Act
• Picture bride

Footnotes

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