If you are or have been in an International Marriage

[Fandango 1,439]

How does IMBRA req a polica background check in order to say 'hi' to someone?

[Fandango 1,439]

Also: calling one's self a feminist and a feminazi are two entirely separate things....how having a 'feminist' colleague clears up the whole 'this questionnaire is designed to incite feminazi's' statement is anyone's guess...

Edited July 27, 2008 by Happy Bunny

[Teacher Mark 53]

A good friend of mine is attempting to create the first really comprehensive survey of international marriages and divorces. He has researchers from several universities including Depaul, Georgia State and Notre Dame involved in the project along with some divorce attorneys. The survey is being widely promoted with the hopes of getting 5000 responses and coming up with some real statistics for the first time about things such as the actual divorce rate of international marriages The causes of these divorces and how important things like the short time allowed on a K-1, language differences, age differences, income and education are in the success or failure rate of international marriages.

If you are or have been involved in an international marriage it would really help if you could take a few minutes and complete the survey. There are only 20 questions.

Here is a link to information and the survey.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1110934.htm

If you take the survey it does ask for your name and e-mail but that is only because of the software they are using and the need to verify that it is real people taking the survey. Your name or e-mail will not be sold or used or divulged to anyone. Actually I think you can leave that blank and still complete the survey.

I hope if you are or have been in an international marriage that you will take some time and complete the survey. I think there will be some very good information that comes from it.

Thanks

That sounds like a great idea! I'll fill it out. Thanks for the post.

[Teacher Mark 53]

A good friend of mine is attempting to create the first really comprehensive survey of international marriages and divorces. He has researchers from several universities including Depaul, Georgia State and Notre Dame involved in the project along with some divorce attorneys. The survey is being widely promoted with the hopes of getting 5000 responses and coming up with some real statistics for the first time about things such as the actual divorce rate of international marriages The causes of these divorces and how important things like the short time allowed on a K-1, language differences, age differences, income and education are in the success or failure rate of international marriages.

If you are or have been involved in an international marriage it would really help if you could take a few minutes and complete the survey. There are only 20 questions.

Here is a link to information and the survey.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1110934.htm

If you take the survey it does ask for your name and e-mail but that is only because of the software they are using and the need to verify that it is real people taking the survey. Your name or e-mail will not be sold or used or divulged to anyone. Actually I think you can leave that blank and still complete the survey.

I hope if you are or have been in an international marriage that you will take some time and complete the survey. I think there will be some very good information that comes from it.

Thanks

That sounds like a great idea! I'll fill it out. Thanks for the post.

From BadHusband.com I need to look this thing over! GoodWife.com????????? Mail Order Bride?

[Turboguy 6]

How does IMBRA req a polica background check in order to say 'hi' to someone?

That is exactly what it does according to the letter of the law. Different agencies are interpreting it differently. Some are trying to get by on a statement from the person that they have no criminal background others are charging $ 100.00 or so and doing a full FBI check etc for each member.

As an example the agency I met my wife through which is based in Australia but has mostly Eastern European women in their database goes with the minimum where I had to answer a bunch of questions about my criminal background and marriage background and I had to sign a statement that I had never been arrested or be accused of violence against women. I have no real problem with doing that but if they really enforced the letter of the law they could keep me from getting a K-1 since they really didn't fully comply. (I am past that point personally but for others it could be a problem)

Another thing the agency I used does in trying to comply with IMBRA, in the pre-IMBRA days if I saw a photo and listing of a women I was interested in I could write her, tell her about myself and send a photo. With the same agency, after IMBRA I can't do that. If I see a woman I am intersted in I contact the agency who contacts her and they say we have this man who is interested in contacting you. He is divorced one time. He has no criminal record. He is x age etc. No letter, no photo and she must give her constent for me to write her. Her decision about my contacting her is only on criminal background, divorce background and statistics. I would find it much more preferable for her to know a little about me and see a photo to make her decision.

Right now they are not enforcing IMBRA as strictly as they could or may in the future. According to the letter of the law we have two K-1 visa's as a lifetime allowance. What happened to my right to life, liberty and persuit of happiness. Isn't trying to find someone to love and marry persuing happiness. Does the government really have a right to try to control who I marry? I will agree in cases where I am a bad guy yes, but do they if I am not?

The goal is to protect women. They have taken a few high profile cases and blown them to epidemic proportions. The real truth is that a lot of the women on K-1 visas come from countries where women have few rights are are murdered and beaten at a far higher rate than here.

The only half way decent study done so far was one by the government in I believe 1998 or 99 that showed a much, much lower rate of abuse in cross cultureal marriages than in marriages between two American citizens. Yet these facts get buried and they take things like two high profile murders and create the IMBRA law.

Sorry to ramble on. This study hopes to provide some good statistics on what really happens in a cross cultural marriage. The truth can be a powerful weapon. There are enough of the right people involved in this study that they can do some good with it.

One last comment on the Mail Order Bride terminology. I have a feeling they wanted to use the same term those who create problems for us do to eliminate any confusion where they might say the survey did not pertain. In other words IMBRA uses the term Mail Order Bride. If the survey was titled Cross Culteral marriages or International Marriages the IMBRA supporters could say it dealt with something else. Using the same term they do eliminates that possibility.

My friend who is the main person behind this is married to and has a family with a woman from Russia. I am also married to a woman from Russia. As I have said before, no one in an international relationship likes the term MOB including me and the person who created the survey.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Turboguy, as far I understand IMBRA, those criminal background checks only apply only to international marriage brokers. It doesn't single out all international couples or even international dating sites, just the ones that legally deemed marriage brokers.

[Turboguy 6]

Turboguy, as far I understand IMBRA, those criminal background checks only apply only to international marriage brokers. It doesn't single out all international couples or even international dating sites, just the ones that legally deemed marriage brokers.

That is correct as far as the criminal background check. Well actually it applies to international dating sites as well unless they are run by a church or are free. I met my wife through an international dating site but it still fell under IMBRA. They are using a pretty broad definition of "Marriage Broker"

IMBRA regualtions about the number of K-1's apply to everyone.

[Fandango 1,439]

Methinks the bias in this study is clear!

ETA: If the International dating service charges a fee, then it should fall under IMBRA.

Edited July 27, 2008 by Happy Bunny

[GabachaYucateca 0]

Have to agree there, Happy Bunny! On its face, I think that a study of marriage-based visas and the marriages themselves is very interesting, however, it seems that this study is only interested in those whose circumstances fall under IMBRA and those who meet their spouses through dating sites.

My filling out the survey (which I did) is not going to help, as my husband and I are not the target demographic for this survey as I imagine is true for lots more people on VJ.

Interesting idea, though!

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

Well then maybe we should make up our own survey.

[Fandango 1,439]

Well then maybe we should make up our own survey.

lol, why would we? We're not the ones trying to prove/disprove something...nor are 'we' trying to 'pi$$ off the feminazis'

Edited July 27, 2008 by Happy Bunny

[one...two...tree 2,762]

No offense to those who met their spouses through marriage brokers, but I think criminal background checks are a good thing, given their track record. Marriage brokers are essentially selling a service and therefore that service should be regulated, particularly when it involves immigration.

[Teacher Mark 53]

I have to ask my Wife what she thinks before I fill this out. Let me go jump in my motor carriage and send her a telegraph!

[Teacher Mark 53]

Well then maybe we should make up our own survey.

Yes we should. Does anybody own a Gutenberg press by chance?

[Scott & Lai 12]

But the problem is I just don't think you will find that many people on this site involved with an international marriage.

Erm.....aren't all of us here involved with international marriages?

Methinks the bias in this study is clear!

ETA: If the International dating service charges a fee, then it should fall under IMBRA.

Are we talking about dating services such as Match.com or Eharmony, which have members both in the U.S. and in other countries (most of these have some sort of membership fee)? Or is some other type of service meant?

As for "inciting" feminazis and the term "Mail Order Bride," I think both of those are signs of a poor research methodolgy.