Marriage Broker Question

[Alfia & John 10]

Mike, I just got my lady here in Nov and we had a heck of a time at the Embassy in Warsaw. The consular kept asking over and over which broker we met thru. It was so bad that I was asked or rather told to leave and go into another room. He kept Tanya there for at least 20 min asking in different ways the same question over and over. Which broker and how many men she had met thru the broker. Well to make this shorter we did use a visa firm out of Ca to do our I-129 and they had marked that we used a broker. Which was an incorrect answer. We used russian bride.ru which is a FREE DATING SITE, not a broker.

We did get the visa and was told that marking yes to that question was wrong on our part in not knowing the difference between a broker and a dating site. So if you didn't pay anyone for a marriage only to read or answer letters you used a dating site. CLEAR I hope?

Thanks Ron, very helpful.

Warsaw/Belarus is not Kiev/Ukraine, nor is it Moscow/Russia, it is not even the same for Warsaw/Poland. All consulates are different and consulates that handle multiple countries have different standards for different countries. Warsaw handled Ukrainian visas until 2005 and the procedure and degree of difficulty is much less in Kiev than it was in Warsaw.

The OP should read the consulate reviews for the Kiev, Ukraine consulate for K-1 visas. As you know, the large majority of American men marrying FSU women have met through a "marriage agency" as they are often called (FSU folks being much more direct than Americans, what do you expect?) It is as common as white on rice, yet shows up almost never as a topic in an interview in Kiev.

So Gary, what is your take, mark yes and explain name of agency or mark no.

[Ken&Ruzana 4]

So my girl calls me up about 3am NY time and is completely worried about us having met through a marriage broker...ie. Anastasia.com. She is reading stories on Ukraine and Russian forums where most girls are getting denied Visas due to being found on one of these sites. If anyone knows anything about these sites, your chances of finding a good, honest, quality girl is very slim. It is full of scammers, fake profiles, and girls who chat to make money for a living. Obviously the USCIS knows this. My girl said she would even sign a prenup to prove shes not in it for any money. Her and I are in love and I'll be making my 3rd trip to Ukraine in a few weeks. I wasn't worried about it but shes getting me worried now because it specifically ask on line #19 Please provide any information if you met through a marriage broker. I don't think this would be signaled out for nothing. She wants to not mention it but our Skype conversations are flooded with talking about it and I told her a sure fire way to get denied is to lie....just say we meet through a marriage broker, provide all the correct paperwork and keep our fingers crossed. She afraid we will get rejected on that basis alone and recommends getting married in Ukraine first. I told her by the time we can plan a wedding and I get back over to Ukraine, after this upcoming trip in a few weeks, it will prolong any sort of Visa because we will still have to wait 6-9 months. I'm suggesting we do the K1 Visa and see what happens. By the time of her interview I will have seen her 4 times over a week each time....I need some help in this from people who have met their girl through a marriage broker. I think only a few countries do this widespread...Ukraine and Russia being two of them. I need something to tell her to calm her down. Shes reading a percentage of 50% rejection rate on girls from marriage brokers....that's not good in my eyes. I told her that many factors can cause someone to get rejected such as income requirements, incorrect paperwork, not enough proof of relationship, maybe even ages of the the couple (ie, girl is 18 and man is 60+) I know the marriage brokers have a bad rep because girls only chat to make money and never have any intention of finding a foreign man. Its a billion dollar industry in Ukraine. So I need some recommendations before I submit this K1 next week...thanks

I met my wife on a similar site, she was from Russia we stated how we met and where we met, We filed for the K1 visa and had no problems. They never questioned it at all.

[Mike Bowman 8]

Man this is confusing. I paid to chat with her for 20 minutes then we set up a dinner date and exchanged information. That simple. I didn't do a tour which AnastasiaDate says they do background checks on all tour members. I'd rather put it on the I-129F, then to not, only to find out Anastasia is in fact a Marriage Broker...by definition, even though I didn't use it for such purposes. Elena's Models is exactly the same as AnastasiaDate. If they are complying with the IMBRA I think that would qualify them as being an IMB. If not, why comply? To me it reads as if AnastasiaDate is acting "In good faith" to prevent scams and abuse but not an IMB, they just follow the rules to hype their site up. I'd rather get asked a billion questions about an IMB and bring a printout of the Anastasia IMBRA I posted earlier. Then let the consulate decide since its very vague. I want their site to say "We are an International Marriage Broker" in plain English but it doesn't say that at all...only they are an internet dating site. Because they have all this IMBRA stuff on their site it's making me very confused. I think better safe than sorry then them calling me a liar and my girl gets rejected for her visa over stupidity.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks Ron, very helpful.

So Gary, what is your take, mark yes and explain name of agency or mark no.

I would mark "NO". Anastasia Date is NOT an IMBRA marriage broker despite the wording to cover their @ss on their website or whatever conservative procedures they may choose to impose on their members, they ARE NOT a marriage broker and do not act as one.

If one marks "YES" there is no penalty. Even in the case above n Warsaw, the visa was issued after 20 minutes of blah, blah, blah. No harm, no foul.

[Alfia & John 10]

Elena's Models is exactly the same as AnastasiaDate. If they are complying with the IMBRA I think that would qualify them as being an IMB. If not, why comply?

MIke, the info on Elena's Models is only in the section of the site about tours. I believe, in relation to tours, they are acting as a marriage broker. I believe as a dating site, they are not marriage brokers

Edited February 19, 2013 by moosescape

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Man this is confusing. I paid to chat with her for 20 minutes then we set up a dinner date and exchanged information. That simple. I didn't do a tour which AnastasiaDate says they do background checks on all tour members. I'd rather put it on the I-129F, then to not, only to find out Anastasia is in fact a Marriage Broker...by definition, even though I didn't use it for such purposes. Elena's Models is exactly the same as AnastasiaDate. If they are complying with the IMBRA I think that would qualify them as being an IMB. If not, why comply? To me it reads as if AnastasiaDate is acting "In good faith" to prevent scams and abuse but not an IMB, they just follow the rules to hype their site up. I'd rather get asked a billion questions about an IMB and bring a printout of the Anastasia IMBRA I posted earlier. Then let the consulate decide since its very vague. I want their site to say "We are an International Marriage Broker" in plain English but it doesn't say that at all...only they are an internet dating site. Because they have all this IMBRA stuff on their site it's making me very confused. I think better safe than sorry then them calling me a liar and my girl gets rejected for her visa over stupidity.

Complying with the law does not make them anything. They are not a marriage broker.

But, yes, better safe than sorry and there is no penalty for being safe. If the consulate asks why you said you did, then explain exactly as you have..."they were unclear so we were cautious"

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Man this is confusing. I paid to chat with her for 20 minutes then we set up a dinner date and exchanged information. That simple. I didn't do a tour which AnastasiaDate says they do background checks on all tour members. I'd rather put it on the I-129F, then to not, only to find out Anastasia is in fact a Marriage Broker...by definition, even though I didn't use it for such purposes. Elena's Models is exactly the same as AnastasiaDate. If they are complying with the IMBRA I think that would qualify them as being an IMB. If not, why comply? To me it reads as if AnastasiaDate is acting "In good faith" to prevent scams and abuse but not an IMB, they just follow the rules to hype their site up. I'd rather get asked a billion questions about an IMB and bring a printout of the Anastasia IMBRA I posted earlier. Then let the consulate decide since its very vague. I want their site to say "We are an International Marriage Broker" in plain English but it doesn't say that at all...only they are an internet dating site. Because they have all this IMBRA stuff on their site it's making me very confused. I think better safe than sorry then them calling me a liar and my girl gets rejected for her visa over stupidity.

"Complying with the law" does not make them a marriage broker, it makes them cautious.

Marriage brokers are defined in the IMBRA. Nothing else is a marriage broker except what meets that definition and it is a very narrow definition.

[Mike Bowman 8]

Ok i think Im going to leave the answer as "YES" and let the consulate sort it out. Just because I didn't use the tour aspect, I think they will say it's still a marriage broker I just didn't utilize that option to meet my girl. I'd rather deal with blah blah blah for 20 minutes then be denied by not telling the truth. I just got my girls info in the mail today so will be submitting my K1 next week. I'll keep you guys updated on the outcome. Thanks everyone for the information. Just when I think I have all basis covered another question comes up with no easy answer. That's what VJ is for! I'm hoping for a speedy visa. I'd like my girl to be here by December.

[sunshine55 0]

So my girl calls me up about 3am NY time and is completely worried about us having met through a marriage broker...ie. Anastasia.com. She is reading stories on Ukraine and Russian forums where most girls are getting denied Visas due to being found on one of these sites. If anyone knows anything about these sites, your chances of finding a good, honest, quality girl is very slim. It is full of scammers, fake profiles, and girls who chat to make money for a living. Obviously the USCIS knows this. My girl said she would even sign a prenup to prove shes not in it for any money. Her and I are in love and I'll be making my 3rd trip to Ukraine in a few weeks. I wasn't worried about it but shes getting me worried now because it specifically ask on line #19 Please provide any information if you met through a marriage broker. I don't think this would be signaled out for nothing. She wants to not mention it but our Skype conversations are flooded with talking about it and I told her a sure fire way to get denied is to lie....just say we meet through a marriage broker, provide all the correct paperwork and keep our fingers crossed. She afraid we will get rejected on that basis alone and recommends getting married in Ukraine first. I told her by the time we can plan a wedding and I get back over to Ukraine, after this upcoming trip in a few weeks, it will prolong any sort of Visa because we will still have to wait 6-9 months. I'm suggesting we do the K1 Visa and see what happens. By the time of her interview I will have seen her 4 times over a week each time....I need some help in this from people who have met their girl through a marriage broker. I think only a few countries do this widespread...Ukraine and Russia being two of them. I need something to tell her to calm her down. Shes reading a percentage of 50% rejection rate on girls from marriage brokers....that's not good in my eyes. I told her that many factors can cause someone to get rejected such as income requirements, incorrect paperwork, not enough proof of relationship, maybe even ages of the the couple (ie, girl is 18 and man is 60+) I know the marriage brokers have a bad rep because girls only chat to make money and never have any intention of finding a foreign man. Its a billion dollar industry in Ukraine. So I need some recommendations before I submit this K1 next week...thanks

i can tell you they dont read all the skype stuff that people sends all they care about is the phone calls and how often u have visited her

[Lena and Igor 5]

Ok i think Im going to leave the answer as "YES" and let the consulate sort it out. Just because I didn't use the tour aspect, I think they will say it's still a marriage broker I just didn't utilize that option to meet my girl. I'd rather deal with blah blah blah for 20 minutes then be denied by not telling the truth. I just got my girls info in the mail today so will be submitting my K1 next week. I'll keep you guys updated on the outcome. Thanks everyone for the information. Just when I think I have all basis covered another question comes up with no easy answer. That's what VJ is for! I'm hoping for a speedy visa. I'd like my girl to be here by December.

I labored over question #19 for 10 seconds as I remember. No was my answer since I determined that AnastasiaDate is a free dating site. Don't sweat it. Proof of an ongoing relationship is what counts. Again, good luck.

[Ron-Tanya 23]

Warsaw/Belarus is not Kiev/Ukraine, nor is it Moscow/Russia, it is not even the same for Warsaw/Poland. All consulates are different and consulates that handle multiple countries have different standards for different countries. Warsaw handled Ukrainian visas until 2005 and the procedure and degree of difficulty is much less in Kiev than it was in Warsaw.

The OP should read the consulate reviews for the Kiev, Ukraine consulate for K-1 visas. As you know, the large majority of American men marrying FSU women have met through a "marriage agency" as they are often called (FSU folks being much more direct than Americans, what do you expect?) It is as common as white on rice, yet shows up almost never as a topic in an interview in Kiev.

Not sure why you are so up tight about my explanation of the bad time we had pertaining to a RUB country and the difference between BROKER AND DATING SITE???

[Mike Bowman 8]

sunshine55 I spoke with a lawyer and he said the same thing. He told me they know people can have thousands of pages of Skype chats and the consulate won't bother to read any of it. I have all the calls recorded but he told me they won't watch those either...the thing about the video calls it shows where I met her dad and brother and wheres shes met my whole family through Skype. He told me to mention you have these videos and if they want to see them have them ready. It was more the flight stubs, flat or hotel receipts, pictures, and calls. Which I have everything plus some ready to go. I'm hoping 2 times visit with an itinerary showing another trip on March 13th is enough. I go to Ukraine 2 months So I hope I have enough evidence to support our relationship. I've read stories with people having way less and still got a visa. So keeping my fingers crossed.

[Enigma11561 336]

This site is NOT NOT a marriage broker. It is a dating/chat site. As Gary said they put in the IMBRA stuff just to cover their butts.I would not open a can of worms by saying you met thru a marriage broker..because you did not. You simply met online at a chat site as thousands of us have done. Geez. how else do you meet some one from 5,000 miles away unless you just happen to work internationally or were on vacation someplace. If you want really specific info about this site go here. www.russianwomendiscussion.com

[StephAnn2012 50]

'Ron-Tanya' Mike, I just got my lady here in Nov and we had a heck of a time at the Embassy in Warsaw. The consular kept asking over and over which broker we met thru. It was so bad that I was asked or rather told to leave and go into another room. He kept Tanya there for at least 20 min asking in different ways the same question over and over. Which broker and how many men she had met thru the broker. Well to make this shorter we did use a visa firm out of Ca to do our I-129 and they had marked that we used a broker. Which was an incorrect answer. We used russian bride.ru which is a FREE DATING SITE, not a broker. We did get the visa and was told that marking yes to that question was wrong on our part in not knowing the difference between a broker and a dating site. So if you didn't pay anyone for a marriage only to read or answer letters you used a dating site. CLEAR I hope?

That's what I am saying - unless you were introduced to your fiancee by a broker who introduced you to her by screening process, you have not used a marriage broker - Every site out there offers more services and tours - if you met your fiancee in the course of browsing ads and chatting, that is the same as Match - eharmony etc and are not considered brokered relationships - This law of which we speak is intended to find and stop the scam marriage brokers - not legit dating sites - go read the law I told you to read ---- are you still reading this? I said GO!.....

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Not sure why you are so up tight about my explanation of the bad time we had pertaining to a RUB country and the difference between BROKER AND DATING SITE???

Not sure why you think I am "uptight" That never happens.

You went to a different consulate for a different country. Consulates vary on their treatment of particulars. There are dozens of reviews for the KIEV, UKRAINE consulate, the OP should review these