Mail Order Bride

"Mail-Order Bride" is a term often used to refer to a woman who joins a service that is designed to set her up with a man from another, generally more developed country. The "mail-order" title refers to the fact that such women used to publish their personal details in catalogs that foreign men could look at. Today, however, a typical "mail-order bride" would go through an online matchmaking service.

Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another – usually more financially developed country, such as the United States, Canada, or Australia. Many mail-order brides come from countries such as Russia, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, the Ukraine, etc. Though in the past, a mail-order bride may have gone to marry a man that she had never met before, today, there is typically a courtship process involved. Normally, a man who is interested in finding a mail-order bride will buy a membership with one or more online dating site that will allow him to meet and communicate with foreign women. He will then travel to the country where the dating site or dating agency is based, and meet with many of the women there. He can go on private dates with the women that he is interested in, and can even propose marriage.

On mail-order bride site, it has been estimated that every year 100,000 to 150,000 women from different countries advertise for marriages. Approximately, 4,000 to 6,000 marriages between U.S. men and foreign brides have been reported. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that marriages arranged through emails have a higher success rate.

The reasons why do U.S. citizens prefer mail order brides include:

1. Broad range of options to select your life partner

2. Chances to meet well-educated foreign brides online

3. Exposure to diversified lifestyle in terms of culture, tradition, appearance, and much more