“Mail order bride” is a notion that most of us have heard about, but few actually know what it really means. There are all kinds of myths and misconceptions surrounding mail order brides. One of them is that this concept is a thing of the past, and that now people are no longer using this method of finding potential spouses. The good news is that we are here to make things clear, so here is a definitive investigation to answer one important question: “Do mail order brides actually exist?”
Over the years, you may have heard about mail order brides, from the media or maybe even from someone who met their spouse this way. But who exactly is a mail order bride and how do mail order brides work? Moreover, are mail order brides legal?
Let’s start with the basics. A mail order bride is a foreign woman, typically aged between 18 and 45, who has made the decision to look for a husband abroad. She is well aware of the fact that she’ll need to move to her husband’s home country, and she accepts that as part of the deal. In fact, for most brides, the opportunity to move to a foreign country is one of the main deciding factors for becoming mail order brides. As for the legal side of these unions, we will explain it in detail later in this article.
The concept of mail order brides originated in the 17th century, when the first single English ladies responded to newspaper marriage ads published by American settlers. Since then, there have been a few waves of popularity for foreign brides in the 18th and 19th centuries.
However, mail order brides have never been more popular than in the 20th and especially the 21st century. A major reason why the popularity of mail order brides is at an all-time high is that now men don’t have to resort to newspaper ads or sketchy agencies to find their dream woman. All they have to do is join an online dating service and do the whole search from the comfort of their homes. So, are mail order brides a thing in the 21st century? They absolutely are, and the popular show 90 Day Fiancé is a great proof of that.
If you’ve never actively looked for a mail order bride, and don’t know anyone who is happily married to a mail order bride, it can be difficult to believe that people are still using this unconventional way to find a life partner. So, do mail order brides exist? There are at least three reasons why they definitely exist, and these reasons are hard to argue with:
If you want another proof that mail order brides still exist, all you need to do is check out any international dating website. The women there won’t necessarily refer to themselves as mail order brides, but a single look at their profiles and what they want from a relationship reveals that they fit the exact description of a mail order bride.
The short version of the answer to this question is yes, mail order marriages absolutely do exist. If you want proof, you can look at each year’s Non-Immigrant Visa report published by the US Department of State. You can see that there are thousands of K visas issued every year, which means thousands of American citizens marry foreign individuals each year. And while there is no way of knowing how many of those marriages involve mail order brides, one thing is clear: the share of mail order brides in those unions will only continue increasing because there is no alternative that is as easy and as effective as mail order marriage.
We are not going to beat around the bush here: despite what you may have heard, mail order brides are perfectly legal. This is because from the legal standpoint, marrying a foreign mail order bride works just like marrying any other foreign woman, and you are not required to disclose how you met at any point of the process of helping your bride (and then wife) obtain a legal status in the US. However, there is one extra step you need to take to make things legal, which is to get the right type of visa for your bride. Once that is taken care of, you can enjoy the rest of your lives together.
How much is a mail order bride? The answer to this question depends on many factors, and there is never a fixed price for a mail order bride. For most men, the experience of looking for a foreign bride costs between $4,000 and $8,000, although sometimes it can cost more than that — for example, when the man maintains active communication with more than one woman. The overall price includes such expenses as advanced access to the dating site, traveling to the bride’s country to meet her, and taking care of the visa and related expenses.
The idea of mail order brides and mail order marriages can be a confusing one, but only if you’re not really familiar with how exactly this type of relationship works. So, are there still mail order brides? The important thing here is that the existence of mail order brides is not up for debate, and the truth is that the number of mail order brides online, as well as the number of men actively seeking them, only continues to grow. It means now is the perfect time to start looking for your dream woman.
