This is how the profiles made it to US websites. Companies like Kiss.com (previously known as Foreign Relations), A Foreign Affair and Cherry Blossoms had marriage agency contacts abroad in Russia, Eastern Europe, Philippines and South America. These agents had paper profile questionnaires that the women would fill out and then the agencies would mail a package of these applications with photos attached with paperclips to them of each of the applicants. Some of the women provided their own photos and most of them were professionally taken at the agency offices. Many of the women back then did not have email addresses so almost all of the correspondence was done via letters and phone calls so you can imagine the process. Customers on these websites would order the addresses or full contact information of the woman (around 12 a piece) and most of the services provided Russian (Cyrillic) address labels to put on envelopes to ensure delivery of letters.
Some sites like Kiss.com allowed customers to purchase full color copies of the original photos that were submitted for a charge of 5. Once the letters went back and forth a few times they would then plan to meet in person in the foreign country as this was a requirement for a "Fianc'ee" Visa" or K-1 visa to be accepted. This process could take months and years to finally get completed but I estimate that 1000s of women successfully married men in the US and around the world through these services.
"Mail Order Bride" is a dating niche that still isn't fully mainstream yet because people still have pre-conceptions that the women are just "Gold Diggers". Well if you have been to Russia or any of the former Soviet Union countries you will see that they are doing pretty well nowadays and actually the Bentley car dealership in Kiev, Ukraine sold more cars then the Beverly Hills Bentley shop last year.
Today, there are many Russian and Ukrainian dating sites online but only a few trusted businesses that have real profiles on them. Below is a list of the sites that we recommend using if you are looking for international dating and a woman from South America, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Moldova, Poland or the Philippines.
Anastasia International - They have been around since 1993 and have offices here in the US and in Moscow, Russia. They offer romance tours and have 1,000s of new profiles updated monthly to their site.
Cherry Blossoms - Located in Hawaii, Cherry Blossoms is a trusted brand focused on international dating and mostly helping single men find partners in the Philippines and South American countries.
A Foreign Affair (www.loveme.com) - They were one of the first mail order bride sites online and have been running tours and their international dating service since 1995. They can help you with Fiance Visa applications and International Travel. They are also US based with offices in Phoenix, AZ.
Be prepared to be a little patient and ready to spend a great deal of money on travel and the paperwork that comes with this type of online dating. It can be an exciting experience for you and very fulfilling if you find your soul mate on the other side of the planet. Be weary of scams though. Never send money to anyone until you have met in person.
If you can read cyrillic Russian then here are a couple other popular Russian based dating services: Date.ru, Mamba.ru and Kiss.ru.
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