Russian Brides Cyber Guide
http://www.womenrussia.com
- NEWS RELEASE -
| Contact: Elena Petrova Tel.: +617.55787977 Fax: +617.55787944 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
August 22, 2003 -- Robina, Gold Coast, Australia --
More than six hundred Russian women has signed Petition against the proposed procedure of background checks on men utilizing services of international matchmakers, as according to the pending USA legislation on international marriage brokers. The Petition was initiated by a large USA-based international matchmaking company and circulated in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The legislation in question, named "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2003", was introduced in the Senate of the United States 25 July 2003. The Bill was sponsored by Dem. Senator Maria Cantwell and Dem. Rep. Rick Larsen, both from Washington State, where 20-year-old Anastasia King, a Russian mail order bride, was brutally murdered in September 2000. Anastasia's husband Indle King Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder last year. King's first wife had obtained a restrictive order on him because of his violence in the marriage, and access to this information could save the life of 20-year-old mail order bride.
The proposed Regulation is aimed to protect women seeking American husbands from bride-hunters with the history of crime or abuse; but poor logistics of the proposed procedure made Russian brides petition against of it.
According to the Bill, a matchmaking company should obtain a background check on every man desiring to use its services, translate it to the native language of the woman, and then present it to her before allowing any contact between the man and the woman. Such a process can take a few days, or even weeks. In a case where a matchmaking company forfeits the procedure, they may be fined up to $20,000.
The industry insiders say that following this procedure will result in men switching to offshore operators to avoid background checks, which may cause more violence against mail order brides.
"The proposed logistics of the process do not seem to fit the purpose", says Elena Petrova, the owner of Russian Brides Cyber Guide
(http://www.womenrussia.com), an informational website for men seeking a Russian wife. Located in the Gold Coast, Australia, she is nevertheless concerned about the pending USA legislation, since about 80% of men seeking brides in Russia are Americans. Petrova points out that imposing the function of background checks on marriage agencies will not prevent violent or abusive men from seeking foreign brides, because such men can easily use websites that are exemptions from the proposed Regulation, such as multimillion-user general dating sites, or offshore-based marriage brokers.
Bart Dirks, the owner of Russian-Women-Info.com, agrees: "Everyone knows that it is easy to use an agency outside the US. I live in Holland and would like to refer to the way the Dutch Government is dealing with this. In a situation where a Dutch man wants to invite a Russian woman to visit him, or wants to start an immigration procedure, and he has a criminal record (no matter how old), the Dutch Embassy and/or the Dutch Immigration will tell her about that before she enters Holland. This kind of background checks, to protect Russian and other foreign women from possible abuse, must be under the absolute control of the immigration authorities of that country and should not be a responsibility of a marriage agency."
There is an intense interest in new developments concerning the proposed International Marriage Broker Regulation Act. Will it be accepted in its current edition or altered in some way?
Overseas marriage brokers seem to be the ones who will immediately benefit from the proposed Regulation, through shutting down million-dollar international matchmaking industry in the USA. Most likely, large USA-based international matchmakers will not close down but simply move offshore, for example, taking their operations to Russia with its 12% flat tax rate.
The only ones who will be incurably defeated in the process seem to be future mail order brides, unless their Petition to alter the procedure of background checks on men utilizing services of marriage brokers will impress Senators of the United States.
Russian Brides Cyber Guide (http://www.womenrussia.com) was founded in 1999 as informational resource for men seeking a Russian wife, and was the first website about Russian women designed by a Russian woman. The site offers a range of articles, reviews and true-life stories for anyone interested in the subject of international marriages.
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If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Elena Petrova, please call Elena at +617.55787977 (9:00-16:00, GMT+10, Australian Eastern Time) or contact us here.
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