The idea of mail order brides began in the 19th century. During that time, men from eastern countries would move to the west in search of land and gold. Once they found a promising area, they would settle down and build businesses. For sure, they were successful; however, going home to a cold empty house was a problem. This prompted a number of them to start writing back home to the churches and newspapers requesting to meet women who would fill the void in their life. A number of women started writing back and this how mail order brides came to be.

This concept continued to grow to the point that women started listing themselves in catalogs in the hope of a man choosing them for marriage. Fast forward to the 21st century, the internet has made it so easy to connect with people. In most cases, the men are expected to be financially well off. The women, on the other hand, need to take into consideration the following rules.

15 Sign Up With Legit Agencies

Via: people.com

The first step into becoming a mail-order bride is to shop for mail order bride services as stated on oureverydaylife.com. This can be a website or an agency. However, women should ensure that they sign up with legitimate sites or agencies that adhere to the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act.

14 Should Not Pay Anything

Via: rollingstone.com

Men who want mail order brides have to pay some money for the service rendered to them. On average mail order services cost between $50 to $30,000 as revealed by mytopbrides.net. In most cases, the man should incur all costs so the women should not pay anything. An agency asking women for money is probably a fake.

13 Be Honest

Via: travelandleisure.com

A number of women pretending to search for love have duped men of their monies as explained on thetalko.com therefore, most people offering mail order services have to carry out background checks on both parties for the sake of running legitimate businesses and safeguarding the interest of both parties. It is therefore crucial that women be honest about themselves to avoid problems later on.

12 Fill Out Applications

Via: independent.co.uk

Most mail order services will require a woman to divulge information about herself. Marriage brokers can request her to fill out an application form or submit a bio to get this information. They also expect to receive a current and modest photo as explained on oureverydaylife.com and any other personal information deemed necessary.

11 Give Up Contact Details

Via: pri.org

According to the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, a woman who wishes to enter into a mail-order marriage with a man of American citizenship must certify that she consents to allow whatever broker she is using to divulge information about her, which includes her contact details. Agencies are not supposed to share a woman’s address without this permit.

10 Get An Education

Via: pinterest.com

Although a number of women sign up to be mail order brides because of problems in their home country, most of them should at least have an education. Some women come from poor backgrounds they wish to escape from but a number of them have some education background and others having college degrees as revealed by newwife.net.

9 Get Enough Info About The Man

Via: businessinsider.com

As stated on uslegal.com, any man who intends on obtaining a wife through mail order services must reveal information about their financial status, criminal record if any, past marriages and the number of children he has. Therefore, any woman willing to settle with an American man must obtain these details of their potential spouse.

8 Converse With The Man

Via: hugelol.com

A number of women have ended up in situations they would have rather not, for getting involved in mail order relationships. Therefore, before a woman decides to fly thousands of miles to move in with a stranger oureverydaylife.com advises that she should engage her suitor in many conversations to find out more about him and his true intentions.

7 Meet Up Before Moving

Via: thai-bride-from-eden.com

Most agencies ask both men and women for photos to present to the other party. The couples can also exchange photos before they meet one another. However, some people give fake photos as revealed on thetalko.com. To be on the safe side, a woman should arrange for several meetings at her home country to meet the man and get to know him.

6 Take Time Before Trusting

Via: susanmeiselas.com

Oureverydaylife.com warns women about divulging personal information to unknown people before getting to know them properly. Not everyone who signs up for mail order services has noble intentions. Therefore, women should not share their home addresses, locations or personal information until they know more about a person.

5 Learn The Language

Via: thaipersonalconnections.com

Many women who sign up for mail order services receive a connection to men from different countries. Men who sign up for mail order services seek foreign women as noted on wikipedia.org. Therefore, to avoid translation costs and communication issues, women interested to be mail order brides should be conversant with the language of the men they are interested in.

Via: politik.mn

Findlaw.com advises women to obtain information regarding their legal rights and legal resources as foreign fiancées from their brokers in case they need it to get out of an abusive marriage. Such information includes protection against domestic abuse, spousal support, child custody and application of immigration visas.

3 Have A Backup Plan

Via: metrotimes.com

There have been cases of women who have migrated to the United States only for them to arrive and find out that what they were told would be waiting for them is a lie. A number of those caught up in such situations are unable to get back home as revealed by hg.org. Therefore, women have to be cautious and have backup plans in case they find themselves trapped and alone in foreign countries.

2 Understand The Stakes

Via: rebelcircus.com

Before a woman packs her life to go live in a foreign country, she should consider a few things, among them the fact that she will be far away from her family, that she might have to give up her traditions and that she might have to learn a new language and culture. These are big changes as explained by multilingualliving.com and a woman should be ready to deal with them.

1 Use Common Sense

Via: pinterest.com

Before women settle to marry foreigners, listverse.com cautions them to find out the reasons why the men they are hoping to meet or have already met are looking for partners through mail order services. There have been cases of men wooing women to move to other countries only for them to become abusive.

Sources: listverse.com, multilingualliving.com, Findlaw.com, Oureverydaylife.com, 

thetalko.com, uslegal.com, mytopbrides.net, wikipedia.org, newwife.net.