International marriage agency
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A marriage agency is a business that endeavors to introduce men and women for the purpose of marriage. Agency methods and their client objectives vary widely. Many marriage agencies operate exclusively to provide mail-order brides.
Fraud
Many clients of marriage agencies have complained of fraud. Some firms have responded by offering money-back guarantees and other assurances. Some websites maintain a fraud "black list" [1].
Legal issues
Marriage agencies are legal in almost all countries. Certain notable legal issues are:
- The Philippines prohibits organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men. The Philippine congress enacted Republic Act 6955 or the Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law in 1990 as a result of stories that appeared in the local press and media about Filipinas being abused by their foreign husbands.
- On Jan 5, 2006, the United States Congress enacted H.R. 3402: Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 [2]. This law requires certain actions prior to selling a foreign woman's address to a US citizen or resident, including:
- The man must complete a questionaire on his criminal and marital background.|
- The seller must obtain the man's record from the National Sex Offenders Public Registry database [3].
- The questionaire and record must be translated to the woman's native language and provided to her.
- The woman must certifiy that she agrees to permit communication.