by Natalia Chajkovskaya

“My Russian wife doesn’t get my jokes,” our frustrated friend told us one day. “I am trying to make her laugh, but most of the time when I make a joke she just stares at me or tries to force a smile. Her English is pretty good, so I know she understands what I am saying she just doesn’t get it.”

Many Russian-American and International couples are or were experiencing similar problems. We were not the exception. The first year of marriage was the hardest, especially for me, because I was missing my family and friends terribly and was very irritable. There were times when everything in the U.S. seemed wrong to me: clothes, food, roads, school system, relationships, and humor.

by Art Saborio

Let us jump right into this. Never send money to someone you have not met and always meet your fiance a number of times before trusting her with your personal information.

If you are going to marry this girl, she will need to see your entire life including bank accounts, tax returns etc. She will need to carry and present these kinds of documents to the embassy officer during her interview. So do not trust until you are 100% sure. 

In the beginning it is always nice, new and fresh to find a person that has interesting cultural differences. But when the relationship starts to become more serious, that is where the differences truly become the problem. Often times these differences end in divorce. Why are we blind to these differences early on? The main reason is a couple tends to not see the bigger picture of a relationship until it starts to become more serious. They tend to just focus on each other and not the outside interests that have influenced their upbringing. Below are three areas that can greatly affect a relationship that cross culture barriers.

How Much Does It Cost To Submit A K1 Visa Application?

This question might sound like it is easy to answer and straight forward, but there are many areas of this process that are not defined by the USCIS. These extra costs can get you into thousands of dollars more than what you originally expected. Let us look at a scenario.

1. You decide you want to meet a guy or girl from another country. Now the only way to get this guy or girl into the U.S.A is to marry them, so you take a look at the USCIS website and it tells you that you need to apply with the application called I-129F. The cost is below $1000.00 and you see no problem handling the application fee.

When first meeting someone, the physically attraction seems to take over all logic and reason. But to really be successful in finding a foreign fiance abroad you also have to be successful at bonding through an emotionally level. In a nutshell here is how the steps should happen. You find someone special you are attracted too online. You meet that special someone because you attracted to her and because it is required before you can submit your K1 Visa Application. You meet her more than once to ensure you are also building an emotional bond together. Then finally you submit the K1 visa Application to bring your foreign fiance to the USA. Sounds easy enough right? Well it should be easy, but it can take years to engage someone at both the physical and emotional level. Why years? Because in reality you will only get to see her every 6 months to a year.

by Natalia Chajkovskaya

Western men are often wondering whether young Russian women who post their profiles online are ready for serious relationships.

This is a valid concern, because in the United States and in most countries of Western Europe it is not common for a woman to get married before she graduates college or hits her mid-twenties. Most Western women in their early twenties don’t even think about starting a family and according to recent reports the average marriage age for U.S. women has increased from 22 in 1980 to 25.6 in 2009.

by Art Saborio

Here are some really good rules that everyone should use before jumping into the K1 Fiance Visa process. The process can seem really simple. Jump online, choose a beautiful girl and get married. But I can tell you from experience it is not that simple. Even if you have already found someone and dating, these simple “Dos and Don’ts” will help you succeed.

Here is what you do not want to do.

by Natalia Chajkovskaya

There are hectares (acres) of information and opinions online on what Russian women are like, whether or not they make good wives and how long it will take them to learn English.  Many men are concerned whether Russian women are the right match for them, but much less of them wonder whether they are the right match for Russian women.

This attitude is dangerous, because Russian women also have their likes, dislikes, preferences and expectations. If you are the opposite of what she was hoping for, don’t be surprised that instead of kindness, devotion and warmness, you will see rebellion, crankiness and coldness.

By: Art Saborio

As I go back in my memories I can clearly remember the first time I met my Ukrainian Wife. I can remember her smile, her eyes, how she wore her hair, her perfume and even the way she made me feel. She was from a medium sized city on the East side of Ukraine very close to the border with Russia. The city is called Lugansk. This city is about two hours by plane from the capital of Ukraine; Kiev. I remember how great and how hard it was to visit her. I was always so happy to be able to see her again and then so sad when I had to leave her behind. The worst part of this is she was not able to visit the USA. I could not get her a visitor’s Visa. We tried for this Visa and we were denied.

by Natalia Chajkovskaya

Russian women are family-oriented, good-looking and feminine. They make good wives, good mothers and if to believe everything that Russian marriage agencies say, they can make your life pretty much a fairy tale. While this sounds fantastic, many men skeptically wonder if it is really possible to meet a good Russian woman online and live happily ever after.