Svetlana Novikova knew it might be a lucrative company. The foreign men who rented apartments through her real estate business relentlessly hounded her to introduce them to her girlfriends in St. Petersburg.
Therefore four years back, the entrepreneurial Novikova established Svetlana Agency, a Russian mail-order-bride service. She ended up being therefore effective, she expanded her company recently into one of the most financially fertile U.S. neighborhoods–Newport Beach.
“We have numerous effective consumers whom live here” in Orange County, said Novikova, A st that is 29-year-old native who relocated to Newport Beach in September. “American guys are interested in a far more woman that is family-oriented. Russian women can be very family-oriented. Every guy desires to have cozy home.”
The Svetlana Agency is certainly one of a wide range of Russian matchmaking organizations foreigners that are enticing marriages as numerous women here seek to flee hardships. Russia, for them, comes with an uncertain future that is political a serious economy and high prices of jobless and alcoholism.
However the mail-order-bride company, which can be unregulated, doesn’t fundamentally result in gladly ever after. U.S. officials state you can find incidents of domestic worry and violence there are many more which go unreported as the brides worry deportation.
Officials are also worried about the potential for sex marriage and trafficking fraudulence.
The Immigration and Naturalization provider is near to finishing a study to Congress on fraudulence and abuse that is physical the mail-order-bride company and exactly how to manage the industry, stated INS spokesman Bill Strassberger.
Inspite of the concerns, Novikova claims she has already established no issues.
The sunny, affluent Southland provides Novikova a sufficient method of getting well-heeled, well-established bachelors prepared to pay up to $2,600 inside their look for a youthful, positive Russian bride.
Nearly half her consumers are US, and about 20% of those are from Southern California, she stated. Novikova stated she made a decision to bring her company to Newport Beach because she had numerous Southern Ca consumers.
Simply within the last few 8 weeks considering that the agency started its doorways down the street from Fashion Island, she stated, she’s got been inundated with needs from spouse-seeking bachelors.
Barry Hallamore, 59, of Costa Mesa stated he’d dated often since their breakup 11 years back but unearthed that lots of the US women he met had been too centered on their wallet. Hallamore, whom runs a telecom company, said women that are russian appear as materialistic.
After residing in St. Petersburg for four years on company, he stated, he made a decision to seek out a spouse. Making use of Svetlana Agency’s solutions, he discovered their match in a female called Yelena.
“A great deal of females from Southern California usually tend to glance at cash, money, money,” he stated. “With Yelena, it is family members and togetherness.”
Hallamore, whom married Yelena in Mexico final thirty days, is looking forward to the immigration solution to grant a visa to their 22-year-old bride so she can join him right right here.
‘It’s A definitely Peculiar Industry’
People in america may bring their partners house on a visa that is immigrant can acquire fiance visas with their intended mates. The documents enable immigrants to live and work right here for just two years. From then on, in the event that marriages will always be intact therefore the few remains staying in America, the international partners can gain permanent residency.
The ladies looking for husbands that are american mostly experts within their very very early to belated 20s and often have actually kiddies, Novikova stated. The online world has helped relieve initial introductions, and a lot of matchmaking agencies–including Svetlana–list their services on the internet.
Us males, Novikova stated, tend to be more family-oriented and have a tendency to appreciate their spouses a lot more than Russian guys.
“Many American males assistance with their own families even though many Russian guys like to be due to their buddies,” said Novikova, whom however is joyfully hitched to a Russian. “These girls desire to be beneficial to some body, they wish to have a household and so they wish to be liked.”
Certainly, the ladies in Svetlana Agency’s introductory videos coyly glance in to the digital camera and saunter along scenic backdrops in St. Petersburg because they explain in greatly accented English what they’re looking for in a guy.
Take 27-year-old Inga, a divorced engineer.
“I’m in search of a severe guy. A person that is trustworthy and responsible with a common sense of humor|sense that is good of,” she claims videotape.
Or Yelena that is 28-year-old:I wish, If only, I am able to satisfy a person who make me personally pleased.”
Novikova stated she does not do criminal record checks on the bachelors that are eager. Rather, she stated, she passes her “intuition and experience.”
“If we see for him,” Novikova said that he is not a polite person, then I don’t provide the service. “Many of our guys have suggestions. They’ve been delivered right here by their mothers, buddies, brothers as well as secretaries.”
Even though the potential brides is seen via movie conferencing, the guys must travel to St. Petersburg when they are determined on a couple of they wish to satisfy. Svetlana Agency organizes the trips.
Mike Potter, an aircraft inspector whom lives in Tustin, is within the means of locating a Russian bride. He’s 43 never ever been hitched. He’s thinking about visiting St. Petersburg in January to generally meet nearly a dozen females with who he’s been matching.
The ladies he intends to satisfy are “young, pretty, well-educated and still have the old family morals,” he said.
Every night,” he said“I’m a quiet type of guy and I’m not looking for a girl that wants to party. “I like European women and I’m not doing too good here in the us. I’ve tried dating facilities here and I also n’t had much fortune.”
As part of the 1996 Immigration Reform Act, Congress asked the INS to report instances of fraudulence and abuse that is physical mail-order brides. Congress additionally asked the INS drafting laws that could force agencies to see females about marriage fraudulence, appropriate residency and violence that is domestic.
“Our primary concerns are abusive marriages and prostitution,” said Jon Leibowitz, a lawyer to Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.), whom sponsored regulations.
“Some men and women have benefited with mail order wives this individually, nonetheless it’s a industry that is highly strange highly unregulated,” he said. “There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence of severe issues.”
Prosecutors in household physical violence devices in Orange and l . a . counties said they will have had no reports of punishment involving mail-order brides, but they state that immigrant females commonly face the danger of deportation in abusive relationships.
“Typically, we discover that people are therefore frightened of exactly what might take place they don’t speak up,” Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jane Shade stated. “Everyone hopes that victims with this sort of crime aren’t afraid to just come forward for their status.”
This month, Svetlana Agency is about to hold an unique xmas celebration in St. Petersburg where in fact the ladies dress as Santa’s daughters in a conventional Russian garb, donning fur shoes and fur-laced caps, while guests sip champagne and chew on caviar.
“We like to make it such as a mythic for the men,” Novikova stated. “And there they are going to pick the many breathtaking girl.”
Leave A Comment