Relationship Red Flags and our

WARNING to prospective members: Do not use dating and match making sites located and operated outside of US and UK jurisdictions because they are not accountable to consumers for Internet fraud. Now immigration has become much stricter since president Bush signed a bill to protect immigrant women. You can read here the text of the IMBRA (International Marriage Broker Regulation), 2005, addressing Information on Certain Convictions and Limitation on Petitions for K Nonimmigrant Petitioners. Now every petitioner for a K1 visa must provide the name of the marriage agency they are working through, and that agency must comply with the Internation Marriage Broker Regulation, or the immigration application will be automatically denied. No Russian based agency in Sochi satisfies this law except A Russian Romance.

All Sochi agencies except for A Russian Romance are currently illegal under US law and under Russian Law. Please ask for proof of registration before you waste your money with this fraudulent agencies.
Amazing Loves, for instance, lies about registration in Russia and is operated by some Russian criminals in concert with scammers in America. This illegal business does not have a US registration but receives money to a third party through PayPal in California.

Throughout the Former Soviet Union (FSU), the collapsing economic times drives some people to extremes. In the case of some women, they may decide to try and form a relationship with a Western man in order to get money, presents, travel or commit extortion. We absolutely reject scammers and hate the damage they do for the large majority of sincere women who wait and hope to find the perfect man. See the bottom of the page for links to our scammer "Hall of Shame."

When you become a member of A Russian Romance you recognize that one of the great differences between us and other agencies is that we seek to eliminate those women before they are introduced to you. Also, we are vigilant in watching for signs that one of the women may not be serious about marriage and emigration, but instead trying to improve her life at your expense. While this is a very small problem with our agency because of our hard work in this area, we need you to be aware of the warning signs that might mean trouble ahead!

We have been in matchmaking business Sochi since 1999 and we have come to recognize certain "red flags" as danger signals for Russian-Western relationship. In the Russian culture, a women just meeting you and
forming a written relationship If the lady or ladies you are corresponding with match any of the warning flags below, you should email us immediately so that we can investigate (if you're a member). If you're not working through our agency you should use proceed with extreme caution.

Asking for money before they have met you in Sochi or during your stay in Sochi. This might be for any sort of emergency, illness, dentist, business idea, or school. Whatever the reason, they should NEVER and would NEVER ask you for money before they have met you if they are serious about marrying you and coming to the USA. You will also find women who want expensive gifts or for you to leave money in Sochi with them for various expenses that the foresee before they emigrate. Again this is something a serious woman would never do. This is the biggest RED FLAG. Immediately email us and DO NOT SEND MONEY under any circumstances to Sochi without speaking to us about it.. Less of a red flag but equally important. If you are engaged to a lady and working on your K1 visa, during this period of time do NOT get into sending money regularly to the lady. It is easy for the her and the people around her to become dependent on you for this source of cash which will create pressure on the lady to stay longer in Russia, to keep the cash flowing. Overall sending cash to Russia is a bad idea, and if it's the lady's idea it is a red flag.

If you have enrolled your lady in a language class and she is not attending or only sporadically, we can tell you from experience that she is not serious about leaving Russia. Women who are preparing for a new life are excited and study diligently. No matter what their level of skill, they are devoted to the process and happy to have the opportunity to learn English.. If you are hearing in email from the lady or us that the woman is not attending, or not doing the work, it is a Red Flag.

If when making your preparations for a first or second visit to Sochi, the lady tries to separate you from the agency, to have you bypass us - by picking you up at the airport herself, by making arrangements for your stay, etc., you should see a Red Flag. The women who do this are not thinking of saving you money, but of isolating you from our staff. Our staff is your objective link in all of this. Our staff are incredibly valuable to our men clients in helping them understand their ongoing relationship and in helping the men meet other women if the process is not working out well. Our staff will tell you the truth about each woman as they learn it and that scares the women who are dishonest. They will say almost anything to separate the men from the agency at that point. Definitely do not go along with this - contact us. If you're in Sochi, contact the office and talk to the manager.

Sidenote: Any mention of staying at the Radisson hotel in Sochi should be met with complete suspicion. It shows that she not only wants to isolate you - the hotel is 15 minutes by car outside the city, but also that she has already had experience with a wealthy Russian man. Most serious women would never suggest such an upscale expensive hotel, and none that we know could afford it on their own.

If the lady suggests that you stay at a hotel out from the center of the city, or an apartment far from where she lives we are equally concerned, another Red Flag. If she is nervous about being seen with you, you must ask why, and how serious is she about a relationship with you? The normal reaction of the honest women is to be very pleased and honored to be seen with you. You are the best thing ever for her and she will show you off and introduce you to her friends and love walking in public with you.

If the lady is young and doesn't bring you to meet her family when you visit - this would be another Red Flag. No serious woman will have committed to engagement and marriage without bringing her family into agreement. Russians work with family consensus. In our experience if the mother is not supporting this engagement, then it is unlikely that the lady is serious.

IF you have experienced any of these five scenarios and haven't told us about them please contact us via email. We are committed to serious women and serious men.

Later Note: This is less of a Red Flag and more of a caution.
After engagement men often desire to send money to allow their future wife to quit her job, maybe to take English lessons. These men often ask us how to transfer moony to their ladies. After years of doing this we can only say DON'T. While she may love you more than life itself, if you begin pushing money into her world you will create problems for yourself and your relationship. She has survived her whole life without your money and she will certainly survive for a few more months without it now.
Every woman in Russia is networked to family and friends in order to get the things they need to survive. When you put money into that system through her, it will also create a need and desire for it in the rest of her network of friends and family. Don't start that cycle. Remember, these ladies had the support of their families and friends when they made the decision to join the agency. She needs their support now as she prepares to leave her life, essentially forever. You don't want to make everyone else dependent on your monthly cash, for why would they every want her to leave then?
She'll have many, many years to make money here, so you're not denying her. There is no woman client of ours who couldn't easily handle English lessons as well as work. OK?
If you have questions on this please feel free to write us about this.

Sincerely

Inna McNeill

SCAMMER ALERT! What happens to the worst of the women we reject? They find other websites that will list them and make a very good living out of fleecing men. Jump to our Scammers page and be WARNED.. What about our agency, A Russian Romance? Read what our clients have published publicly on RWGuide's trip report forum.