BUSINESSWEEK - Jan 6 - 14 ago, Joseph Weiner founded Hand-In-Hand, a matchmaking agency that charges ~$2,000 for a "supervised courtship"—a process that matches guys with younger Eastern European women. Hand-In-Hand has now 30 satellite offices. It is estimated that the number of mail-order marriages in the U.S. more than doubled between 1999 and 2007, when up to 16,500 such unions were sealed. Since the recession began, "we've seen more men sign up," says John Adams, the co-founder of A Foreign Affair, which charges $4,000 for the right to attend champagne-soaked "socials" in various Eastern European cities. After a few highly publicized murders of women brought to America through international matchmakers, the U.S. passed the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBRA). The statute requires background checks on U.S. citizens before communication via the matchmakers. Those who fail to comply cannot obtain a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESSWEEK
Mark Brooks: Matchmakers are doing ok, despite the rise of idating and social dating (a la Facebook) because some people have money, but not time, for searching for their soul mates. I expect this trend to compound an increase.
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