Many Vietnamese brides prefer foreign over local men. These women are often interested in Western men, but don’t have many opportunities in Vietnam to meet a foreigner. Mail order brides often use online dating sites to find a perfect associate. This is one of the reasons why they prefer online dating sites over offline dating. Using a service to find a Vietnamese bride is a good way to meet women in your area.
Many did not leave their husbands or families because they had no legal status to stay in the country. Others left because of an arranged marriage in which both spouses hold the same legal rights and responsibilities. Others, like a third husband, defect to the government in an effort to start a new life where they have no ties to their home country.
Whatever the reason for their departure, it is now up to American officials to decide how to deal with these women and how to encourage more of these women to follow the example of those who have already made the choice to come home.
While the US does not treat Vietnam and the women who married Taiwanese or Chinese men like American women, there is still some leeway given on the immigration status of these women. For one, despite having no legal status, the women can claim Visa and other benefits provided they remain in the country on a temporary basis.
This is often seen as being in the same boat as the women from these countries who have American citizenship and are married, while they still cannot gain access to benefits for raising children or undergoing medical treatments.
Still, even if the woman returns to her home country, she will have a hard time gaining Vietnamese citizenship. The reason behind this is that while she may have been born in Vietnam, she would still be considered a stateless person by the law of that country.
The role of the Vietnamese state
- The government has chosen for dealing with these women is to simply deny them any legal status at all.
This means that the women are not allowed to apply for any kind of assistance from the government or international agencies in order to restore their previous status. Considering that these women are technically stateless, it means that the Vietnamese government considers their marriage null and void. As a result, they cannot get the opportunity of marrying someone from Vietnam again and start a family there.
2. The Vietnamese government has chosen for these women is to simply register them as victims of crimes committed by foreigners.
Since they cannot apply for American citizenship because they are technically stateless, they are required to be registered as victims by the Vietnamese National Police Force ( Nguyen Quang Minh). However, this option presents problems when it comes to the process of collecting money or pension from the victims or their widows. Since Vietnamese wives or widows cannot collect such money because they do not have legal status in the country, the government ends up having to pay out these benefits to the foreign nationals who have helped the Vietnamese woman and her family.
3. Vietnamese women prefer when it comes to getting married outside of Vietnam is through a ‘mail order’ bride.
A mail order bride is a foreign national who has contacted a Vietnamese woman in order to propose marriage. The lady accepts the marriage proposal, but since she is not yet eighteen years old, the marriage is considered null and void. Once the lady attains legal age, she is allowed to apply for a visa that would allow her to legally marry a foreigner. Once the application has been accepted and the marriage is solemnized in a Buddhist ceremony, the bride becomes a ‘mail order’ bride.
The problem with system of Vietnamese mail order brides
That many foreign men who pretend to be Vietnamese women are actually foreigners who are looking for a way to earn more money in the foreign country. These men would then take the bride away from her family and convince her family that she is now a devoted wife worthy of serving her husband in the name of religion. Once she returns to her family, they would file charges of human trafficking against the groom. This scenario goes on until such time that the bride has left her family and settled down in a different town or province in the new country.
Despite the fact that many Vietnamese women find foreign men to be immoral and undesirable, there are some who find themselves trapped in situations where they have no other choice but to live with these men. Since they are unable to leave their families, they may also feel that living with a stranger is the only solution to an unwanted situation. Since these women are unaware of the laws in their own country regarding Vietnamese women and Vietnamese men, they often become victims of verbal and physical abuse.
Fortunately, there are ways for Vietnamese bridegrooms to ensure that their Vietnamese bride is truly loyal to them. The first step involves informing their bride’s family members about the pending marriage. It is also important to explain to them the cultural differences that come with each culture, which sometimes make it difficult for Vietnamese women to understand and accept the marriage.
