Bad Idea ? A friend of mine married a Russian woman. He was having trouble FINDING a nice Jewish girl: the ones he was meeting and/or dating just weren't working out. Out of sheer desperation he tried one of the "mail-order bride" outfits.
After 6 months, he found Irina: 2 months later, he went over to St. Petersburg to meet her. They were married 8 months later. That was 6 years ago.
I have no idea if Irina was a typical "mail order bride". But, she's a real sweetheart, utterly devoted to her new husband (she's a widow, her first husband was killed fighting Chechens, the guy was Speznaz. . . ). She's drop-dead gorgeous, a fantastic cook, and smart as a whip: she also speaks more languages than I do (I speak 3 other than English: he speaks English, Hebrew, and French, and has picked up Russian: SHE is fluent in English, German, French, and Japanese, plus some Hebrew and Arabic). They're both observant Jews (Conservative). . . and their little boy is 4, and they're expecting another in a few months.
I'd say he hit the jackpot.
BTW, parties at their place are rather interesting. Her cousin is apparentely a junior Military attache at the Russian Embassy, and also the guy who introduced her to her late husband. It's interesting to swap war stories with a Speznaz officer. . .all three of us have fought Muslims: him in Chechnya, and Abe and I during Desert Storm. . .
Great story...but the benefits of marrying foreign women is not the issue here.
It is the right to be introduced by someone. It is the right to say hello.
This is basic. It is elemental.
Yet George Bush happily signed away that right for single males on January 6th. It comes into effect on March 6th.
Yeah....well...this guys russian mail order bride (who is hot) has been chasing me around the office for the better part of a year. Luckily, I dont do that kind of thing...bad karma.
But, sure...it works for some. Just like for all the lotto ticket buyers, some one does tend to win from time to time.