How to Avoid Getting Scammed by a Foreign Fiance
Unfortunately, I regularly hear sad stories from U.S. citizens about how they were scammed by their foreign fiancees.
The relationship appears to start innocently enough. The couple meets on a dating website. The U.S. citizen contacts the foreign fiancee. They start to email, then text and Skype. The U.S. citizen then starts to exclusively communicate with his romantic interest. The relationship begins to get more intense, and his hope begins to rise thinking that perhaps ‘this is the one.’
Initially, no requests for money are made. The U.S. citizen is happy to send flowers or small gifts. As the relationship grows, perhaps a request is made for tuition, rent, or to fill a one-time need. After awhile, the requests become more frequent as the foreign fiancee begins citing more reasons why money is needed. If the fiancee is unemployed as many are, the U.S. citizen may find himself making monthly payments for various living expenses.
For a U.S. citizen who thinks he’s in a legitimate relationship, such requests and financial assistance may be an acceptable and a normal part of a relationship. However, given that the relationship may extend beyond thousands of miles, cross cultures, and occur between two individuals facing different economic environments, the possibility for fraud or improper intentions on the part of the foreign fiancee must be considered.
Given that I’ve been preparing K1 fiancee visa petitions since 1997, I’ve seen relationships work where the couple has continued on to a healthy and loving commitment to one another. I’ve also seen relationships that crumbled once the foreign fiancee came to the U.S. Looking back, I realized that the latter relationships all seem to have similar characteristics which foreshadowed upcoming problems.
If you have questions about your relationship and are concerned about being scammed, contact me to see how I can help.
Tags: fake, fiance visa, fiancee visa, k1 scam, scam, scammed