One of the basic requirements of filing a Fianc' Visa (K-1) on behalf of your fianc' is that you both have met in person within the past two years.

One of the misnomers of the term "Mail Order Bride" is that you can't just order your bride from a catalog and have her delivered to your doorstep in America.

The Fianc' Visa (K-1) was originally designed for those people who, for cultural reasons, had their marriage pre-arranged by their families. For example, people from Indian Hindu culture frequently have their marriages pre-arranged by their families.

One fianc' may be a US citizen of Indian decent and the other fianc' may be a citizen of India. Their families arrange the marriage and the US citizen must petition the US government to bring his fianc' to America for marriage.

The US Department of Immigration and Naturalization (INS) adopted the Fianc' Visa provisions to allow for this circumstance, but they put the proviso in that the two fianc's had to meet in person before the US citizen could petition the INS to issue a Fianc' Visa.

The exception to this rule is that the two of you are not required to meet if it violates your cultural beliefs. Of course, you have the burden of proof to show that not meeting your intended prior to marriage is a cultural belief of yours.

The INS Is Suspicious Of "Green Card Marriages":

It's much easier just to go and meet her. Besides, you want to meet the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with before you marry her anyway, wouldn't you?

Consequently, one of the main requirements for the processing of the Fianc' Visa application is proof that the couple to be married has met within the past two years.

The INS is very cautious about 'Green Card Marriages,' where the sole purpose of the marriage is to get a so-called Green Card (indicating lawful immigrant status) to the person immigrating to America.

The term 'Green Card' comes from the predominant color of the US Permanent Residency card.

Many INS personnel and US embassy personnel are naturally suspicious of Russian women marrying American men. Many of them believe that the main reason that the Russian women are marrying Americans is to 'get to America.'

You Have The Burden Of Proof:

Regardless of your feelings about their attitudes toward your motivations, you have the burden of proof to show that your petition for a Fianc' Visa is a valid one.

As a petitioner on behalf of your fianc', you must provide documentary evidence of having met your wife in person within the past two years. The best evidence of the two of you having met is having photographs of the two of you together.

When you are taking your world wind tour of Russia, make sure you take plenty of photographs of the women that are special to you. When you are on each leg of your trip, have lots of pictures taken of the two of you together.

I know this may sound a little obvious, but make the photographs of you together look like you like each other. You know, the 'lovey-dovey' type pictures with your arms around each other.

I have seen pictures where the couple is standing together in front of Red Square with six inches distance between them. That could be a picture of you with your tour guide.

Make the pictures cheek to cheek, with your arms around each other, and look like you are having a good time.

Take Lots Of Lovey Dovey Pictures:

If you are traveling from city to city and you have a number of women that you are courting, have these kinds of pictures taken with each woman. This comment is made to be eminently practical.

If you have not made up your mind who you are going to ask to marry while you are taking your tour and you may not until you are at the end of your tour are you going to retrace your steps to go have pictures taken with the woman you finally decide to bring to America?

In other words, if you finish your tour in Kiev and the woman you want to marry is the one you met in St. Petersburg, are you going back to St. Petersburg to have your lovey-dovey pictures taken?

It probably makes sense to take these kinds of pictures while you are there with her.

You don't have to have 'lovey-dovey' pictures taken with all two hundred women at the Social, but if you have one or two women in each city that you really like, it makes sense to have lots of pictures taken with each of them.

Also, it makes sense to have some pictures taken in front of monuments or other famous locations to show that you were together in her country. You may have to show proof of when the pictures were taken, so keep processing receipts or, better yet, take pictures with the date imprinted on the photo.