Divorce Rate

[Akwaaba*Edward 9]

I think one thing people have to realize is this Visa Journey as we all have experience is hard, painful sad and heartbreakig. Many couples break up. But that doesn't mean there was fraud. Some people have gone through this 2, 3, 4 years or more now they are finally together and sometimes things don't work out.

It's so easy to say fraud and such. I find it funny when its a foreign spouse and it doesn'y work people use the word "fraud". But in the US we call it lying, deceit or cheating.

I think personally the stats are stacked in our favor because those who make it we are stronger because of this journey. Only those really committed to this WHOLE process will make it.

That's interesting because he and I spoke about this same issue before I posted this question. We talked about how this journey has enhanced our level of commitment. I do believe some people have other intentions but I don't believe fraud is the reason for every divorce. My fiance' and I do have misunderstandings and he "get on my nerves" sometimes "fa" real but it's normal. He will happily say the same about me. Everytime we disagree or fight and "make up" we learn more about each other and that's a GOOD thing. :-D

[rade2rising 205]

to answer your question about 50% of VJ members dont make it. How I know? I read all about the once happy couples breaking up here on daily basis.

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Thanks so much! I was beginning to think I said something wrong. Yes, I agree. I have been to Ghana 5 times in the past 15 months because I know how important it is to spend time with my fiance in order to know and understand each other. We met while I was on vacation in April 2011 and I needed more time with him. When you're considering marriage,it's BEST you make MORE of an INFORMED decision about your relationship not an EMOTIONAL decision. Love is a WONDERFUL thing but you need to prepare for reality.

Eventhough it's outside the scope of your original question I will risk an opinion.

Many trips are wonderful and equally required (IMHO) but is it possible for you to visit for a lenghty period, if you haven't, rent a flat and live not as a tourist but as a couple. No family/friend prop, etc

If I oversteped, please forgive, it comes from a good place and no harm intentioned.

[Ihavequestions 419]

Many trips are wonderful and equally required (IMHO) but is it possible for you to visit for a lenghty period, if you haven't, rent a flat and live not as a tourist but as a couple. No family/friend prop, etc.

[tob187 11]

As soon as you start to question stuff like this anything that happens in your relationship you will think that's all he's marrying you for so its best think about the love you have with him and move forward

[EmigratingSwede 16]

I would imagine the divorce rate to be at least slightly higher then the average for a normal American marriage. At least for K1-cases, since a lot of people end up getting married perhaps a bit too soon since it is the only way they can be together. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if the divorce rate is a bit higher even for CR1/IR1 couples even though they have gotten married and lived together abroad before moving to the states. Cross cultural relationships are hard (but definitely worth it).

[Calicolom 265]

This is such a good question, I was wondering the same thing many times, how many marriages with Immigrants fail. I think it has a lot to do with where the immigrant is coming from, and how bad do they want to leave there country. There may be a lot of USC thinking if they can get someone from a purer country the Immigrant will be forever grateful for having them brought to the US. I think if the USC thinks this, they are sadly mistaken, many immigrants learn the American way fast and move on very soon.

[Hannah B 16]

I would agree about living together or at least spending time together in a non-vacation situation but thats not always possible for everyone. I've been really fortunate as I spent a year in America studying when I was first with my fiance. We didn't live together but I had my own life and purpose there other than the relationship so we were able to date and allow it to blossom naturally. This has definitely given me some reassurance that I could happily live where he lives after the initial romance of arriving in the US has faded and reality of employment, bills, change of weather and culture kicks in. But even still it has taken years of friendship to get to the point where we were both ready to marry. So many times we talked about marriage but we came back to the same obstacles - he was hesitant to be in a long distance relationship as he didn't want me to keep visiting him and have to leave and to be honest he didn't want to wait for a year for the visa process to take its course. I was happy to visit regularly and was prepared to wait but I didn't want to have to get married to be able to be together. Over many years we stayed friends and just kept coming back together until we got to a place where we were ready for the commitment and sacrifice and waiting. You can prepare youself as best you can but at some point you just have to take a leap of faith I guess!

Whats kind of interesting in my family is that inter-country relationships seem to be a trend that works. My mum is from Sweden and my Dad from England and they have been together for about 35 years. And my brother is married to a Brazilian girl and they are happily married here in England for a few years now. And having visited her family and seen Brazil I can't imagine you would want to leave that beautiful Country for rainy England but I guess for love you do what it takes.

Edited July 10, 2012 by Hannah and Josh

[rouguewave 7]

I've read the responses to this post and I'm surprised that noone has actually offered any concrete data. So, I did a quick internet search and came up with the following sites that respond directly to the questions posed by the OP. Truth be told, I have no affiliation or advocacy of sites mentioned below, so if people jump in and claim what is presented is bogus, so be it. I just thought it was worth bringing in some outside sourced information.

From Center For Immigration Studies <here>

Article: Hello, I love you, Won't you tell me your name?: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon

Key Points:

•Marriage to an American citizen remains the most common path to U.S. residency and/or citizenship for foreign nationals, with more than 2.3 million foreign nationals gaining lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in this manner between 1998 and 2007.

•More than 25 percent of all green cards issued in 2007 were to the spouses of American citizens. In 2006 and 2007 there were nearly twice as many green cards issued to the spouses of American citizens than were issued for all employment-based immigration categories combined. The number of foreign nationals obtaining green cards based on marriage to an American has more than doubled since 1985, and has quintupled since 1970.

•Despite these statistics, marriage fraud for the purpose of immigration gets very little notice or debate in the public arena and the State Department and Department of Homeland Security have nowhere near the resources needed to combat the problem. Attention to fraud is not just for the integrity of the legal immigration system, but also for security reasons. If small-time con artists and Third-World gold-diggers can obtain green cards with so little resistance, then surely terrorists can do (and have done) the same.

•An overwhelming percentage of all petitions to bring foreign spouses or fiancés to the United States illegally (or to help them adjust visa status if they are already in the United States on non-immigrant visas) are approved — even in cases where the couple may only have met over the Internet, and may not even share a common language.

•Marriage to an American is the clearest pathway to citizenship for an illegal alien. A substantial number of illegal aliens ordered removed (many of whom have criminal records) later resurface as marriage-based green card applicants. Waivers granted to those marrying U.S. citizens can eliminate ineligibilities for green cards, including the 3/10-year bar on entry for those with long periods of illegal presence.

•The decision-making authority for green card applications lies with USCIS officials who rely almost exclusively on documents, records, and photographs, with little opportunity for interviews or investigations. Consular officers reviewing cases overseas do live interviews and can initiate local investigations, but may only approve petitions, not deny them.

From: Goodwife.com <here>

Marriage Survey <here>

Relevant Results:

Survey results indicate cross-cultural marriages fail at a rate of 40.76%

Comparatively, the divorce rate of U.S. domestic marriages is 48%

As a group, cross-cultural marriages can be expected to fail at a significantly lower rate than U.S. domestic marriages

Cross-cultural marriages have less than 10 years differences in the ages between men and women

Average age of men who marry a cross-cultural spouse is 40

Average age of women who marry a cross-cultural spouse is 32

Marital Longevity at Divorce <chart here>

Standard Bell Curve with majority from 1-6 years and peak at 2-3 years.

Primary Factors In Divorce: <chart here>

Top Seven Responses:

Male Responses (Ranked): Commitment, Family Goals, Communication, Sex, Infidelity, Financial, Stress

Female Responses (Ranked): Abuse, Family Goals, Communication, Stress, Sex, Financial, Commitment

[rouguewave 7]

Information from US Center For Disease Control on US Divorces <here>

(2001 study) data on marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the United States show that 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, "First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States," also shows that one in three first marriages end within 10 years and one in five end within 5 years. The findings are based on data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, a study of 10,847 women 15-44 years of age.

"Separation and divorce can have adverse effects on the health and well-being of children and adults," said CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan. "Past research has shown that divorce is associated with higher rates of mortality, more health problems, and more risky behaviors such as increased alcohol use."

The study also showed that:

•Duration of marriage is linked to a woman's age at first marriage; the older a woman is at first marriage, the longer that marriage is likely to last. For example, 59 percent of marriages to brides under 18 end in separation or divorce within 15 years, compared with 36 percent of those married at age 20 or over.

•About 97 percent of separated non-Hispanic white women are divorced within 5 years of separation, compared with 77 percent of separated Hispanic women and only 67 percent of non-Hispanic black women.

•Younger women who divorce are more likely to remarry: 81 percent of those divorced before age 25 remarry within 10 years, compared with 68 percent of those divorced at age 25 or over.

•Non-Hispanic black women are less likely than other women to remain in a first marriage, to make the transition from separation to divorce, to remarry, and to remain in a remarriage.

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Some data yes but my assumption was that OP was looking for VJ data based on how the question was crafted.

[ddartt1 2]

Life is a gamble. It doesnt matter whether you marry someone from here or there, you dont know the outcome. All you can do is pray for the best and have faith i your partner.

[charlie471963 3]

I heard that a very high percentage of multi racial marriages between two people one foreign and the other of US citizenship tend to last very long . That was stated on US statistics on marriages in america I'm sorry but I don't remember the actual

numbers but i'm sure you could find them on ask.com or something like that . Also I beleive that they had other statistics like two of the same race and national origin living in america and so forth, you just need to hunt alittle . But to tell you the truth

why bother you need to base your love on the person your with and his/her person nothing else .

[Akwaaba*Edward 9]

to answer your question about 50% of VJ members dont make it. How I know? I read all about the once happy couples breaking up here on daily basis.

Wow 50% OMG!!! Thank you so much!

[livindadream 156]

I think the answer to this question would highly depend on which countries you are speaking of also. There would be a big difference between a success rate between Americans and say...Germans or Italians verses Americans and other countries. I personally have seen both sides of the spectrum....being in a successful relationship with a non US citizen and an unsuccessful one. I think any relationship whether its American and American or American and non-American has a low success rate if you spend 1 week with a person and then move in with each other. It's a much different situation to sit on a computer or phone and communicate vs face to face interaction. It's great that you have been to Ghana so many times ( I have too, in fact Im still here. lol ) You really get to know someone by being with them day in and day out. It's easy to deceive someone that you spend a week or two with..but it's next to impossible to do that when you live as a couple for months under the same roof...or at least in the same country!