* FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS) AND COMMENTS

* FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and comments

(This page was last updated on the 30th of November, 2009.) 

 

[By Ron Singerman, owner of Odessa2 agency.]  

 

  1. What is IMBRA and how does it affect me if I use a "marriage broker" outside of USA?  ["IMBRA" is the acronym for International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Subtitle D of United States Public Law 109-162).  All my comments herein are my laymen's opinion only, as I'm not an attorney at law, much less an immigration attorney.  I believe that IMBRA is bad law, analagous to killing a fly with a flamethrower! But, because it is the law, citizens of USA and resident aliens of USA are bound by it.  Not complying with IMBRA could cause denial of your future fiancee visa application! I urge you to carefully read the following Internet pages by clicking on these two links: (1) http://www.khersongirls.com/marriagebrokerlaw.htm and (2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Marriage_Broker_Regulation_Act  It seems to me that IMBRA is unconstitutional because it creates unequal legal treatment if one were to use a "marriage broker" or "dating" web site to seek a wife outside of USA versus seeking a wife inside of USA; but I'm guessing that such constitutional challenge would never materialize, so we're likely stuck with having to comply with IMBRA.  Here is the link to an interesting web site that is anti-IMBRA: http://www.online-dating-rights.com/index.php.  Part of IMBRA compliance is that you must complete a "US Questionnaire" (various background questions) and get it translated into the native language (presumably Russian) of the lady you wish to meet and/or to receive the lady's contact information. Prior to the meeting and before release of the lady's contact information, the lady must read the translated US Questionnaire (which includes the results of a mandatory background check done on you by the agency) and sign it (the agency retains the signed US Questionnaire in its files and she should also sign a copy that she should keep in case it were needed as proof at a future interview at a US Consulate) that she "...has received the background questionnaire..." And if she agree to release her contact information to you, then she should specify, in writing (on a separate Agreement (in the lady's native language) to be kept by the Agency), what contact information she would like to give to you (for example, e-mail address and/or cell telephone number and/or physical/postal mailing address).  Further, prior to your meeting with the lady and/or the release of her contact information to you, the agency is required to complete a background check on you for the states you listed as having lived in since the age of 18! The background check (done by Kevin Hayes, owner of Kherson Girls, who then would charge your account $15) generally consists of checking the relevant on-line (on the Internet), publicly available data bases.]
  2. This is my first trip to Ukraine...!  [Click on the link * About us and the owner and read what I have written there.  I recommend that you read the pages entitled "Questions and Answers," "Advice from Kevin and Friends" and "Office Policies" at the Kherson Girls web site and here are those links, respectively: http://www.khersongirls.com/Q&A.htm, http://www.khersongirls.com/advice.htm and http://www.khersongirls.com/policies.htm.  You should also read the book, Culture Shock! Ukraine, A Guide to Customs and Etiquette, by Anne Meredith Dalton.  Do your own research on the Internet.  The more you learn about Ukraine and Slavic culture, the better.]
  3. Do I need a visa to travel to Ukraine?  [Caveat: I am not an attorney, much less an immigration attorney.  But, the last time I checked, if you be a USA citizen, and if your stay or cumulative visits would be 90 days or less during any 180-day period, then you would not need a Ukrainian visa. But, if you plan to stay more than 90 cumulative days during any 180-day period, I definitely recommend that you apply as soon as you can to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to have a visa affixed to your USA passport before you leave for Ukraine. (Ukraine has consulates in San Francisco, Chicago and New York but I think that you would likely find their best people and service at their Embassy in D.C.) Over the years, I have personally applied for and received several visas from the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., but you must carefully follow all their procedures, mode of payment, mode of delivery, prepaid reply envelope, etcetera. Or you could pay a service on the Internet that advertises its competence to do so on your behalf, but I have never used such a service, preferring to always do so myself.  Reference: Go to Internet page, http://www.mfa.gov.ua/usa/en/1609.htm which has the "Visa Requirements."]
  4. In Ukraine, do I need to carry my international Passport and Immigration document with me?  [Technically yes! But, because I don't like to always carry these important documents every time I venture out from my Odessa apartment, I have gotten by with a color photo copy of the information page from my international Passport and a color copy of my Immigration document.  Anything less and the police could question you at a police station and require you to produce the aforementioned documents.]
  5. How can I write to you or to your office in general?  [You can write to our e-mail address office@odessamarriageagency.com and be sure to always include in your e-mail your Kherson Girls' login identification name and the Kherson Girls' ID number of any lady you mention in your letter.]
  6. Could you offer any advice about Ukrainian ladies?  [Take your time in developing a relationship; do not be in a hurry.  Learn the culture, the mentality, the customs; and some Russian (verbal and written).  Treat any lady you meet through the agency as potentially your future wife.  (Note: While the official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, in Odessa, southern, central and eastern Ukraine, Russian is the dominant language; in western Ukraine, Ukrainian is the dominant language.)]
  7. Does your Odessa office have sub-agents/affilitates of its own?  [Yes. Sub-agents for me are analagous to affiliates of Kherson Girls, e.g. ladies from Kherson Girls affiliates, e.g. Kharkov, Kiev, Odessa, do not appear in the Kherson office of Kherson Girls; they appear in their particular city’s office or otherwise meet with that city’s agent.  Each of my sub-agents operate as their own agencies.  I have personally met each of the sub-agents who have all worked with me since June, 2006.  My main branch interpreter Nastya has also been with me since June 2006; and she personally knows all the sub-agents as well.]
  8. How can I buy a lady's address?  [Regarding release of a lady's physical address, here is the Internet page, which explains our policy:  http://odessamarriageagency.com/php/page.php?id=72 
    Basically, it is my laymen's opinion that a man could ruin his chances of his future fiancee getting USA government approval of a fiancee visa to come to USA if he were to prematurely receive a lady's contact information, before satisfying IMBRA, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Subtitle D of United States Public Law 109-162).  See FAQ "1." above.]
  9. How can I order a gift for a lady? Regarding ordering a gift for a lady who is registered with our agency, you must log in to your Kherson Girls account. Then you go to the lady's profile page. Then, from her profile page, you click on "Send Gifts & Service". Then, you should be at the applicable page to send a gift to her. Next you click on the box next to the chosen gift. At the bottom of that page is a "Comments" box for your use. Below that box is the "Send Gift" button. Of course your Kherson Girls' account should be adequately funded.
  10. Can I bring gifts with me into Ukraine? Of course, but if you declare them to Customs, then you could be subject to various taxes: excise, import and VAT (Value Added Tax) that could cost you 40% or more of the declared value!
  11. Why can't I write my e-mail address in a letter that I send to a lady via the Kherson Girls network?  [The policy of Kherson Girls is to not allow a male client to write his e-mail address in a letter to a lady client that is sent through its network.  In such an instance, the e-mail address would be censored from the letter and the male client should expect to receive an e-mail from Kevin Hayes, owner of Kherson Girls, regarding such breach of policy.]
  12. How much currency can I bring into Ukraine?  [I can only tell you my personal experience because laws and/or regulations related to such matters are, of course, subject to change without notice.  When I last entered Ukraine on the 23rd of October, 2008, I read signs that stated, and I paraphrase, that travelers do not have to make any customs declaration so long as the currency one is bringing into Ukraine is less than 10,000 Euro equivalent.  Above that amount, a customs declaration is required.]
  13. What about traveler's checks?  [My assumption is that traveler's checks are considered a currency equivalent by customs; and, therefore would apply to the 10,000 Euro equivalent noted above.  I have also discovered, as of the 5th of November, 2008, that there are currently no locations in Odessa that accept American Express Travellers Cheques, which is according to Amex's own web site. Amex has affiliated offices in Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk,which do accept them according to my telephone call to their customer service, but this is not written in their web site, which advises to call those offices to directly check what services that they do, in fact, offer.]
  14. Can I spend U.S. Dollars in Ukraine?  [Most transactions are conducted in Ukrainian Grivna. There are many currency-exchange booths [обмен валют] around central Odessa (they post exchange rates in units of 100 between Ukrainian Grivna and U.S. Dollars, Euros and Russian Rubles) at which you can exchange U.S. Dollars for Ukrainian Grivna.  But, make sure that the U.S. banknotes you bring to Ukraine are in relatively new condition, meaning the banknotes should have no tears, no ink marks and should have little or no noticeable wear, otherwise most currency-exchange booths would not accept such banknotes!  It has been my experience that currency-exchange booths do not accept the small denomination banknotes of $1, $2 or $5.  Banknotes of $10, $20 and $50 should be OK.  The $100 banknote is the norm and works great at currency-exchange booths, so long as it were in relatively new condition, as explained above! I strongly recommend that you should not exchange money other than through a currency-exchange booth; for example, do not exchange money with a stranger on the street no matter how plausible the story because you might receive counterfeit money or worse!]
  15. After I arrived in Ukraine, I discovered that my credit cards and ATM debit cards were blocked!  What do I do?  [Issuers of credit cards and ATM debit cards expect you to call them before you leave USA to inform them that you will be on a trip outside of USA; and the issuers will want to know what countries you will be visiting and what your dates of travel will be as to departure from USA and arrival back into USA. Not notifying the issuers in advance cause their automatic fraud prevention measures to block your cards! Your solution at that point is to call each issuer, identify yourself to them to their satisfaction, then they should unblock your card(s).  Such cards usually have a special number on them you could call if calling from outside of USA that should allow you to call the issuer collect.]
  16. What is the current rate of exchange between the U.S. Dollar and the Ukrainian Grivna?  [See Internet page http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=100.00&From=USD&To=UAH ]
  17. What is an “unlocked” cell/mobile phone?  [Here is a link to explain what an unlocked cell phone is: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-unlocked-cell-phones.htm  I did not understand about this subject either until I researched it and found out that those "free" or deeply discounted cell phones that cell phone companies give, come with a hitch, that they only work for that company, "locked," to prevent using any other company's SIM card ("SIM" is short for Subscriber Identity Module, explained at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_Identity_Module)!  But, you should try calling your cell phone's customer service to inquire about the procedure for unlocking your cell phone so that it could utilize a Ukrainian SIM card.  Failing that, another solution would be to buy an unlocked cell phone, so that it could use a Ukrainian SIM card.  I consider it to be an absolute necessity to have your own Ukrainian mobile telephone number, so as to be able to easily communicate by cell/mobile phone inside Ukraine! If you use a mobile phone in Ukraine with a non-Ukrainian phone number, you would probably not receive any Ukrainian incoming calls because of the high cost of making international mobile phone calls!]
  18. When I'm in Ukraine, I sometimes get a call on my mobile telephone, but the call disconnects before I have a chance to answer it.  Why?  [Generally the caller is signaling that you should call him/her back because the caller has little or no money left on his/her prepaid mobile telephone account or that the caller simply can't afford to call you.  Remember, what may seem to you to be a trivial/minor cost may not be trivial/minor to the caller.] 
  19. Regarding apartment and hotel reservations in Odessa : When are “high season” and “low season”?  [Generally as follows: High season: 1st of April through 31st of October.  Low season 1st of January through 31st of March; and 1st of November through 31st of December.]  
  20. Can someone pick me up at Odessa airport (ODS) and take me to my apartment or hotel?  [Yes, we have transfer service between Odessa airport and your apartment or hotel. For “Rates for Services”, see Internet page http://www.odessamarriageagency.com/php/page.php?id=78 ] 
  21. What services do you offer and what are your prices? [For “Rates for Services”, see Internet page http://www.odessamarriageagency.com/php/page.php?id=78] 
  22. Is your Odessa agency a part of Kherson Girls? [My agency is an affiliate of Kherson Girls, Ukraine Sweethearts, AnastasiaWeb and Hanuma mainly through Hanuma's web site http://army-of-brides.com/.  As an affiliate, a male client, while in his home country, generally pays directly to Kherson Girls, Ukraine Sweethearts, AnastasiaWeb and Hanuma depending on which website a client is using.  The web sites are owned by Kherson Girls, Ukraine Sweethearts, AnastasiaWeb and Hanuma as applicable.  With Kherson Girls, my agency was allowed to set up its own web site as part of being an affiliate of Kherson Girls. Agencies are often affiliates because of the high cost of developing and maintaining their own web site and for advertising.  Kevin Hayes is the owner of Kherson Girls.  There are a number of agencies affiliated with Kherson Girls in different cities than Kherson.  As far as I know, each agency outside of Kherson is separately owned and operated, with no relation to Kherson Girls except as being an affiliate of Kherson Girls.]
  23. How can I upload my photos to my Kherson Girls profile?   [When you log into a Kherson Girls web site, such as our odessamarriageagency.com or khersongirls.com, you should immediately be at your "My Account" page; scroll down to the bottom of the page; the third line above the "Forward" button is the link "Add my photos"; left-click on it; you should then be at the "ADD PHOTOS" page; you should be able to do the rest from this point.]  
  24. What is the size limitation of the photos that I can upload to my Kherson Girls profile?  [Maximum 120 kilobytes per photo and submitted photos must be in ".jpg" format.]
  25. I forgot my Kherson Girls login name and/or password?  [You need to send an e-mail to kevin@khersongirls.com to get it sent to you via e-mail.]
  26. Does your Odessa agency offer Match Making service similar to Kherson Girls in Kherson ? [Yes; see Internet page http://www.odessamarriageagency.com/php/page.php?id=78 ] 
  27. Is it meaningful to meet an Odessa lady that I’ve not previously corresponded with?  [In general, having prior correspondence is better than just meeting without it, in order to help gauge a lady’s interest level.] 
  28. How long does it normally take from the time I write a letter to a lady until I receive a reply from her?  [Typically a letter gets translated within about 2 days of receipt.  Then, the letter must be delivered to the lady.  (If a lady come to an office, she would sometimes be there when a man's letter arrives and she could then promptly answer.) Then she must compose a reply, which must be translated back into English and sent to the man.  From start (receipt of letter by man) to finish (receipt of reply from lady) should take no more than 2 weeks.  Of course, we try to make that time period shorter. Sometimes, a lady is out-of-town, which, of course, could delay her response.] 
  29. If a lady were to write to me via Kherson Girls network, but I were not interested in her, how could I let her know that without incurring the cost of writing her a letter?  [I recommend in such circumstances that you log into your Kherson Girls account, click "Answers from Ladies"; then under the "Actions" column, click on "Not Interested".] 
  30. I would like to meet ladies not only in Odessa, if in Odessa I were not successful in my search. If I were to travel to Kherson, do you know of any other agencies there besides Kherson Girls that you’d consider using?  [Here is a website for another agency in Kherson that I have personally used a couple of times with good results, meaning that I believe them to be honest and that they try to make sure their lady clients are also sincere: http://ua-fiancees.com/  I recommend that you study their web site.] 
  31. Why is it sometimes so difficult to meet with ladies?  [Assuming a particular lady would really like to meet you: When ladies attend university, they can be quite unavailable when it is examination time for them.  Ladies often take vacations outside of their home town during holidays and Ukraine seems to have a lot of holidays.  A solution would be to have a list of more than just a few ladies you would like to meet and to also plan in advance, for example, don't just show up in Odessa, without prior notice and expect to meet a lady through the agency the same night.] 
  32. I have seen ladies on AnastasiaWeb and/or Army of Brides that I’d like to meet, but who are not in your agency. How could I do this?  [Generally, as long as you have already had correspondence with a lady, Army-of-Brides’  customer service would give you a lady's agency contact information if you write to them in the customer service part of their website. AnastasiaWeb is more difficult and expensive, but it has a larger selection of ladies.  AnastasiaWeb will not give you agency contact information and neither you or a lady are allowed to write your telephone numbers in letters using their system.  You can only get it from the lady by having a translated telephone conference with her, arranged through the wehsite, which costs about $40 for a 10-minute call, but that is enough time to exchange pleasantries and then contact information, such as the telephone number for a lady's translator and/or agency.] 
  33. Do you offer video chats from your office so I could see the lady and the lady could see me?  [We now offer this service on profiles that indicate " Available for chat: Yes (60$)."  You would need to be signed up with Yahoo Messenger.  Our Yahoo Messenger identification is "odessamarriage".  (Our sub-agent Galina ("Rinada") uses a different Yahoo Messenger identification, which would be e-mailed to a client if he were to order a video chat with a lady client signed up with "Rinada.")  A video chat is normally done without audio because Kherson Girls has found the audio quality to be too poor when coming through the Internet. So, video chats are normally done by using text by typing into the chat boxes. So, a man would type a message, the interpreter would verbally tell the lady client what the man typed, the lady client would say her response to the interpreter, who would then translate and type her response in English to the man. An alternative would be for the man to call the interpreter at a previously designated Ukrainian telephone number and to put the telephone on speaker so the man could hear the lady client speaking, then the interpreter could simply translate as if it were a face-to-face meeting! (It has been my experience that if a mobile telephone call were to last more than about 30 minutes, then the call would be automatically disconnected from the mobile telephone side of the connection. In such case, one would have to call back to start another approximate 30-minute call segment.)  What's most important is that the man could see the lady client on the webcam at about the same time as the chat was being done!  I wrote "about" because there always seems to be a short lag on live video over the Internet.] 
  34. Do any of your interpreters speak French? [Yes; Nastya Krasnoselskaya is fluent in French.]
  35. What is the correct way to pronounce "Kherson"? [Kherson (in the Russian Cyrillic ("Kyrillitsa") alphabet, Херсон) is pronounced "her-SON," but the "h" is breathy because "Kh" (Х) is pronounced like the "ch" in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach"; and the second syllable is stressed, which makes the "o" long as in "so."]
  36. I would like to book an apartment in Odessa. [See Internet page http://www.odessamarriageagency.com/php/page.php?id=52 to read the various factors involved in choosing an apartment, then write to me or telephone Vasiliy, whose contact information is on the aforementioned Internet page.]
  37. Would it be possible to book for a few days in Odessa and then in Kherson and Nikolaev?  [Yes, but you would have to be specific in your dates and time of arrival. Rent is due 30 days prior to arrival and no-shows would forfeit the prepaid-rent/deposit.] 
  38. Do you also have apartments in Kherson and/or Nikolaev?  [We do not.  Each city's agency handles its own apartment requests. For example, for Kherson , look at Internet page http://www.khersongirls.com/apartments/default.htm] 
  39. I do not want an expensive apartment. I just want it clean and central.  [Please specify your budget range in Grivna, Dollars or Euros, so we could understand what to look for.] 
  40. Do meetings/introductions take place at your premises?  [No; meetings take place at locations agreed upon by you and the lady; typically, beginning at a well-known location in central Odessa such as in front of McDonalds on Deribosevskaya Street.  Then, you and the lady, with her interpreter, agree on where to go next, usually some cafe.  For a first meeting, I personally prefer the "Grand Cafe" on Yekaterininskaya Street.] 
  41. Can you tell me please, as I’ve become interested in the profile of a  lady from Nikolaev, would she have to travel to Odessa for the  meeting, or do you have a smaller office there?  [Ladies in Nikolaev (found on any Kherson Girls website) are part of the Nikolaev affiliate of Kherson Girls, so you would have to contact that affiliate to find out about ladies there.] 
  42. I would like to ask you about your member, Natalia #18806, and Elena  #12057.  [When you look at a lady's profile on any Kherson Girls web site, the lady's "service center" is always indicated, which means the particular agency within the Kherson Girls network of agences, that the lady is a member of, indicating which agency that inquiries should be directed to.  For example: "Lady#: 12057 Name: Elena...Lady service center is Nikolaev2".  Our service center is "Odessa," which would be applicable to Natalia #18806; so, we could answer questions about her, but not about Elena #12057.] 
  43. Do ladies personally visit your office in Odessa to register or did they apply via the Internet?  [The policy applicable to all agencies within the Kherson Girls' network is that a lady wishing to register through one of our agencies must personally meet with an agency's representative and submit her domestic or international passport, to prove her identity.]
  44. Are the ladies who register with your agency serious about looking for a husband?  [I consider any woman who signs up with my main branch or any of my sub-agents to be serious, but, one can never guarantee what goes on in the mind of another, the same as in USA.]
  45. If a child ask me for money on the streets of Odessa, what should I do?  [This is a judgment call depending on the circumstances. Generally, one should completely ignore the child, usually a young boy of about 11 years old.  If you say anything to the child in English, you would just make yourself that much more of a target because you would have just tipped off the child that you were probably from USA!  An adult criminal likely controls the child, using him to beg for money, which the child then turns over to the adult, on penalty of being beaten or killed if the money were not completely turned over--this activity is sometimes referred to as "poor man's mafia."  Never give the child money. The child could also use the money to buy cigarettes or drugs or chemicals such as glue, which is sniffed, but slowly destroys the child's brain (reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inhalant).  Such a child can be persistent and start to touch you or block your path.  If the child get close to you and/or start to touch you, then be prepared to have your pocket picked!  So, do not let the child get that close to you!  A child's small hand can easily get into a pocket, so keep them zipped or empty or otherwise secured!  If necessary, yell "Militsia," which is the commonly understood Russian word for "police."] 
  46. Sometimes I find a lady’s profile is also on AnastasiaWeb and/or Army of brides, but  I’m not sure whether to trust these other websites.  [AnastasiaWeb and Army-of-Brides are not agencies and have no female clients. They are networks of hundreds of affiliated agencies, which agencies have the female clients.  These agencies do all of the translating of letters between male and female clients.  The male clients pay the networks for translations and other services such as gift orders and the networks then monthly compensate the agencies for these translations and other services.  But, when a male client visits a foreign country to actually meet female clients, then, unless on a network-arranged tour and/or attending a network-arranged "social", a male client would generally be dealing directly with actual agencies, not with a network.  Your apprehension should be with dishonest agencies that sometimes are affiliates of these networks. My observation has been that if AnastasiaWeb were to discover any unethical behavior by a lady client, then she would likely be removed from its database; and an offending affiliated agency would be penalized or removed by AnastasiaWeb.  And Army-of-Brides home page http://army-of-brides.com/ has a link to a “Black List” by Anti-Scam.org  Note that Kherson Girls has been and continues to be an actual, very large agency; and later also became a network of selected agencies in cities besides Kherson.] 
  47. I have paid for a monthly membership on the Kherson Girls website, so can I use those benefits for Odessa?  [Monthly memberships are only applicable to the city of Kherson .] 
  48. Regarding Kherson Girls lady ID numbers 18001 to 18050; 18303 to 18307; 18500 to 18550; 18601 18630; 18951 to 18998 and other ID numbers not shown below: Who should I contact to arrange meetings?  [See Internet address  http://www.odessamarriageagency.com/ for Acting Manager and Interpreter Nastya Krasnoselskaya who could arrange meetings for these ranges of ID numbers.]
  49. Regarding Kherson Girls lady ID numbers 18901 to 18950 : Who should I contact to arrange meetings?  [Denis Kovalenko at +380.509.234.468 is one of our affiliates who could arrange meetings for this range of ID numbers.] 
  50. I couldn't find the answer to my question here! [Send me an e-mail using e-mail address office@odessamarriageagency.com and I would do my best to answer your question and probably add your question to this FAQ.]