[kdavid]

In regards to the business of "selling marriages", I'm sure everyone is familiar with the "Russian Bridge" concept. It's quite common to find women who independently have a lot of money, or whose parents have a lot money, and want to find a foreigner to marry their daughter so that their daughter "can have a better life."

A girl I dated in college, whom I've kept in contact with, is currently dating a guy who fell into one of these traps. He was offered $5,000 USD to marry a girl he met while backpacking through Europe. The catch, however, is that they can't get divorced for something in the ballpark of 10 years without facing criminal charges. Now, though this is all hearsay, I wouldn't be surprised if the US government had made some sort of law to keep this practice from developing.

Asians, I've also found, are quite business-oriented in regards to marriage. The Vietnamese, from what I've heard, tend to marry more so for what the partnership can and will bring them in the future, instead of love.