Real Eyes

I am Ukrainian, and my Grandmother (God rest her soul) sent packages to her relatives (couldn't send money in those days) every month. Not only to her mother, but later, to her six nieces and nephews. I am also married to a Ukrainian. I was the one who sent his family money, they never asked, and now, when they need money, he always asks before he sends anything, as I pay all the bills. I suspect a 3 bedroom apartment in the DR is pretty cheap. The issue is not really about the money. It's about a unilateral action. IMHO.

Pao said their marriage may not have survived if they had stayed in Oklahoma. That suggests to me she doesn't love him.

The idea that all Jews in Ukraine who survived WWII were collaborators is ludicrous and must come from poorly educated people. Lots of Jews were communists. In Western Ukraine they were shot right away, as communists, not Jews. In Eastern Ukraine, communists fled the advancing Germans. Some Jews were hidden. My MIL's neighbor was a teen who was in another city when the Germans invaded. Her family was shot at Babi Yar. She came back during the occupation and another neighbor said the girl was her daughter, her papers had been stolen. So she assumed a new identity. All the neighbors knew who she really was, and not one betrayed her. Jews were hidden, and given false identities by the Uniate Church, though those numbers were small because the blitzkrieg was so quick. Many others were in the Red Army, marching to Berlin and back. So they of course survived.

Most American men do marry American women. As presented, the issue is that Pedro is just sending money. They didn't discuss it as a couple. That is a problem.

Stupid people don't realize they are stupid.

The market for jobs in Russ' field has turned around, especially in the Southern US.

I've been married to a Russian for 33 years. Believe me, they can do sarcasm. Very well, in fact. I think most of these story lines are "fake" drama. Russ is going along with it because it's a source of income. Danielle and Mohamed - well, need I say more? I doubt the stripper story is a bone of contention between Alexei and Loren. He can see she is mad for him. I like Pedro, I think he is a decent guy. Chantel loves him, so I think in the end, things will work out for them.

There weren't too many Polish Cossacks. I think you are assuming any ending of "ky" , "vosky", "yevsky" is Polish. That is inaccurate. It is a common surname among Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians.

Anfisa is not ethnically Russian. She has a Ukrainian surname, but if I had to guess, I would guess she is Tatar. A lot of Crimean Tatars adopted Ukrainian surnames in order to return to that region. Russian and Ukrainian surnames are similar because of history - a lot of Ukrainians were exiled to Siberia (Tchaikovsky, for example, was the great great grandson of a Cossack exiled to Siberia, and that surname is Ukrainian), and a lot of Russians moved to Ukraine over the course of the centuries. Ukrainians who grew up in cities speak Russian, those in villages generally didn't. When they moved to cities, they would learn surzhik, which is a sort of half Russian, half Ukrainian. But most of them never spoke Russian fluently.

I don't think so. I suspect including the adultery is that it tends to prove he entered the marriage fraudulently. It's not about a divorce. It is about trying to get him deported.

Hmm, I'd disagree with that. I am ethnically Ukrainian (diaspora). My husband is half Russian, half Ukrainian, raised in Kyiv. Part of what the USSR did was to meld ethnic identities, particularly Slavic identities. That was deliberate, so that nationalism (Ukrainian and Belarussian) was destroyed. It is changing, particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but before that, there was still a common identity, particularly in Eastern Ukraine and Russia. Less so in Western Ukraine, for a variety of reasons. I think you could say that Russians and Ukrainians born there still share a Soviet identity. I see it in their mindset, in their attitudes. Ukrainians born in Ukraine have different perspectives than do Ukrainians born in the West. That can be cultural. She is obviously a calm person. I think she was the smartest of the bunch.

According to them, he saw her facebook profile and tried to contact her. He said he sent her 10 messages which she ignored. She only responded when he said he is wealthy.

I disagree that they are all in it for a green card. Moscow is not exactly a third world country. I see affection between Anfisa and Jorge. I doubt she was looking for a green card. Similarly, I don't think Alla married Matt for a green card. I think she is happy to be in the US, but I get the impression she didn't marry the first American man she met. I think there could have been a lot on the tell all. The interviewer is not great. Had they had a better one, the segment could have been very lively.

Why would it be difficult? Mohamed committed adultery. She moved on. It doesn't negate her claim in law.

I agree that was insensitive. I'm sorry for your loss.

He certainly pings to me. Plus, when asked directly, he answered in a way that suggested he may be gay. He didn't deny it. He stated it is not allowed in his country.

I like Melanie. I don't think she has a dominating personality. She speaks her mind, but Devar doesn't strike me as a shrinking violet. Nevertheless, I understand that if she reminds you of someone you dislike, you would dislike her as well.

The point was not about abusers. It was more about an attitude of Americans who actively seek foreign spouses. You have assumed Mohamed is not a criminal. Based on his actions, he is a criminal. He's just more sophisticated at it than is Danielle.

That is irrelevant, though. Mohamed is not a US citizen. Danielle is.

So what? Most American men who import former Soviet brides treat them that way as well. It has nothing to do with the spouse being Muslim. It's about an attitude toward human beings. I have no empathy for Danielle. But Mohamed is no different. He just chose someone as morally challenged as he is as his scam victim.

According to TLC, she is 44, he is 29.

They were together less than 2 years. Danielle did not squeeze the youth out of Mohamed. And, he didn't need to imitate her lowlife habits. He is plenty lowlife himself.

Prior to 2012, if you came to Canada as the spouse of a Canadian, you received landed immigrant status immediately. You can work in Canada as a conditional permanent resident, which is what spouses now receive on landing in Canada. The change in law just delayed their ability to receive permanent resident status. They could still work. I don't believe marriage fraud was a big issue either. But that was the rationale behind the legislative amendments, and the push came from within the South Asian community. That law is now set to be scrapped.

I don't follow social media, but I doubt this. I think people (mostly women, I assume) are offended by an obvious scammer. Mo's manipulation repertoire is rather limited: 1) Appeal to decency/goodness; 2) Appeal to pity; 3) Anger and outrage at target's unreasonableness and 4) Threats. I laughed when I saw him try these on Luisa, who has no decency/goodness, so 1 and 2 wouldn't work on her. 3 and 4 didn't work on her because she is a con artist as well. It has zero to do with him not being an American citizen. He is a repugnant human being. I'm not defending Danielle here. She was wrong in pursuing a man so much younger and putting her family in dire circumstances as a result. But even if Mo had married a beautiful 20 year old virgin, he would have still been who his is, a slimy, lazy user with no moral foundation.

I am not troubled by this. Women will always throw themselves at men they view as "celebrity" status, no matter how tenuous that status is. I don't think it was Danielle's weakness that made Mo a target. It was his lack of character. He was already a big a@@hole. All those women did was solidify the core essence of his lack of character.