Filipino Mail Order Brides: Interview, Guide, Statistics

As an expert responsible for Asia on InspirationalWomenSeries, I’m proud to reveal this article to you.

You’ll find a lot of info here—from statistics that would help you understand Filipino women better to some step-by-step guides and dating tips.

But the most important, useful, and interesting part is the interview with Joy—a 34-year old Filipino mail order bride.

Interview with Filipina mail order bride

Who are you?

Hello! I’m Joy. I was born in 1988 in Manila, and I still live there. I’ve been working as a doctor for 12 years—I’m a phlebotomist, to be specific. I signed up on EasternHoneys a year ago or something like that—just wanted to chat with some foreign guys there, but, well, now I believe you can call me a mail order bride because, at the moment, I’m looking for a serious relationship there. 

Why did you become a mail order bride? 

As I’ve just said, it wasn’t that serious at the beginning! I didn’t want to be one of those mail order brides chasing European and American men because, you know, this term has a somewhat negative connotation in our country.

The government even enacted the anti-mail-order-bride law in, I don’t know, 1990 or 1991—of course, it doesn’t work as they expected, and no one gets in jail for using such websites.

But still, it’s kinda like a taboo here. That’s why I didn’t want to become a “bride” at first—I chatted with men, and that’s all.

But 5 or 4 months ago, I realized that I just really like chatting with Americans on this site—I liked it much more than chatting with Filipino guys on Tinder. They are more respectful, chatting with them just feels better. I just suddenly decided that it could be a good idea to find a long-term… maybe a husband, or just a serious man for serious relationships. That’s why I can call myself a Filipino bride now.

How did you find a mail order bride website? 

I didn’t know anything about international dating sites a year ago. No, I used Tinder and Instagram to chat with some guys, of course. I just didn’t know anything about the online dating platforms for international dating. But I’m very thorough, you know—that’s how I study, that’s how I learn new things, and that’s how I do everything—very carefully, in a detailed way. Pag may tiyaga, may nilaga we say—if you work and learn hard, you’ll enjoy the results of your efforts.

So I read probably dozens of reviews on dating sites, lots of reviews from Filipino brides, and of course, I tested a lot of websites myself. I focused on EasternHoneys because it looked nice, because it was free—but I don’t know if it’s free for men, it’s probably not,—and because it looked very real, you know, its profiles looked real.

Why do you want a foreign husband? 

Because why not? Filipino men are often nice and all that, but there are lots of guys who don’t respect women here. There are lots of men who see women as property in the Philippines. I don’t blame anyone; it’s our society, time, and traditions that make some people think this way. But I just suddenly realized I could get a man I can really feel something special to—sorry, local dudes, but it’s true! American men are so much more caring and obviously more respectful than men from my country. That’s what lots of Filipino girls say, lots of Filipino mail order brides I talked with. As a Filipino girl who loves to be treated with respect, I agree with them.

Have you already met someone?

Nope, not yet. I’m just a beginner, after all! I chat with 2 men now, one from Texas and another from California—they are very different, but they are really nice. I’m thinking of meeting one of them in 2022, but I’m not 100% sure right now. But, well, nothing serious yet.

People often worry about scams and fakes on dating sites. Is using mail order bride sites safe, in your opinion?

I know that some Filipino brides were scammed on the dating sites, yes. I didn’t meet any scammers, thank God—but I met some individuals who… Well, they didn’t want to chat, they just wanted to share some of their pictures, and I did certainly not want to start a conversation with looking at such pictures. I contacted customer support, and they blocked these pervs. I believe they’ll do the same with a scammer if I ever meet one.

Joy, can you help singles from the US understand Filipino women better? Give advice to men on how to attract a Filipino woman, please.

There are 55,000,000 Filipino women! You can’t just say they all are like this or like that. They want different things, they like different things, and what works perfectly for one Filipino bride would never work for another one. But here’s the advice that would work for 100% of women, not only in the Philippines but in all Asian countries: always be respectful. That’s what most Filipino ladies seek for, and that’s what we often can’t get from our local men. Treat us with respect, and you’ll love the result :)

Editor’s notes

• Most Filipino mail order brides want to meet foreign men because they think they are more caring and loving than men in the Philippines
• Filipino girls are very different—but they all want men to treat them with respect
• Not all the girls on the dating sites are Filipino mail order brides—some of them just want to chat with foreigners

Let’s talk about Filipino women in more detail. 

How much does it cost to get a Filipino bride? How to meet Filipino girls online? And what else do you need to know about them? 

All the answers are right here!

Facts about marriages with Filipino mail order brides

• Filipino women tend to get married later than women in other Asian countries of the region. The median age at first marriage for Filipina brides is 27 years old—it’s lower than in the US, but it’s still a relatively high median age compared to neighboring countries of the Philippines. 
• There is no divorce in the Philippines—this country is the only country in the world where it’s impossible to divorce. However, marriages can be annulled in the Philippines—that’s basically the same as divorce (it’s just much more time-consuming and much more expensive). The number of annulment cases is constantly increasing, but it’s still very low compared to other Asian countries (let alone the United States).
• American men are extremely popular among Filipino girls. Thus, 26.8% of intermarriages with Filipino women are marriages with men from the United States!

How much does a Filipino bride cost?

Obviously, it’s impossible to buy a Filipino bride. The whole Filipino bride industry works exactly like Joy described—women sign up for websites, chat with men, and meet them. It’s like online dating experience, not a market where you buy women for marriage.

What you can buy is the premium subscription or credits on a Philippines mail order brides website—most of these online dating platforms are paid for men. 

Typically, a website with Filipino brides costs around $100 per month—but it always depends on the services you’re going to use. 

Some men, for example, prefer buying expensive gifts and having a video chat with Filipino girls—in this case, $100 would most likely not be enough for 1 month. However, if you stick to text messages only, you’ll probably spend even less than $100.

Dating Filipino girls online can be very easy and pleasant—but you’ll need to meet them in person sooner or later, especially if you’re planning to find a Filipino wife. Here’s what you’ll have to pay for:

• Tickets from the US to the Philippines—$600-$900
• A hotel room—$450 for 2 weeks
• Transportation—$300 for 2 weeks
• Food—$250 for 2 weeks
• Entertainment—$400 for 2 weeks
• K-1 visa fee—$2,025

The best Filipina bride websites are the ones with a credit system—such a system allows you to pay for the things you really need and to save money if you want to. But it’s not about EasternHoneys only—here are the top 2 websites with Filipino girls that are worth your attention:

1. TheLuckyDate 
2. CuteAsianWoman

Step-by-step guide on how to get Filipino mail order bride

If you’re serious about meeting Philippine brides, here’s a step-by-step guide for you—just follow it and chat with any Filipino girl you want. It’s really that simple!

1. First, choose a trusted service with Filipino brides. Read the reviews, test the sites yourself, and always make sure the website is 100% trustworthy before registration.
2. Then, create an account. You need to make your profile attractive to Filipino mail order wives—so upload your best photos, write a catchy profile bio, and answer all the questions during the registration.
3. Use the advanced search filters to find the Filipina brides you like. Remember, the best online dating services offer advanced search tools for free! 
4. Chat with 3-5 women. If you chat with 1 woman only, this may lead to disappointment in case she isn’t the right choice for you. If you chat with dozens of women simultaneously, you’ll probably pay too much for that. 3-5 women are the golden mean for online dating.
5. Meet them in person. Don’t wait for too long unless you’re aimed at an online relationship.

Is using mail order bride sites to find and date women legit?

It’s 100% legal to meet Filipino brides, to use Philippines mail order brides services, and even to bring Filipino wives to the United States. As for the first two points, it’s simple—it’s like online and offline dating from the point of view of the law, so you don’t need to worry about it. As for bringing Filipino brides to the US, it’s a bit more complicated—but still 100% legal.

Thus, an American man can apply for a K-1 visa for his Filipino bride—if their relationship is genuine and bona fide, there will be no problems with getting a visa. After that, a bride can enter the US on a K-1 visa and get a Green card after that. In 3 years, Filipino wives of American citizens can become the US citizens, too.

How to bring a Filipino wife to the USA?

First, the requirements you and your bride must meet to be eligible to bring her to the US on a K-1 visa:

• You must be the US citizen
• You must intend to marry in 90 days on her arrival
• You and your bride must be free to marry (there must be either no previous marriages, or the previous marriages must have been legally terminated)
• You have met each other in person during the 2-year period before filing for a K-1 visa (photos, flight tickets, and other proofs are desirable)

Now, let’s talk about the process of getting a K-1 visa for a Filipina girl:

• First, file the Form I-129F (petition for Alien Fiance(e))
• Then, your bride will have to file Form DS-160 once the Form I-129F is approved by the USCIS
• The bride will need to print the confirmation page of the DS-160 Form
• Then, she’ll have to attend the visa interview and pay the visa fee
• After that, your bride will be able to enter the US and get married within 90 days of entering the country

How to avoid Filipino mail order bride scam? 

If you’re going to meet a Filipino bride online, you need to understand one thing: there are dozens or even hundreds of scammers on Filipina mail order brides websites. Here, we’ll tell you about the most common types of scam you could be targeted with on a dating site with Asian women.

1. “Send me money”

This is probably the most common type of scam Western men might be targeted with. Here’s how it works:

• Western guys sign up for dating websites and meet lots of sexy Filipina brides there
• Filipino beauties with sexy photos ask the guys to send them money
• Western men send them money
• Filipino beauties delete their profiles or just stop responding

The scammers tell lots of different stories—today they need money for a plane ticket, yesterday they needed money to pay their debts off, tomorrow they’ll have to pay for medical expenses. It’s easy to avoid getting scammed in this case—just don’t send money to women you’ve met on dating sites, that’s all.

2. Personal and financial information scam

Some scammers are not that direct—they don’t want you to send them money because they can take the money from your credit card. Here’s how it works:

• You meet a beautiful Philippines girl for marriage
• You chat and talk about everything, from your job to your hobbies
• She asks questions about your life, about your address, about everything. Eventually, she asks for your PayPal email or your credit card number.
• After that, you realize that someone has stolen the money from your credit card or your PayPal wallet.

You need to be very careful with your personal and especially with your financial information when using mail order brides websites.

3. Blackmail

Your NSFW photos, your secrets, the very fact you’re chatting with Asian girls online—different people have different information that can become a threat if revealed. This type of scam isn’t that popular—but we highly recommend Western men to not reveal any information they don’t want to be revealed.

Samuel Chavez

Author

Samuel Chavez is a 45 year old journalist from San Jose, California. Samuel graduated from San Jose State University in 1998 - he has a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism. During the last years, Samuel worked for Southern California Life Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and The San Diego Union-Tribune. He is not a certified psychologist or a relationship expert, but he knows a lot about Asian-American dating - his ex wife was from Japan, and his second wife, Amihan, is from Quezon City (the Philippines). As a professional journalist, Samuel knows how to get to the truth about any dating site.