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Objective Background Method Results Conclusion Implications This study investigates the role of local families‐in‐law in the lives of foreign spouses from low‐income, cross‐national families in Singapore, focusing on their potential as a source of support for social integration and access to resources.Foreign spouses in Singapore face challenges related to social integration and access to resources, and local in‐law relationships have been identified as a potential source of support.In‐depth interviews with 18 Chinese‐national foreign spouses were analyzed using thematic analysis.Siblings‐in‐law were vital to foreign spouses, providing more emotional and practical support than parents‐in‐law. Local in‐law relationships influenced foreign spouses' identification with locals, and the local in‐laws' familiarity with local resources and networks facilitated access to formal and informal services, contributing to equitable outcomes.Local families‐in‐law play a critical role in the lives of foreign spouses in Singapore, especially siblings‐in‐law. The findings highlight the potential of local in‐law relationships as a support system for cross‐national families.The study's findings can inform policies and practices that support the well‐being of cross‐national families. Policymakers and practitioners should recognize the potential of local in‐law relationships and develop programs to strengthen them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the impact of Title 42, a policy enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on female foreign nationals seeking asylum in the U.S.. It explores how Title 42 affected asylum seekers, particularly women fleeing violence in Central America, by creating barriers to seeking protection at the Southern border and violating legal obligations to provide asylum opportunities.

Citizen/Non-citizen (CN) romantic relationships are common in American society and media. However, few studies have explored the experiences of individuals in such relationships. This study examines CN partners' social experiences relating to stigma and citizenship status. Through 15 semi-structured interviews, findings revealed that many CN partners experience "green card marriage" stigma, in which foreign partners are thought to be with the citizen for the sole purpose of immigration benefits. Many participants were aware of this stigma and attempted to debunk it. Lastly, political rhetoric and policy changes put many CN couples in a vulnerable position, which induced fear and uncertainty. This study integrates relational turbulence theory and stigma management communication theory and provides initial understanding of this under-researched community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the risk of transnational divorce in Korea using marriage and divorce registration data between 2010 and 2014 from Statistics Korea. We raise two research questions. First, how does risk of marital dissolution differ by type of marriage? Second, how do the socio-demographic factors of a transnational couple affect the probability of divorce? We find that transnational marriage has an extremely high risk of divorce within the first 48 months of marriage. About 19% of marriages between a Korean husband and a foreign wife were dissolved, while only 6% of marriages between Korean nationals ended within 48 months. Both Chinese husbands and wives have the highest risk of divorce, and foreign women from Southeast Asian countries also have a substantially high risk of divorce. Another important finding is that less educated foreign wives have a significantly higher probability of divorce than foreign wives with higher education. Lastly, acquisition of citizenship lowers the risk of divorce for foreign spouses. Given the increasing number of transnational couples in Korea, this study presents the actual risk of divorce according to marriage duration for the first time and provides the most complete description of transnational marital dissolution thus far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though they are fictional characters, the family depicted on the popular TV show Modern Family represents many families today as household relationships have become more diverse like those on the show. This article discusses some of the unique estate planning issues that face today's modern family arrangements including blended families, noncitizen spouses, and same-sex couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the effect of social sentiment on spouse-based immigration in the US using data on 27 origin countries from 1996 to 2013. We find that the number of immigrant spouses from a foreign country to the US is directly correlated with this country's popularity among Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article empirically investigates whether cultural, genetic, and linguistic similarities between countries explain marriage migration. The empirical evidence supported by marriage migration data from South Korea shows that the bilateral similarities between Korea and spouse‐sending countries are important pull factors of marriage migration. Furthermore, the pull effects vary across different income levels of sending countries and between the genders of marriage migrants. The positive effects of cultural and genetic similarities are mainly driven by female marriage migrants from middle‐ and low‐income countries in Asia. A female deficit in the marital age group in South Korea may contribute to pulling this type of migration into the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to globalization and migration, most European societies have become multicultural ones. This article focuses on binational married partnership in which a Spanish national is married to foreign national. Using data from the Natural Population Movement of the Office for National Statistics (from 2005 to 2015), we analyze the sociodemographic characteristics of this type of couple. According to the results, there are differences when it comes to the geographic distribution of the married partnerships, the age of the partners, and the preferences when choosing the partner's nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage migration has led to marriage migrants as a significant aspect of migration. While much of the literature on migration in the Malaysian context discusses labour migration, very little is documented on marriage migration in Malaysia, especially concerning foreign spouses' viewpoint on their international marriage. Therefore, this paper sought to investigate and document the foreign spouses' lived experience in several aspects of life from acquiring the spouse visa to employment to family and relationship with friends in Malaysia. Results obtained from data collected through in-depth interviews give the overview that foreign spouses experience difficulties due to their status as a 'foreigner'. Foreign spouses' experience of living in Malaysia is related to the idea that a 'foreigner' is considered socially excluded in the country, leading to difficulties. Overall, foreign spouses face many challenges living in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the moderating effects of social support and subjective social status in the relationship between discrimination and self-rated health among foreign spouses. For the analysis, data from the 2015 National Survey of Multicultural Families was used and a total of 16,870 foreign spouses were selected using hierarchical regression analysis. The results of this study showed that discrimination was negatively related with self-rated health while social support and subjective social status were positively related with self-rated health of foreign spouses. Also, the moderating effect of subjective social status was identified, which means that it enhanced the positive effect of discrimination on self-rated health. This study provided empirical evidence for implementation of social integration policies. The authors suggested future qualitative research of discrimination and health, and social policies and services promoting equal opportunities for foreign spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of how foreign brides in Taiwan adapt to the challenges of living in an unfamiliar society, particularly in terms of diet, religion, and language. Based on data collected in semi-structured interviews, the results indicate that foreign brides tend to prefer foods, which are excessively spicy and sour for the average Taiwanese. In terms of religion, most foreign brides adopt their husbands religion. As for language, it was found that foreign brides tend to be relatively direct in their manner of expression, and also tend to reply in a loud tone of voice, and that this leads to misunderstandings and makes their Taiwanese in-laws uncomfortable. It was also found that many foreign brides experience difficulties in the areas of medical care and shopping. As for the ways in which foreign brides respond to these challenges, it was found that many of those who have difficulty adapting to Taiwanese food express their dissatisfaction by eating little. With regards to religious activities, most simply follow their in-laws' customary practices, such as burning incense. As for language, it was found that they use various means to learn both written and spoken Chinese. Many foreign brides reported having difficulty with the taste of various Taiwanese foods, but that their in-laws didn't mind if they prepared some of their favorite foods for themselves. Many also indicated that their in-laws encouraged them to attend Chinese classes, but that there was little support for those who preferred to practice a religion different from their in-laws. The results of this study indicate that the government needs to make additional efforts to help foreign brides lay down roots in Taiwan and enjoy a happy family life, such as holding social events in various localities, running relevant training courses for foreign brides and their husbands, and promoting an overall environment which is more foreigner-friendly and linguistically diverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores trends in international marriage migration, determinants of international marriage, and factors that affect employment and poverty status of marriage migrant females in Korea. The results suggest that the number of cross-border marriages increased rapidly in the early 2000s but has declined since the mid-2000s, perhaps because of the Korean government's strict regulations and of saturation in the demand for foreign wives. The analysis also indicated that rural males with a graduate degree have a similar probability to urban males with a high-school education. Employment opportunities vary substantially by the foreign wife's country of origin, implying that social policies for addressing the difficulties of multicultural families should be tailored toward specific ethnic groups. Those who participated in work training programmes were significantly more likely to be employed than non-participants, and the size of social support network significantly reduced the odds of living in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of transnational partner choice has gained attention over the past decades, but most research focuses on the migrants and their descendants in Europe. Very little is known about the mechanisms underlying marriage migration decisions in the sending contexts. With reference to migration and partner choice theories, we develop hypotheses on (1) education-related selectivity, (2) family and community network effects, and (3) the role of consanguineous and arranged marriages for family formation migrations from Turkey. Drawing on data of the 2000 Families Study, we apply multivariate regression models which consider (married) stayers and marriage migrants from the same regions of origin. Findings indicate the expected inverted u-curved effect of education and strong positive influences of prior migrants in the family network. Previous marriage migrants exert a stronger influence than other migrants in the family. Gender differences are low, but while family networks hardly diminish the selective impact of education for women, we find a negative interaction effect for men. Unlike the family, community network effects are low and inconclusive. Moreover, marriage migration is strongly associated with consanguineous marriage, and less with marriage arrangement. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of existing theoretical and empirical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to conceptualize how mail-order brides are situated within a marriage market that is specific to Western masculine hegemony but not necessarily to the individuals who are involved. Through a discourse analysis of international dating website content, this article shows how the "domestic exotic" materializes. This despatialized "she" is decontextualized through her exotic foreignness and recontextualized into ideological Western schemas of marriage and the nuclear family. The paradoxes between local and global, commercial and natural, past and present, are sustained through her incorporation into the intimate realm of sex and reproduction. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a lens into the ways in which foreign brides are marketed to Western men as the solution to their romantic woes and as the leverage through which individual men can articulate their gendered, geographic, and material dominance through the traditional nuclear family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares North Korean immigrants and foreign bride policies in South Korea. Despite being constructed as distinctive policy target groups, North Korean settlement and foreign bride incorporation policies exhibit striking similarities. The similarities result from the way policy problems are identified and certain solutions are justified; both North Korean immigrants and foreign brides are constructed a burden on welfare and as potential threats to social stability. Policy solutions are justified as they are designed to transform North Korean immigrants and foreign brides into ‘normal’ South Korean citizens. The major difference between two sets of policies lies in assumptions regarding cultural differences. Foreign brides are assumed to carry practices that are foreign and alien to Koreans, while North Korean immigrants are presumed to carry ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ Korean culture. Foreign brides’ cultures are visible and alien to South Koreans, and therefore are addressed under the banner of multiculturalism policies. North Korean immigrants are excluded from such policies. This exclusion reflects and reproduces the view of a Korean nation bounded by ethnic and cultural homogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper takes advantage of the Taiwan Assessment of Student Achievement data set to empirically evaluate whether the test score differentials between pupils with immigrant and native mothers are substantial across subjects, grades and years. Our results show that there exist test score differentials between the two groups after controlling for the students' individual characteristics and family background. The Chinese, Maths and English subjects exhibit larger test score gaps relative to Science and Society. We also find that the academic gaps between native students and pupils with mothers from Southeast Asian countries tend to widen, while the students' performance is about the same as that for native students if their mothers are from mainland China, confirming that the language proficiency of immigrant mothers significantly affects pupils' learning. Our empirical results may suggest that remedial teaching (or an equivalent preferential policy) for the lower-grade pupils with immigrant mothers might be required to create a fair environment for learning, and such a policy should take the nationality of those foreign mothers into account. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

‘International marriage’ has increased within rural areas in South Korea. As an increasing number of rural women move to urban areas, men are left facing the challenges of finding appropriate spouses. This issue stimulated support for ‘international marriages’ by the Korean government. A review was carried out of the literature of foreign wives' cultural adaptation in South Korea using the ecological systems. While foreign wives have escaped the hardships of lower economic status in their home country, they often face new challenges in South Korea. The article recommends that one-stop multicultural services are needed to address the cultural issues facing non-Korean women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Due to an influx of migrants, the multicultural character of South Korean society is gradually deepening. This transformation in the composition of the nation challenges the myth of Korea's social homogeneity. In this article, we examine the emergence of groups of ethnic and social minorities through the dual factors of globalization and the democratization of Koreans' conception of nationalism and nationhood. From the late 1980s, new social minorities have emerged in Korean society through democratization and globalization. Globalization brought about an influx of Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans from China), North Korean refugees, foreign spouses, and migrant workers, while democratization has led to the appearance of hwagyo (ethnic Chinese in Korea), gays and lesbians, persons with disabilities, and honhyeorin (mixed-blood people) as social minority groups. These minorities have become members of the Korean nation-state, establishing themselves as new constituents constructing Korean nationhood. We conclude that the dichotomy of inclusion and exclusion of these minorities in Korean society has transformed into a type of hierarchization. We employ the concept of hierarchical nationhood to describe the legal/policy and social dimensions of this hierarchization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how mental mapping can be used as a critical methodology for feminist migration studies. In a case study of female marriage migrants who settle in rural areas in South Korea from other Asian countries, I attempt to develop mental mapping to supplement verbal interviews. Mental maps of hometowns and current neighborhoods drawn by my interviewees represent their geographical imaginations and complex identity negotiations that mirror the change in their social locations. In order to understand multilayered meanings embedded in the images and the way in which power relations existent between the researcher and the researched affect the map production, I suggest a critical reading of the maps. The article shows how a reflexive and intertextual reading makes a difference to the interpretation of the maps. It argues that the maps are not mere reflections of the women's cognition, but rather socially constructed texts through which their desires, emotions, feelings and internal contradictions are expressed and negotiated. My research suggests that mental mapping, if ethically performed and critically evaluated, has potential as a means to convey the unheard voices of the marginalized to diverse audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2009 National Survey on Multicultural Families, we examined the factors associated with the level of life satisfaction among migrant wives in South Korea. Separate analyses were conducted for the four major ethnic and national groups of migrant wives in Korea: Chosun-jok (Korean Chinese), Han Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipinas. Overall, migrant wives' life satisfaction was significantly associated with health, Korean proficiency, relationship satisfaction with the husband, family material hardship, and family social status change regardless of ethnicity or nationality. Age, education, years in the current marriage, number of children, meeting with friends from the home country, community meetings, use of education and support services, discrimination, and Korean citizenship, however, were related to life satisfaction in different ways depending on ethnicity or nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization has increased the occurrence of 'international marriages' due to expanded marriage markets resulting from increased travel and communication avenues. Although Eastern Europe is one of the top three regions of origin for marriage migrants, little is known about who chooses this type of marriage arrangement. This study describes demographic characteristics of Eastern European-U.S. international marriages using a nationally representative sample ( N = 442) from the American Community Survey, 2008-2009. Paired t test, chi-square, and ANOVA analyses were used to assess within-couple and between-couple differences. Spouses in Eastern-European-U.S. couples were found to differ significantly by age, income, education, and number of previous marriages. Results showed that marriages between Eastern European wives and U.S. husbands differed in important ways from marriages between U.S. citizens. Findings support both status homogamy and status exchange theories of international mate selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study proposes a model of using the Multicultural Family Support Centers and adjustment among foreign brides and their interethnicand interracial families in South Korea based on the narratives of 10 foreign brides married to Korean men and 11 service providers who directly interact with these women and their families. The results illustrate how programs offered through Multicultural Family Support Centers serve as a bridge for these families to pass through mistrust and conflict to reach a point of intimacy and unity as a family. Recommendations for the Multicultural Family Support Centers are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last twenty years and with the age of globalization, migration flows of populations have been increasing throughout the world. Migrants who enter into Taiwan for the purpose of international marriage currently stands at more than 450,000. The highest percentages of them are women, and most come from Mainland China (M.C.) and Southeast Asian countries (S.E.A.), such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. Many international marriage immigrant wives meet their Taiwanese husbands using commercial matchmaker agencies. In this paper, I will focus on the marketization of international marriage business's involving Taiwanese men and immigrant women from S.E.A. and M.C.. I will discuss the mechanisms and the processes by which commercial matchmaker agencies operate in order to bring both Taiwanese men and the immigrant women together. From some immigrant women's accounts, the commercial matchmaker agencies arranged immigrant women to stay in a 'brides-to-be' camp - where women take training courses to learn how to be Taiwanese wives- until women are chosen by Taiwanese men. I will use literature around body work to frame this paper and discuss how immigrant women may be trained to prepare themselves for marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unprecedented number of American citizens are facing the challenge of being in a non-heterosexual binational relationship. Although immigration laws are based on the principle of family unification, under current federal law lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans cannot sponsor their same-sex foreign national partners for residency in the United States. Consequently, an estimated 36,000 couples face the threat of family separation because the narrow definition of “family” used by U.S. immigration services excludes same-sex binational couples and their children. Despite the fact that family research indicates that long periods of separation have harmful effects on the family, immigration law continues to deny binational families the basic right of family unity afforded many of their heterosexual counterparts. Bi-national couples must learn how to function in a social system while dealing with heterosexism, overt discrimination, violence, and the psychological symptoms that result from helplessness. This article will explore the ways in which nonheterosexual binational families must struggle to keep their families together as a result of the discriminatory ways in which laws are constructed in this country. We propose that discriminatory immigration policies have neglected contemporary family research that describes the family as a diverse array of intimate systems that provide mutual care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article looks at female foreign spouses (FFSs) from China and underdeveloped Southeast Asian countries living in Taiwan. Particular focus is given to the challenges faced by FFSs following their immigration to Taiwan and to education plans and policies for FFSs. According to the author, these education plans are not effective and are overly focused on cultural assimilation. It is suggested that the programs should relate to FFSs' cultural backgrounds and should also offer spouses and in-laws the opportunity to learn about immigrant groups' languages and cultures. Details on FFSs' daily labor, social networks, and communication barriers are presented. Other topics include domestic violence and popular perceptions of FFSs in Taiwanese society.

In-depth interview data are used to analyze family life and marital power relationships among Asian-French couples residing in France. All informants met their spouses/partners through personal networks or chance encounters at schools, workplaces, or social gatherings-- none met through marriage agencies. All agreed that their conjugal relationships made them feel at home and a sense of belonging. In addition to social and economic resources, some of the individuals reported feeling empowered by their cultural capital or children. Some foreign spouses expressed a willingness to terminate their relationships if they could achieve financial independence, retain legal residency in France, or felt that their children could handle the trauma of divorce. The informants' narratives indicate that conjugal relationships may have been established and sustained due to mutual dependence. No significant value conflicts in terms of religious beliefs or traditional social norms were observed. Most of the foreign spouses appeared to enjoy a mixture of cultural values in their daily routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the impact of network participation, social support, and social control on the violence victimization of female marriage migrants by a spouse. Data were from a household survey of 492 cross-border and 379 local married couples in Hong Kong in 2007. The findings indicated that female marriage migrants were more vulnerable to spousal violence and more socially isolated, compared with local women. Husbands of marriage migrants were also more socially isolated compared with men who married locally. The network participation of both husband and wife was associated positively with spousal violence against women, whereas their perceived social control was associated negatively with violence. Female marriage migrants' greater vulnerability to spousal physical assault was a result of their younger age compared with local women, but their greater vulnerability to spousal psychological aggression and sexual coercion was related, in part, to their own and their husbands' network participation as well as their level of social control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last two decades, there has been a dramatic rise in international marriages in East and Southeast Asia. A large proportion of these have been between men from wealthier countries and women from poorer countries, many of which are mediated by commercial matchmaking agencies. Agencies that offer men instant marriages with Vietnamese women began to make an appearance in Malaysia in the early 2000s, following closely behind Singapore and Taiwan. In this paper, we use the concepts of objective centrality and social capital to examine three interfaces that marriage brokers in Malaysia have to bridge: the interface with male clients, with access to the supply of potential brides from Vietnam, and with the bureaucratic procedures of immigration and marriage registration. We present one story in greater depth to illustrate the sociability and social capital accumulation process of one Vietnamese bride as she works to establish relationships of trust with her husband and his family. As she makes the transition from marriage migrant to "good wife," she is able to access the social networks of her husband and his family to transform herself into a marriage broker, increasing her own autonomy and access to resources in the process. The surface observation that entering the commercial matchmaking industry does not require much economic capital conceals the considerable amount of social capital that is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great number of women from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia recently arrived in Taiwan to marry men of lower social strata. Such an unusual pattern of migration has stimulated debates about the status and the citizenship of the new arrivals. This study analyzes Taiwanese responses toward these marriage migrants by using a national survey conducted in 2004. Three aspects of restrictive attitudes were tapped concerning these newcomers: (1) rights to work; (2) access to public health insurance; and (3) full citizenship. Immigrants from China were most opposed, compared to women with other origins (Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, and the US). The seemingly unrelated regression estimation regression results do not support the split labor market hypotheses, as marriage migrants do not appear to be economic threats toward members of the lower classes. In contrast, ethnic nationalism plays a key role in determining the natives' restrictive attitudes. The case of Taiwan represents a special genre, where ethnic politics selectively arouses the social rejection of women immigrants of certain origins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the historical development of Taiwan's immigration policy since 1949, the demographic changes in the past two decades that shaped it, and its impact on female marriage migrants and migrant workers. Taiwan's current immigration policy is based on three ideologies: the patriarchal jus sanguinis principle, population quality, and national security. The result is a contradictory policy for marriage and labor migration. As regards the former, many Taiwanese men try to find wives from overseas, on the one hand, while the government strictly controls the entry of 'low quality' women from China and Southeast Asia, on the other. In the same manner, the policy allows high-skilled labor to move freely in and out of Taiwan, while it restricts the stay of blue-collar migrant workers and excludes Chinese nationals from working in Taiwan due to national security reasons. The paper also explores the possible impact of China's rising political economy on Taiwan's future policies, particularly on Taiwan's jus sanguinis immigration ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dutch discourse on "integration" is currently characterized by a strong focus on the "culture" of especially Turks and Moroccans, two minority populations in Dutch society mostly of Muslim orientation. This article discusses the issue of the "import bride" as a case study of contemporary culturist discourse. It argues that this issue is problematized because transnational marriage is construed as circumventing loyalty to Dutch society and nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage fields—the geographical areas where people meet to partner—traditionally tend to be relatively small and local. Increasing international travel and the use of the internet have broadened the geographical opportunity structure of potential partners. This increases the chances of meeting a partner from abroad, possibly resulting in a rise in international marriage migration. This paper uses unique longitudinal population data for the whole of Sweden to explore the globalisation of Swedish marriage fields. The results show an increase of 'marriage migrants' in Sweden between 1990 and 2004, although absolute numbers remain relatively low. The paper yields two new insights not previously recorded in the literature. First, we found a substantial proportion of all marriage migrants in Sweden to be males, while most existing literature on marriage migration focuses almost exclusively on females. Second, the pattern of geographical origins of marriage migrants is highly gendered, with male and female marriage migrants in Sweden originating from different regions in the world. This suggests that different mechanisms underlie male and female marriage migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of East Asian men marry a bride from a foreign country. In the late 2000s, marriages in which the wives were of foreign origin accounted for 15% of new unions in Taiwan, 8% in South Korea and 6% in Japan. The largest group of immigrant spouses in these countries come from the People's Republic of China. Vietnamese women are the second largest group of immigrant spouses in South Korea and Taiwan, and likewise for Filippino women in Japan. The quest for spouses abroad stems from the difficulties encountered by men in their own countries. Women are increasingly unwilling to accept the traditional role of wife and mother, with an unequal division of tasks between spouses and, in many cases, the obligation to leave their job. Matchmaking agencies play a key role in the rapid increase of these marriages. A large majority of foreign spouses who migrate to get married do so of their own accord and not because of parental pressure. Their objectives are to marry and migrate. Like most migrants from developing countries, they hope that migration will enable them to send money back to their families and to improve their own lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the narratives of mainland Chinese spouses regarding their participation in a Taiwanese organization and their experience and adaptation to a new life in Taiwan. Fourteen spouses, members of a Taiwanese organization called Chinese Association for Relief and Ensuing Service (CARES), completed in-depth interviews. Qualitative analysis identified prominent themes in participants' responses in relation to three main subjects: community communication, participation, and empowerment. Analysis revealed that organizational communication techniques were applied in community communication. Semi-horizontal and bottom-up approaches were identified. This condition also appeared in the process of mainland Chinese spouses' participation and empowerment. The participation of women in community communication was only partially realized. The same can be said about empowerment, which was achieved mainly at the psychological level. The study offered a list of possible factors which could be related to the partial development of empowerment and participation, including cultural, organizational, and personal factors. Based on these findings, suggestions to the service organization and mainland Chinese spouses have been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, European governments have introduced a series of measures aimed at clamping down on foreign nationals within criminal justice systems. Such measures have included policies of automatic deportation on completion of prison sentences of a certain length, harsher sentencing, prison segregation, and restrictions on access to citizenship and rights to permanent settlement. This article argues that such measures constitute a separate criminal justice system for foreign nationals, the creation of which has been driven by 'penal populism' and racist campaigns by extreme-Right political parties, against Muslims, asylum seekers and Roma in particular. Many of those designated as foreign criminals are guilty only of new offences specifically created to criminalise undocumented migration; many others are young refugees who have never been helped to deal with the trauma they experienced in their countries of origin. Historically, the European Court of Human Rights has set a high threshold for the deportation of a foreign national following a conviction, particularly with regard to young people. But this has been bypassed by European governments, even in cases of 'virtual nationals', those born and brought up in a European country but, owing to jus sanguinis citizenship laws in some EU countries, holding a non-EU passport. Moreover, there are attempts to curtail the freedom of movement rights of EU citizens, such as Romanian Roma, on the grounds that they are a serious threat to public order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through in-depth qualitative research with Russian-speaking female migrants in Belgium, the present paper aims to deconstruct the category of 'Russian female marriage migrants'. By explicitly interrogating Russian-speaking women's own or co-ethnics' choice for a Belgian partner, their perceptions of Belgian men's preference for a Russian-speaking wife and their experienced (mixed couple) life in Belgium, we highlight the diversity within the group of Russian-speaking female marriage migrants in Belgium. The intersectional approach permits us to uncover social categories and power relations fundamentally shaping Russian-speaking females' senses of identity and (self-)representations, how these categories and power relations intersect, and what intersections are particularly salient in certain situations. Intersectionality is used as a theoretical approach and a methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of foreign spouses in Taiwan escalates as men in Taiwan need a child to carry on their family name when modern women in Taiwan prefer to be single, have a late marriage, or even not have children as a result of social changes and financial independence. Statistics show that 95% of foreign spouses have a child within two years of marriage, and the parent of one in 19 students on average is a foreign spouse, thus changing the class structure in elementary schools from a monocultural into a multicultural setting due to the differences in ethnic origin, socioeconomic class, and language of parents. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to develop greater classroom management capacity in order to cope with classes in a multicultural setting. This study investigated the classroom management strategies for classes with increasing students of foreign parents where teachers need greater capacity to cope with the cultural differences among students in a class of a multicultural setting. Results of the in-depth interviews with five teachers with practical teaching experience in such class selected with purposive participant indicate: a friendly atmosphere with mutual respect should be created for students to learn happily in an environment without racial discrimination; effective channels should be created to communicate with parents about their responsibility for disciplining their children and the importance of parent-teacher cooperation; and regular or irregular parentteacher meetings and parent-child reading time should be arranged to extend school teaching after school and in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public debates about international matchmaking highlight the victimization of impoverished women by western men or the self-interested instrumentalism of women who marry for visas. Meanwhile, agencies and many of their clients portray this as a linking of well-intentioned lonely hearts who just want normal family lives. A meaningful anthropological account must incorporate and move beyond both types of narratives, acknowledging that deeply felt sentiment and 'strategic' plans to improve one's life overlap in all kinds of social exchange, romantic or otherwise. How the relationship between self-interest and affect is understood depends upon historically specific and gendered experiences of political economy. Participants' framings of their own and their prospective spouses' 'sincerity' and 'seriousness' are diagnostic of structural pressures each group has experienced, which they seek to address through international marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on mail-order bride industry. It discusses the operation of international marriage agencies in the world, along with the laws regulating them in several countries including the U.S., Taiwan, and Belarus. It also presents recommendations to enhance regulation of international marriage agencies.

The paper advances our empirical and theoretical understanding of migrant assimilation. It does so by focusing on a very particular group of individuals who appear more likely than other migrant types to “go native.” We call these individuals “mixed nationality relationship migrants” ( i.e., migrants who have committed to a life outside their home country because of the presence of a foreign partner). The paper argues that the transnational family milieus that emerge from this form of international migration are critical to the assimilation process. Empirical material from 11 in-depth interviews with female migrants in Britain (Sheffield) and France (Paris) supports our argument. We also suggest that such “extreme” assimilation is more likely within a regional migratory system – like the EU – where the “identity frontiers” crossed in the formation of a transnational family are relatively shallow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the mothering experiences of Indonesian women married to Taiwanese and living in Taiwan. Women with children aged from three to twelve years old were qualified to participate and we used snowballing to recruit participants. A total of 21 mothers agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews, the contents of which were recorded and immediately transcribed following each session. All 21 mothers completed their interviews, in which two common themes appeared. These were: (1) reflection: searching for self-worth through the mothering role and (2) projection: spending all of the "self" for their children. The results of this study provide valuable information necessary to understand the experience of Indonesian mothers in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few efforts have been made to explore two emerging demographic features, the extra low fertility of the Taiwanese population, and a rapid increase in cross-border marriages. The objective of this research is to provide comparative estimates of fertility outcomes of marriage immigrants from Mainland China, Southeast Asia, and other countries. Through exploring the 2003 Survey of Foreign and Mainland Chinese Spouses' Living Conditions, this study gives us a first glimpse of how prevalent cross-border marriages are in Taiwanese society. While the headlines tend to portray an image that only old veterans and minority rural men are likely to marry an immigrant, the findings indeed show that an increased number of Taiwanese men have adopted cross-border marriage as an alternative. The fertility results reveal a singularly important conclusion: the substantial number of babies born to immigrant mothers has made an important contribution to total fertility rates in recent years. Despite an increasing anxiety concerning the quantity of newborns from foreign and Mainland Chinese mothers, this research shows that the average number of children born to a marriage immigrant is still lower than the replacement level. By examining the sex ratios of recent newborns from cross-border marriages, it is evident that some couples may have a strong preference for a son. This unexpected outcome deserves more observation and research from policymakers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]