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International Marriage Investigations

Each year, thousands of foreign men and women find partners in China. Most potential spouses are honest people, primarily women, looking for a life partner. Unfortunately, there are individuals and organizations that prey on foreign men, attempting to get them to send money and gifts to their prospective wife. Sometimes, there is no woman at all and the foreign victim text messages and chats with the criminals themselves. Sometimes it is the woman herself, who corresponds with several men, collecting gifts from each.

Translators: We have often found that our clients communication with their future spouse is facilitated and controlled by an older, English speaking woman, who plants herself firmly between the man and the woman. Unknown to the man, there is usually an agreement between the future spouse and the translator for the translator to be paid one lump sum upon proposal of marriage, and another large lump sum upon marriage / or emigration. The future spouse requests money for a computer, English lessons, or a sick family member, but in reality, the money goes to the translator. Many times, when emails and messages are passed back and forth, the future spouse never sees them and the professions of love are actually between the man and the translator.

We have found that in the majority of cases, the woman is honest in her desire for marriage and that she is not interested in money as a primary motivating factor. However in most cases, there are material misrepresentations made to our client. Some actual examples are:

Money sent for a sick grandmother was actually spent on a brother's gambling debts

She is not actually gainfully employed and has creditors trying to collect debts from her

She lives with a current boyfriend

She is corresponding with other foreign men and hosts them when they visit China to meet her

She gives a false name and address

When our investigations revealed these misrepresentations, (among others) some clients felt betrayed by their partner and broke of the relationship, while others confronted their potential spouse and found there was a closer bond between the two of them, now that the air was cleared.

 

We offer these international marriage investigation services:

Profile: This investigation is targeted to answer your specific questions. We use a combination of surveillance, records checks and elicitation to gather the information you need. We usually start by conducting surveillance of the Subject as she goes to work, to confirm residence and employment. We also collect information about the status and circumstances of her employment. We then elicit information from neighbors and potentially from family members in order to develop information about Subject's home situation in a covert manner. The Subject will not be aware of the investigation. Records checks provide information about parents, siblings, current or former spouses and children. We usually conduct surveillance on a Friday or Saturday after work to observe her social activities and associated persons.

This investigation requires approximately 8 hours of work and provides you with a snapshot of the Subject's current activities. It is important to us to answer your questions and give you a clear understanding of the situation. That said, occasionally we find that the Subject did not provide accurate information about her home address and even name. When we cannot locate the Subject to start surveillance, we may have to spend some time developing her home address through a variety of means. This may cut into the time allocated for surveillance of the Subject in a social setting.

That said, usually we are able to locate the Subject without too much difficulty. What we can promise is that we will use the time to best advantage and that we will keep you apprised of developments. We go the extra mile and have never had a complaint about the value of our services.

Our investigations are flexible and adaptive, employing various methods, depending on the situation. In some circumstances, we send in an undercover female operative to chat up the Subject regarding the benefits of dating a foreigner and other targeted information. Whatever the method, you will be a part of formulating the strategy and we will only make covert contact with the Subject with your authorization.

 

In-Person Follow Up Interview:

This Interview is designed to allow Subject to come clean about discrepancies discovered during our profile investigation. See below for method and setting.

 

In-Person Full Interview:

Most clients prefer the covert, completely confidential approach to investigation, while some just need help getting to the bottom of things. Language difficulties, distance and cultural differences can lead to misunderstanding, suspicion and confusion about motives between otherwise very compatible partners.

We find that sitting down with a female operative, who is thoroughly familiar with both cultures, fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English is extremely effective in helping to find a basis for trust between the client and his or her potential spouse. Our operative is professional and proactive, but also insightful, aware of body language and mannerisms and able to cut to create an environment in which truth rises to the surface. This interview can be done in your presence (in-person or by telephone) or one on one between our operative and the Subject.

This method is extremely effective in answering all of the questions you may have about your prospective spouse. Our female operative will meet with the Subject at a setting that is comfortable for them at our office or a neutral, semi-private location like the rear booth in a restaurant. The atmosphere is friendly, but professional. We strive to give the Subject a feeling of dignity and a pro-active environment focused on answering the outstanding questions for the good of both parties. Our operative can be introduced as an investigator, or as the wife of your friend, who is looking out for your best interest.

We will discuss a strategy with you. Your specific questions will be addressed, but our operative will conduct the interview in an adaptive manner, following up on problem areas and answering any new questions that may arise.