Hello, gohuge-ga!
Your question is so challenging that it has drawn me like a magnet
over the past two weeks! Finding a method to not only identify
foreign-born spouses, but to discover their contact information as
well, is not only intriguing but requires some genuine sleuthing.
However, after researching your question on and off, I finally believe
I am prepared to offer you some viable suggestions.
I must first confess that I have not been able to locate a
comprehensive database that combines all the factors you are looking
for. Your suspicion that you might have to do a certain amount of
“patchworking” of information to come up with a workable formula
appears to be correct. Yet, I certainly believe it is possible to
develop a system of combining information sources which, though
providing a slower start than desired toward identifying your target
audience, will become broader and more efficient over time.
USVISA.com reports that each year, “over 160,000 citizens of the
United States marry foreign-born persons and petition for them to
obtain permanent residence in the U.S.” http://www.marriage-visas.com/
. Those newlyweds are certainly out there in large numbers. Now you
just have to discover the best way to find them!
I have pursued several avenues and compiled the results under
separate heading for you to consider. Therefore, here you go………
Marriage License Applications: Online and offline information
***************************************************
It has proven quite difficult to discover, online, which states
allow bulk viewing of their marriage licenses and, even more
specifically, if the marriage license asks for the birthplace of the
bride and groom. Since it is generally required that couples fill out
the forms in person, it is rare to find a copy of a form on the
internet (although I have found some!) It was outside the scope of
this task to call every state in the country, and, in actuality, each
county office within each state, to determine whether they allow bulk
viewing of the licenses and whether the form contains information
about the country of birth. Though I presume that the information
requested on the marriage license application is the same throughout a
particular state, it appears that different counties within each state
have different rules about requesting marriage license information.
** However, I have found some databases for specific state counties
online, though the information is not comprehensive.
Kansas
The online version of the Wichita Eagle publishes a list of marriage
license applications, as seen by example at
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/community/4198675.htm . It is
obvious, by looking at some of the surnames that a few of these
couples may have been born in foreign countries.
For example, I took the name of the male that was third on the list,
went to www.whitepages.com , and did a name search with first and last
name. Since no listing for that name came up in Kansas, I did an “any
state” search, and found an individual with the same name listed in
another state.
Now, is it worth presuming that this is the actual proposed groom?
Since he is the only one listed in the entire United States with that
name, it certainly seems plausible. Is it possible that the intended
bride lives in Kansas, and they registered for the marriage license in
that state? And thirdly, is it worth sending your information to the
suspected groom’s address in hopes that you have targeted a
multinational couple?
Ohio
Franklin County is the only county I found within Ohio with two
online databases containing partial information.
First, The Daily Reporter of Central Ohio at
http://www.sourcenews.com/login.lasso lists marriage licenses on
their database. The licenses are updated daily. Since the site is
subscription-based, I called the newspaper to find out the exact
information reported on the license in the paper. The license includes
the bride and groom’s ***address,*** and the groom’s occupation.
There is no mention of birthplace for either spouse. However, if it is
worth a temporary subscription to see if you can gleen anything from
the last name, if might be worth your while.
In addition, the Franklin County Probate Court has an online
database of marriage licenses at
http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/probate/departments/Marriage.htm . There
are “approximately 10,000 marriage licenses… issued annually by the
Franklin County Probate Court.” The database does not include
information for country of birth.
To search the database, go to
http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/probate/departments/Marriage.htm, click
on “Records: on the left tab, which will bring you here -
http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/probate/departments/records.htm .
At the very bottom of the page, click on “Marriage Search”, which
will bring you here -
http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/probate/PBMLSearch.html .
The best way to bring up the records is to click on “License Issued
Date”, and then type in a single date. For example, I typed in
10/15/2002 and came up with 40 names. Again, you can utilize a “best
guess” about surnames that might indicate one who is foreign-born.
** I did find information pertaining to what information is required
on the marriage license application in Franklin county at
http://columbusoh.about.com/library/howto/htmarry.htm An excerpt
follows:
“Both applicants must provide name, age, address, **place and date
of birth,** occupation, social security number, father's name and
mother's maiden name.”
“If you have further questions, contact the Marriage License office
at (614) 462-3898.”
I did call the office to find out if license applications could be
reviewed in bulk, but got nothing more than a recording about the
basics of applying. You might try calling to see if you can talk to
someone personally, now that you know the place of birth is recorded
on the license.
*Therefore, for Franklin County, Ohio, it seems as though there
should be some way to correlate the information on foreign born
spouses using the Daily Reporter for an address, the Franklin County
database for names, and contacting the office at the Franklin Country
courthouse to see if there is any possibility of reviewing the
licenses in bulk.* The clerks at the courthouse may do a computer
search for you for a fee, as I have found they will do in some of the
other states.
Or, in lieu of that, you can use the same strategy I suggested for
the Kansas database by utilizing the white pages, take a chance, and
send some information to some “good guesses.”
Colorado
A unique, online database of marriages is available, up through July
2002 at http://www.quickinfo.net/madi/comadi.html. This database
allows you to target ethnic names without really knowing the bride or
groom’s full name!
For example, under the groom’s name, I typed in ‘min”, and got back
2 matches for marriages in 2002 (one of which occurred in July). On
both of the 2002 matches, it is the bride’s first name that is “Min”,
so apparently, the database produces results no matter whose name it
is!!! On the last match, (#51) it appears that the bride has a foreign
surname, but not the groom. I then went to www.whitepages.com, typed
in the groom’s name and only filled in the state (Colorado), since I
didn’t want to restrict the search in any way. Only one listing came
up in all of Colorado, which has an address in Aurora, which, since I
know Colorado, is right near where the marriage took place.
Now…..what to do with that information? Take a chance and mail him?
***The interesting aspect of this database is that you can take all
sorts of ethnic names that you already know, and see what you can pull
up for the year 2002. It seems especially useful for foreign
brides!****
I accessed the above database from the homepage at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/marriagedivorce.asp
Michigan
I made a phone call to the Monroe County Clerks Office to ask
specifically about Michigan state policy and bulk review of licenses.
The clerk said that the ability to review in bulk varies from county
to county. You will need to call each county in the state to find out
their policy.
However, she gave me some excellent news concerning Monroe County!
They will do a 2002 computer search for you for $8.00 of all the
marriage licenses within their county. If you want specific copies
mailed to you, it will require an additional fee. I am not sure if
they will actually identify and pull the licenses that pertain to
foreign-born spouses, or if you will have to order the months you are
interested in and look through them yourself. I thought it seemed like
a reasonable fee.
In order to call the other county offices in Michigan to determine
whether they will perform a similar service, refer to the
WeddingVendors link of states at
http://www.weddingvendors.com/marriage_license_laws/index.html. and
look under Michigan.
Kentucky
Marriage licenses do ask for place of birth, as you can see from
“Procedures” at http://publichealth.state.ky.us/Vital-more-information.htm#Getting%20married%20in%20Kentucky%20-%20what%20do%20you%20need%20to%20know
However, I could find no information on whether the licenses can be
accessed in bulk.
There are some researchers listed for hire at
http://www.kygenweb.net/pd-res/index.html that may be willing to
pursue county marriage license applications for the months that
interest you, to determine foreign born spouses.
I also called the Fayette County Clerk’s office in Kentucky to
determine whether they would be willing to do a computer search for
you for the year 2002. The answer seemed like a “yes”….however, I was
transferred over to the computer desk, and merely got a recording. It
is worth calling them again to see if they will perform that service
for you. Again, however, as with all states, you will have to contact
each county office individually to cull information. The Fayette
County homepage is at http://www.fayettecountyclerk.com/office.htm .
(I called the main phone number)
New York State
LiveWeddings.com provides a list of recently registered engagements
in Long Island, New York at http://www.liweddings.com/ Click on the
link for “Recently Engaged” on the home page, which will bring you to
a page like this : http://www.liweddings.com/community/engaged/announce.asp
. On this page, click on “Recently Engaged” on the small green taskbar
on the top of the page. It will bring you to a page with a list of
recently engaged couples with engagement and proposed wedding that
appears like this - http://www.liweddings.com/community/engaged/index.asp
Now, where do you go from here?
*LiveWeddings seems willing to provide personal information about
their website members, as long as the visitor has given them
permission to provide such information.*
Use of Personal Data Collected:
.****** Aggregate data on visitors’ home servers may be used for
internal purposes or provided to third parties such as advertisers.
Individually identifying information, such as names, postal and e-mail
addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information which
visitors voluntarily provide to LIWeddings may be (i) added to
LIWeddings' databases and used for future calls and mailings regarding
site updates, new products and services, upcoming events, and status
of orders placed online, or (ii) provided to reputable third parties
who provide products and services which LIWeddings believes that
visitors may be interested in purchasing or obtaining, with prior
notice to the visitor.”*******
**** Any third party to which LIWeddings shares, rents, sells, or
otherwise discloses personal data will be under a contractual
obligation to use the personal data for marketing products and
services which LIWeddings determines, in its sole judgment, that
visitors might find of interest.**** LIWeddings will use its
reasonable efforts to identify such third parties who may have
products or services of interest to visitors to LIWeddings' site.
However, such parties are independent third parties over which
LIWeddings exercises no control, and therefore LIWeddings is not
responsible for their conduct, products, or services, and will not be
liable therefore. LIWeddings will disclose to third parties only
information in aggregate form, that is publicly available, and/or that
is knowingly and voluntarily disclosed by visitors. If there are
advertisements on LIWeddings' Web site, through the use of third party
cookies, the advertiser(s) will be electronically notified when
visitors view or click on its advertisements
Visitors may opt out of having their personal information collected
by LIWeddings, used by LIWeddings for secondary purposes, disclosed to
third parties, or used by LIWeddings or third parties to send
promotional correspondences to the visitor, by contacting LIWeddings
via postal mail, e-mail, or telephone at the addresses above, or by
checking the appropriate box.
Refer to LIWeddings Internet Privacy Policy at
http://www.liweddings.com/privacy.asp
The town of NewCastle, New York seems to allow public viewing of the
marriage license applications in bulk. The main website for forms is
at http://www.town.new-castle.ny.us/formcenter.html Scroll down the
page to Marriage Licenses, and click on the link for Marriage license
applications to see a downloaded version. As you can see, the
application does ask for information on the bride and groom’s place of
birth. http://www.town.new-castle.ny.us/Marriage%20License%20App.pdf
Again, from the main page, scroll down to Public Access to Records and
click on the link “Application for Public Access to Records”, which
will bring you to this page -
http://www.town.new-castle.ny.us/PublicAccess.pdf Notice the
application states that “You may inspect documents first and then ask
for copies of the ones you actually want.”
Since this process will require you to have a person go to the actual
office, I would suggest following the advice given on the website…
“Fill it out (the form), sign it, and either mail it to or bring it to
the Attention of (……….), Records Access Officer, Town of New Castle,
200 South Greeley Avenue, Chappaqua, N.Y. 10514.
Most expedient would probably be to call the Town of New Castle, Town
Clerk Office, (914) 238-7272 and make sure you are actually able to
view the licenses in bulk. ***They may even offer to access the
information for you, for a fee!
Florida
Sarasota County, Florida supplies access to an online database of
marriage licenses. The data only includes the name of the bride and
groom, and date of application. Go to the main page at
http://clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/online.htm , scroll down to the link
that says “Click here for Civil, Travel Infractions and Marriage
License Inquiry.” It should bring you to this page -
http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/srqapp/civilinq.asp From here,
click on “Case Type” and hit “Continue.” It will bring you to this
page - http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/srqapp/civilqry3.asp?rb_searchby=Case+Type&cb_continue=Continue
Scroll down the list of Case types to Marriage Licenses and type in
your dates. It will bring you to the list of the potential bride and
groom, and a docket number. Again, you will have to make a guess with
this method to decide whether you want to search the white pages, and
then send material to a suspected multinational couple-to-be! Or
again, call the clerk and request that she look up the information for
you, if possible.
Washington – Clark County
An online database of marriage license applications is available at
http://auditor.co.clark.wa.us/auditor_new/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaysearch
. Just scroll down to “marriage application” and type in a range of
dates. The online record only provides the names, date of application
and docket number. Clicking on the docket number provides no further
information. “All marriage records are a matter of public record.”
However, the forms are not downloadable so I do not know if they
record a birthplace. There is also no indication of whether records
can be reviewed in bulk. Contact information for the Clark County
Auditor can be accessed at
http://www.co.clark.wa.us/auditor/marriage.htm
*One suggestion I have for an online database like this is to flag
the surnames that you believe have a good indication of indicating a
foreign birthplace, and then call the recorder’s office and request
that they send you a copy of the license. Or, they may be willing to
look up a few that you have tagged so you can get some indication of
what “percentage” of “hunches” are actually turning out to be
accurate.
Information about availability of licenses from some other states
************************************************************
Nevada
The marriage license application asks for the birth country, and an
online copy of the form can be viewed here -
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/clerk/pdf/Forms/Marriage_License_Information.pdf
There is no information concerning search of the database in bulk.
An online database of marriage records to the present, (updated
daily) is available at http://www.co.clark.nv.us/recorder/mar_srch.htm
if you know the bride or groom’s first and last name.
Iowa
Marriage license applications include place of birth. Could find no
information pertaining to bulk viewing or public access.
Pennsylvania - Chester County
Marriage records are a matter of public record. However, I could
find no downloadable form or information about viewing the licenses in
bulk. Contact information is available at
http://www.chesco.org/wills/marriage.html#public
Viginia – Prince William County
Marriage license application asks for birthplace of both bride and
groom (http://www.co.prince-william.va.us/ccourt/Forms/MarriageRegInfoSheet.pdf)
but I could find no reference to whether they are publicly accessible.
Contact phone: (703) 792-6045
Montana
Access to any information regarding the bride and groom is denied,
except for what would be available in the newspaper…..primarily names
and date of marriage.
Hawaii
Vital records and certificates are confidential. I’m not sure if
this applies to the license application. However, the marriage license
application does ask the birthplace of bride and groom, as well as
parents. There is no online database.
County recorder contact information for all 50 states
*********************************************************
Contact information for county offices within each state can be
found on the WeddingVendors.com website at
http://www.weddingvendors.com/marriage_license_laws/index.html.
Simply click on the state link on the right-hand, green panel to
bring up list of all offices (with contact information) within a
particular state.
In this way, you may be able to call each office individually to
find out their policy on bulk viewing of licenses, and whether place
of birth and contact information is included on the application.
Possibly, a call to one of the offices will give you a statewide
policy concerning how licenses can be viewed, allowing you to
accomplish your “fact-finding” in one phone call.
If bulk viewing is indeed allowed, I would imagine it would not be
hard to hire an individual to accomplish this through a temporary
employment agency in each state or county of interest, and then send
the information back to you.
Databases for Sale
************************************************************
InfoUSA.com sells databases for marketing purposes. Their website
can be viewed at http://www.infousa.com/homesite/lists.html . Two
databases that may be of interest are:
Newlyweds:
“50,000 new records available every month. The "average" newlyweds
are 24 to 28 years old and looking to build a comfortable new home,
life and marriage. They need new products and services to begin their
life together.” Call (800) 661 5478
Ethnic Individuals:
“Now you can target a particular ethnic audience. The Ethnic America
Database contains 95 million names and 55 different ethnic groups.”
Call (800) 321 0869
**(In your case, the ethnic groups might be a tremendous source of
advertising)
I did call the company to ask specifically about the Newlywed
database. The representative I spoke with said she had no idea of any
company that markets a newlywed list that includes place of birth.
However, she did say that their company could run the database through
an “ethnicity check”, and it would flag certain individuals. She
quoted some prices for different options, and all sounded very
reasonable.
American Medical Information also offers two similar databases. I
did not check their prices, nor did I call to ask if they could flag
certain individuals in their Newlywed database. The website and
contact information is available at
http://www.americanmedicalinfo.com/ami/html/hottest_consu.htm
Support Groups for foreign-born spouses
***********************************************************
The Foreign Born Spouse Group affiliated with the Associates of the
American Foreign Service Worldwide is a multicultural, multiethnic
group which gets together “once a month for tea or coffee,” to
“discuss wide ranging topics such as adjusting to life in the foreign
service, raising bilingual children, immigration questions, hobbies
and much more. The group is a wonderful resource for foreign-born
spouses living in the greater Washington, D.C. area for the first
time. Best of all, it provides members with an opportunity to meet
other spouses who are in a similar situation.”
“Most meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month,
except for January, July and August, when we take a break. Any AAFSW
member, whether foreign born or not, is welcome to attend.” For
further details contact the AAFSW Main Office at 202 362-6514.
http://www.aafsw.org/activities/fbspouses.htm
Information about joining AAFSW can be found
http://www.aafsw.org/index.htm?aafsw/about.htm~viewing
(Now, the trick is…..how do you gain access for your purposes? Would
they allow you to advertise your service or products?)
An International Couples Mailing List” and a magazine called
“Crossing Borders” are mentioned at
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4448/Burocracy.html *** The ezine,
“Crossing Borders,” is a resource “for those new to America and
Americans with foreign spouses. It's about life during and after I-130
or K-1 visa, fitting in, rebuilding life, life with a foreign spouse.
It attempts to address issues that happen after you receive your
immigration visa. It helps us deal with questions, fears, anticipation
and worry. How to adapt, getting through culture shock, insurance,
tax, credit, career, permanent residency, citizenship and more!
It is published fortnightly or every other Friday, delivered via
e-mail straight into your in-box.
Unfortunately, the link to the magazine does not work, and I have
tried to access it any way I can. I also e-mailed the link located
underneath the description, but the e-mail could not be delivered. If
you can manage to locate the magazine, it would be a great source for
advertising
My next step was to join the “International Couples Mailing List” to
see what kind of information was available through them. By clicking
on the link on the above page, I came to
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4448/MailingList.html. From here,
it took me a little bit of time to figure out how to join the group
and get my member id.(I was able to join without being married to a
foreign spouse) By joining, I am now able to read all the posted
messages and gain access to some e-mail addresses.
My suggestion for you would be to join the group, look at the
information available, and then politely ask the moderator if you
could market your product to certain individuals. There are definitely
some members who are US citizens looking to marry a foreign-born
fiance. If you could gain access to them, it might open up some
avenues.
Contacting potential clients through the Immigration Message Board at
http://www.visapro.com/Immigration-Forum.asp (Visa, Green Cards and
Citizenship)
While not all the messages apply to marriage issues, some do. For
instance, if you look at the message titled “Marriage and Visa” posted
on 11/24/2002 (4th or 5th on the list), you will notice that you can
post a reply without becoming a member of any type of group. In an
instance like this, you might be able to post a short reply offering
some tidbit of advice, and then offer your product and contact info
(e-mail) for future services. You may even be able to get the
questioner’s e-mail or mailing address if you are friendly and polite!
(Page 3 is another example of some potential contacts, even though
they are already married. In both instances, the spouse has not yet
arrived in the US)
Foreign Born Spouse Support Group
Family Support Center: Information on Application for Permanent
Residence and Citizenship (719)556-6141 Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://www.spacecom.af.mil/legal/document/resource.htm
his may be a good contact to market your product.
Other avenues for advertising and contact information
**********************************************************
Advertising in ESL classes
A link for ESL classes by state is available at
http://www.esl-guide.com/ I looked up some of the states you are
particularly interested in. Indiana, for example, has a link to
Valparaiso University, which is within reach of Chicago! It seems to
be a good way to reach corporate executives and educated foreign-born
visitors to the US who may be anticipating marriage in their future.
The other states all have links to ESL programs that could be a
potential marketing tool!
(Of course, there are many smaller ESL programs run by local public
schools and various agencies that are also a good resource.)
Advertising on one of the many K-1 Visa websites
Locating ethnic churches
Locating ethnic groups within states:
For example:
International Center of Indianapolis at
http://www.icenterindy.org/ieindex.html
Also read “Conference offers advice and help for Indiana’s ethnic
families” at
http://www.uindy.edu/news/ethnic.html
Advertising in ethnic magazines:
See the number of ethnic magazines published in English on the
Princeton Public Library website
at http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us/mags/ethnic.html
Interesting information
In 1995, spouses of American citizens constituted 17.1% of the
123,238 immigrants into the US. By 1998, it was 22.9% of 151,172
immigrants. This increase is not all that large and could be
attributed to other factors. But considering the youth of the Internet
and the length of time it takes to finalize immigration papers, we
have to wonder if any current statistics can reveal what impact this
love-on-line trend might have in the near future.
Charlene*, a long-time INS employee with the Houston office, gave us
an idea of what she's come across.
"I feel that probably 97%" of those who came into the office were
males coming in to the INS office to pick up fiancé visa forms. "After
they asked all their questions and it was clear to them what they
needed to do, and about how long it would take, I would ask how they
met their fiancé," and "I can say that maybe 60-65% of that 97% of
males had met their fiancé over the Net, and from there they conversed
over the phone, wrote letters and finally met them in person. The
other 3% are females and maybe not even 1% percent of them have met
their fiancés online. This is not to say that maybe those numbers are
higher in other areas of the US, at the Houston office, I just saw a
portion of the overall picture. As the Internet grows daily, I'm sure
that the fiancé visa petitions will continue to grow in large
quantities."
Well, I could probably go on and on, but I had better stop somewhere!
I hope I have given you some good avenues to pursue in finding your
target market. It would be so easy if there was one, large,
comprehensive database that would give you all the information you
need in one shot. Unfortunately, that is just not the case. However,
although your project may seem slow and tedious at first, I think you
will develop an expedient method quite quickly as you pursue all your
options.
Please don’t hesitate to ask for further help if needed. It has been
a pleasure investigating your question!
umiat-ga
Google Search Strategy
+foreign-born +spouses
franklin county ohio marriage licenses
public marriage license applications by state
+online +marriage license +applications
foreign spouses of US citizens
+Michigan +marriage license applications
+Ohio +marriage license applications
+Kentucky +marriage license applications
ESL directory by state
K-1 Visa database
ethnic groups +Indiana |
