From Online To In Line

Love on the Net has people lining up for visas

Part I

Love is in the Air Computer

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan weren't the first online loves to meet in person. In fact, their hit movie You've Got Mail was probably inspired by the ever-evolving role that the Internet has already assumed in the dating scene. America On Line (AOL) had long--in Internet time--been famous for having brought thousands of couples together. Still dozens of other online communities have had increasing numbers of romantic success stories. And even top magazines like People have touted cover stories about the trend toward online love. Yup, looks like it's mainstream now.

I think most people believe that there's someone "out there" for them, but more often than not are having trouble finding that person, say, right next door. With the birth of the Net, "out there" is becoming a place that we can actually reach, and love is running rampant on the World Wide Web.

It's inspiring and wildly romantic, but there is a catch:

The computer affords us the opportunity to communicate not only with people who are conveniently close by, but also with those who might be thousands of miles away on another continent. So what happens when Sheri* from New Zealand meets her soulmate Tom* in a chat room, only to find out that he's from Kentucky? Well, for one thing, she spends an awful lot of her time learning about immigration!

It never would have occurred to me that most of our site visitors who are seeking  information on marriage-based immigration--were couples who have met online. (Here's an observation that should have clued me in: never in the history of  love and romance have people been known to take the rational route.)

Only by interacting with our online community pretty extensively did it begin to dawn on me that this is indeed the pattern with the vast majority of spouse-based cases we encounter now. With that sudden burst of enlightenment, I had to take a step back to consider the interesting implications this could have on immigration trends and statistics.

Granted, we are more likely to be contacted by those who have met online and are likewise Internet savvy, than we are to come across a couple who, let's say, met while hiking in the Amazon. Nevertheless, the numbers are surprising, even to a Net junkie like me.

Next Page    Page  1,   2,  3

Links

Online, Int'l & Long Distance Love
Mr. Pearce Meets His Executioner
Susan and Jamie Get Married
Dating Advice
Ode to Long Distance Love
Lasting Marriage

Current Features

Back to the front page

© Peter and Jennifer Wipf 1999-2004.  All rights reserved. No duplication without explicit written permission.