I met Veronica, an attractive young women from El Salvador who works next door to my place of employment. What was so special about Veronica was her relaxed outgoing attitude towards me, a total stranger. I was not flirting or trying to score a pick-up; only being friendly as I enjoy interacting with monolingual Spanish speakers. She seemed to have greatly appreciated the gesture and was pleasantly surprised at my ability to hold a sustained Spanish-speaking conversation.

Veronica reminds me of the women I met in Venezuela who were open, relaxed, friendly, and conversational; even to strangers. Almost every time I’d smile at at a woman, I’d get a happy, enthusiastic smile in return. Each time Veronica and I met, our conversations got longer and we learned more about each other. I told her about my visit to El Salvador a few years ago while on my way to Perú, and this gave us even more to talk about. 

More recently, I asked about her weekend and her family, and learned that she is single with no children. She immediately asked about my marital/parental status, and appeared elated that my status was the same, and wanted to talk more. It was as though she was waiting for me to suggest that we move our acquaintance to another level. That’s when an alarm went off in my about her motive.

As a single man, I’ve been approached by women from Africa, Asia, and Latin-America who wanted to marry me or have a friend or relative marry me to obtain legal status in the U.S. I then asked her how she herself got into the country. She stated the same way everyone else does. I asked, what way was that? She explained that from El Salvador, she traveled through Guatemala and Mexico, and finally entered the US with the aid of a coyote – one who make a living smuggling undocumented immigrants across the border for a fee that can be as high as $5,000.

Although I will not snitch, and hope to enjoy a friendship with the very nice, and seemingly down-to-earth woman that she appears to be, romance is out of the question. I’m certainly open to a relationship with an immigrant, but not with legal baggage. You never know if a real attraction is involved or if it is just scheme as a means to an end. The divorce rate among Americans is high enough, yet the divorce rate among Americans married to illegal aliens is even higher. After three years, the illegal alien becomes a legal resident, and the American spouse generally gets dumped or there is a mutual agreement to part ways.

I was once romantically involved with a Nigerian woman who treated me like a proverbial king. Then one day, she sat on my lap telling me that she inadvertently overstayed her student visa, and is now in the country illegally. She offered me a measly $6,000 to marry her so she can get her papers, then sponsor her—“husband” and three children to enter the US. Naturally, I eased myself out of this relationship and told her to never call me again. Of course, I proceeded expeditiously to “lose” all of her contact information.