NJ NJ- Simran Simran, 24, Indian national, vanished after arriving in the US for an arranged marriage, 20 June 2025, *Doesn't speak English/no family*

[Woolly]

Refer back to the opening page, I posted info relevant to your questions.

I don’t see anything posted that confirms she was in the US on a fiancée visa, if that is what you are referring to. I know that the stated purpose of her trip was for an arranged marriage. But that could be accomplished with a tourist visa.

Maybe the difference doesn’t matter, but it feels different to me. A fiancée visa requires so much more documentation, including (usually) a prior visit to the US and proof of a real relationship between the two people. (I’m not sure how that would work in a true arranged marriage.) For her to do all that and then promptly disappear seems like either she met with foul play OR she was deeply against the marriage but was forced into it anyway. Scamming a free flight to the US seems much less likely.

If, on the other hand, she was here on a tourist visa with her travel costs covered by a man she was supposed to marry, perhaps she used him for the trip with no intention of marriage. Or, same as above, she wanted no part in this marriage and fled at the first opportunity. Of course, foul play is also a possibility in that scenario.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Is anybody else reminded of Mant'i Te'o right now?

 

[dotr]

Is anybody else reminded of Mant'i Te'o right now?

Had to look it up..

 

[Sherlock437]

Some South Asian communities do not use a traditional last name. Sometimes, when they need one they'll just double up their first name, as we see here.

The articles have said, "Efforts to contact her family in India have not been successful so far, police confirmed." So, it seems like they were given contact info for her family, just that no one is answering at that number.

Edited to add - The police would clearly know her official last name because it would be on her official travel docs: passport, visa, airplane ticket, etc. If they are reporting her name as "Simran Simran" then that's likely what she uses.

If she is from India as the reports claim, then there is no possibility that her Full name can be 'Simran Simran' as first name and last name, unless she is probably an orphan and must've grown up in an orphanage. Otherwise everyone in India have a last name or/and a surname. I am from India and no one over here have the same first name and last name.
Well, isn't it weird that none of her family members are responding as well ? That implies either the contact info provided (of the family members) were wrong or something happened to them and they're unable to reply. Either ways, things don't add up.

 

[dotr]

1 July 2025 rbbm

Mystery as woman arrives in US for arranged marriage... then vanishes

Police are desperately searching for a young woman who flew to the US, reportedly for an arranged marriage, before vanishing.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'Authorities haven't released the identity of the person she was arranged to marry, and it is unclear who reported her missing.'

''Police are now asking for help in the search for the missing woman. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Joe Tomasetti or leave an anonymous tip with the Lindenwold Police.'

''Although arranged marriages can be considered taboo in American culture, they are widespread in countries like Bangladesh, China, and India, according to the World Population Review.

Arranged marriages are legal in the US and are typically recognized by the federal government.

Petitions for citizenship through marriage are reviewed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services for validity.

Couples must file an I-130 form with photos together over the last year, which can include screenshots of video calls. ''

 

[Sherlock437]

Ah, so she's a 90-Day Fiancé.

It doesn't sound like an arranged marriage to me because it doesn't seem like there was anyone involved on her end who would've arranged it. Maybe it was actually a dating website. Could the groom have been catfished? How would the police have gotten their hands on photos taken after she got here? It looks like the two photos were taken the same day - but not the day she's was supposedly seen on surveillance, because she's not wearing the clothes in the description. Why haven't the surveillance photos been released? Where were they taken? The boardwalk, the airport, or wherever she was in Lindenwold? Have they checked the surveillance cameras around the AC Convention Center? Which airport did she fly into? Was she in AC before or after Lindenwold?


I think that was established at the beginning not to be the case, no? One of the things causing issues for the police.

But what seems funny is how did she manage to get the finances to travel to the US. It is a huge amount of money to travel from India to the US. If it wasn't arranged marriage, but a dating website as you mentioned, do you think anyone who would meet through a dating website would go through the hassles of sending money or air ticket to go to the US ?
Sorry, I have never been on a dating site, nor met or known anyone nor can trust anyone who is / was willing to pay the air fare for someone whom they met online. I have not been in a lot of relationships either to know if such a thing can happen or not.
Also, for a 90-day Fiancé visa, wouldn't the authorities need some kind of proof that they're actually fiancés and that they would be getting married ? Sorry, not aware of this type of visa much

Edit - So, I just got to know about the reality TV show - 90-Day Fiancé. But even for the reality show, don't they need any sort of evidence or proof to confirm their relationship. Its just that as I mentioned in another post, the new Trump administration has made it stricter for people travelling from India to enter in the US. So, is it that easy to get a K1 visa for the 90-day Fiancé ? Not sure :\

 

[Sherlock437]

But what seems funny is how did she manage to get the finances to travel to the US. It is a huge amount of money to travel from India to the US. If it wasn't arranged marriage, but a dating website as you mentioned, do you think anyone who would meet through a dating website would go through the hassles of sending money or air ticket to go to the US ?
Sorry, I have never been on a dating site, nor met or known anyone nor can trust anyone who is / was willing to pay the air fare for someone whom they met online. I have not been in a lot of relationships either to know if such a thing can happen or not.
Also, for a 90-day Fiancé visa, wouldn't the authorities need some kind of proof that they're actually fiancés and that they would be getting married ? Sorry, not aware of this type of visa much

Also, with the new Trump administration, the immigration has become strict for people travelling from India to the US. So, is it that easy to get a 90-day Fiancé visa ? Not sure :\

 

[dotr]

But what seems funny is how did she manage to get the finances to travel to the US. It is a huge amount of money to travel from India to the US. If it wasn't arranged marriage, but a dating website as you mentioned, do you think anyone who would meet through a dating website would go through the hassles of sending money or air ticket to go to the US ?
Sorry, I have never been on a dating site, nor met or known anyone nor can trust anyone who is / was willing to pay the air fare for someone whom they met online. I have not been in a lot of relationships either to know if such a thing can happen or not.
Also, for a 90-day Fiancé visa, wouldn't the authorities need some kind of proof that they're actually fiancés and that they would be getting married ? Sorry, not aware of this type of visa much

Wondering if this very popular reality tv show has had any influence ? speculation, imo.

90 Day Fiancé - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

''90 Day Fiancé is an American reality television series on TLC that follows couples who have applied for or received a K-1 visa, which allows foreign fiancés of US citizens to enter the United States with the requirement to marry within 90 days. ''

 

[Sherlock437]

Wondering if this very popular reality tv show has had any influence ? speculation, imo.

90 Day Fiancé - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

''90 Day Fiancé is an American reality television series on TLC that follows couples who have applied for or received a K-1 visa, which allows foreign fiancés of US citizens to enter the United States with the requirement to marry within 90 days. ''

I didn't even know that such a reality TV show exists :| Thank you for letting me know about this !
Don't they need any sort of like evidence / proofs to confirm the authenticity or legitimacy of the relationship ?

 

[aggiekel2005]

Ah, so she's a 90-Day Fiancé.

It doesn't sound like an arranged marriage to me because it doesn't seem like there was anyone involved on her end who would've arranged it. Maybe it was actually a dating website. Could the groom have been catfished? How would the police have gotten their hands on photos taken after she got here? It looks like the two photos were taken the same day - but not the day she's was supposedly seen on surveillance, because she's not wearing the clothes in the description. Why haven't the surveillance photos been released? Where were they taken? The boardwalk, the airport, or wherever she was in Lindenwold? Have they checked the surveillance cameras around the AC Convention Center? Which airport did she fly into? Was she in AC before or after Lindenwold?


I think that was established at the beginning not to be the case, no? One of the things causing issues for the police.

I bolded the part I'm replying to... but I thought this too. I wondered if she didn't arrange the entire thing herself and that's why they can't get ahold of her family now- because she's not there to pretend to be them.

I also probably read too many books that results in me coming up with wild theories.

 

[Knox]

If she is from India as the reports claim, then there is no possibility that her Full name can be 'Simran Simran' as first name and last name, unless she is probably an orphan and must've grown up in an orphanage. Otherwise everyone in India have a last name or/and a surname. I am from India and no one over here have the same first name and last name.
Well, isn't it weird that none of her family members are responding as well ? That implies either the contact info provided (of the family members) were wrong or something happened to them and they're unable to reply. Either ways, things don't add up.

Thank you for this, I thought her name was odd. Makes sense as to why LE is having difficulty communicating with her family in India?

So if a child is raised in an orphanage. Who would arrange the marriage on her behalf? I assume if she was adopted her name would have been changed.

This case is one big cluster in terms of accurate information.

 

[Sherlock437]

Thank you for this, I thought her name was odd. Makes sense as to why LE is having difficulty communicating with her family in India?

So if a child is raised in an orphanage. Who would arrange the marriage on her behalf? I assume if she was adopted her name would have been changed.

This case is one big cluster in terms of accurate information.

Yes. You're right! If a child is raised in an orphanage and gets adopted, then s/he takes in the last name or surname of the parents / folks who adopted the child.
However, if a kid doesn't get adopted, then they would not have a last name, unless someone willingly left the child at an orphanage with the child's full name - which is a rare case scenario, or a child went into an orphanage after his or her parents passed away in an accident or in any other way. But in this case, there would be other family members like an aunt or an uncle who would take in the child; but that being said there are instances a kid still ends up in an orphanage in spite of having relatives, simply becoz they (the relatives) do not wish to take care of the child.

And for such kids who do not get adopted in the orphanage, they would not have an arranged marriage (coz they obviously do not have anyone who can arrange for their marriage - either in terms of money or in terms of searching for a partner), but choose to marry whomever they like / wish or if they get any proposal that is too good to be true and do not want to miss the opportunity.

That being said, we have a decent number of matrimonial sites to look for partners in India.. Dating is considered a taboo in India but as the times are progressing, it is kinda getting accepted but only in (ultra / uber) modern families.. In orthodox traditional families, it (dating) is still a big no no.. Hence, most of them create a profile on the matrimonial sites in search of their partners.
Only in the last few years - there's a rise in the dating apps as well like Bumble, Aisle etc.

Something is definitely suspicious, cuz if she is indeed an orphan, then whose contact info she gave to the groom-to-be and how did the groom-to-be contact her parents all this time till she reached US or how did he even get in touch with her if not through one of these sites in the first place. And if he did get in touch with her through one of these matrimonial websites, and if he did have her parents contact info, then I'm assuming probably the girl must've faked her parents info ( name, contact info etc.) and either spoke to him pretending to be parents or she must've arranged someone to pretend to be her parents so that she can start a fresh, new life in the US.

What further boggles my mind is - who paid the air fare? Cuz the plane ticket charge is considerably high from India to the US. If the groom-to-be arranged the money for the air fare ticket, then how was he ready to invest such a huge amount to a stranger without checking if the information provided by the girl is legit or not. Yes, it could be a possibility that the groom must be earning handsomely in the US, but I dunno - do guys spend a lot on females in the hopes of getting married, whom they met through matrimonial sites or any site as a matter of fact?

Or could it be that the groom-to-be must've done something and to cover his arse, he must've filed a complaint with the police, so that he is not considered as a person of interest. But these things happen due to the common practices of dowry system or / and domestic violence, which if you remember a similar incident happened in the UK. Sharing the article links below.

Harshita Brella murder: Police tracing husband Pankaj Lamba

Northamptonshire Police says it is looking for Pankaj Lamba, who it believes has fled the country.

www.bbc.com

Harshita Brella murder: Pankaj Lamba's parents arrested

Ms Brella's death has prompted an international manhunt for her husband, Pankaj Lamba.

www.bbc.com

Harshita Brella, Indian Woman Found Dead In UK, Told Family Her Husband Would Kill Her

Harshita Brella, the 24-year-old Indian woman who was found dead in the boot of a car in London, allegedly told her mother that her husband "was going to kill her".

www.ndtv.com

Keeping my fingers crossed, that it is not a case of sex trafficking :\

Praying for Simran and hoping she is not in any kind of trouble.

Sorry for the damn long essay

 

[LadyL]

I'm going to speculate it isn't rare for someone in an arranged marriage to "nope" out of the whole thing, and I think that's what happened.

And I do not blame her. Women aren't property.

Her family being difficult for LE to reach -- makes me wonder if they also had 2nd thoughts about it, or they are panicked and purposely not responding? If they were worried about her well-being, you would think they'd be working with. U.S. LE, though.



Can you explain more? What works, in what way?

JMO they were maybe in on the possible scam because I believe the groom does have to get permission from the bride's family and not sure if there's a financial element to it - they possibly just wanted to get their daughter to the U.S. Speculation only!

 

[LadyL]

There's just the 'small' matter of her now being illegally in the US, since she entered on a fiance rather than tourist visa.

There are plenty of operators who provide things like fake fiance's etc, in exchange for a large payment, that enable people to.get into the US - but then they normally don't draw attention to it by declaring the person missing.

But with so much turmoil in deportations, crackdowns on visas, Homeland Security arriving on your doorstep, etc, IMO this could be a strategy to get her into the country to join her family.

[bbm]

is her family in the U.S.??

 

[dulcinea]

I have no idea what the facts are in this specific case, but yes, men (and women) pay airfare for strangers to visit them. I have known multiple people who have done this and talked one man out of doing it. None of them were serious prospective marriages, more like hook ups. For some of them, it's a romantic, thrilling idea. These people didn't exactly have a lot of disposable income, either.

 

[Cedars]

[bbm]

is her family in the U.S.??

That's just my speculation, in exploring the possibility this is an immigration issue.

All that has been stated is that LE have been unable to contact her family in India. If she has family in the USA, they might not be there legally and wouldn't want to be contacted by LE.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

But what seems funny is how did she manage to get the finances to travel to the US. It is a huge amount of money to travel from India to the US. If it wasn't arranged marriage, but a dating website as you mentioned, do you think anyone who would meet through a dating website would go through the hassles of sending money or air ticket to go to the US ?
Sorry, I have never been on a dating site, nor met or known anyone nor can trust anyone who is / was willing to pay the air fare for someone whom they met online. I have not been in a lot of relationships either to know if such a thing can happen or not.
Also, for a 90-day Fiancé visa, wouldn't the authorities need some kind of proof that they're actually fiancés and that they would be getting married ? Sorry, not aware of this type of visa much

Edit - So, I just got to know about the reality TV show - 90-Day Fiancé. But even for the reality show, don't they need any sort of evidence or proof to confirm their relationship. Its just that as I mentioned in another post, the new Trump administration has made it stricter for people travelling from India to enter in the US. So, is it that easy to get a K1 visa for the 90-day Fiancé ? Not sure :\

It seems insane, but I've seen instances where people have been catfished out of lots of money. Plane tickets where the woman didn't show up, duped into buying a new washer and dryer, etc. Dating websites are fine, that's how I met my wife, but I wouldn't spend a dime on a woman without meeting first, just out of common sense.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

I have no idea what the facts are in this specific case, but yes, men (and women) pay airfare for strangers to visit them. I have known multiple people who have done this and talked one man out of doing it. None of them were serious prospective marriages, more like hook ups. For some of them, it's a romantic, thrilling idea. These people didn't exactly have a lot of disposable income, either.

Yup. Sounds like the cases I was thinking of. These weren't wealthy guys by any stretch, looking for a hookup that never happened (and I'm sorry, but it should've been an obvious scam, because the woman was so far out of their league... Not that the woman in the pictures was actually her).

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

If she is from India as the reports claim, then there is no possibility that her Full name can be 'Simran Simran' as first name and last name, unless she is probably an orphan and must've grown up in an orphanage. Otherwise everyone in India have a last name or/and a surname. I am from India and no one over here have the same first name and last name.
Well, isn't it weird that none of her family members are responding as well ? That implies either the contact info provided (of the family members) were wrong or something happened to them and they're unable to reply. Either ways, things don't add up.

I was wondering about that too. I've never met ANY Indians with the same first and last name... Or any non-Indians, for that matter (except maybe one whose married name was the same as her first, but that doesn't count). Her name does sound oddly similar to Sirhan Sirhan (who isn't Indian).

 

[annpats]

But what seems funny is how did she manage to get the finances to travel to the US. It is a huge amount of money to travel from India to the US. If it wasn't arranged marriage, but a dating website as you mentioned, do you think anyone who would meet through a dating website would go through the hassles of sending money or air ticket to go to the Edit - So, I just got to know about the reality TV show - 90-Day Fiancé. But even for the reality show, don't they need any sort of evidence or proof to confirm their relationship. Its just that as I mentioned in another post, the new Trump administration has made it stricter for people travelling from India to enter in the US. So, is it that easy to get a K1 visa for the 90-day Fiancé ? Not sure :\

Don't believe everything you see on TV.
Getting a K1 spouse visa is difficult, costly and time consuming. Below is what I researched and posted earlier in the thread. (There is a link below to the official US immigration website detailing it all.)

The fiancé K1 visa to come to the US and marry can take up to 11 months to process, and involves much paperwork, and an in-person interview at a US embassy in the home country.
It can cost up to $2300.

The 2 people intending to marry must have met in person at least 2 years prior to the application for the visa.

If the visa is issued, the applicant has up to 90 days to get married.

Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fianc(é)e (K-1)

travel.state.gov