I think that the issue of
dating a foreigner is being confused with actually
marrying one.
In terms of family reaction, there is a huge difference. Most people will react with interest, fascination, approval, or even admiration when it comes to having a dating relationship with a foreigner. Move on to talk of marriage and the tables turn VERY quickly.
When my husband and I were dating - there was never a single negative word from anyone. (The closest was a friend of his from high school who said something along the lines of "Why would a foreigner choose HIM?!?" but that certainly wasn`t negative in my direction...)
When we told everyone our intent to marry - only one friend stuck to supporting us. The others quickly shifted to "It will never last." "Are you sure she isn`t just using you?" "Dating is fine and all, but marriage is for life! Do some more thinking!" etc etc. (Guess which friend we still are in touch with these days
) We didn`t experience any family negativity, but they also weren`t jumping around because dating a foreigner was "cool". His mother got me alone in the car and asked me if I truly loved her son, and that was the end of it.
I think that you might be surprised to see the difference in reactions for "dating" and "planning to marry".