(woman here)
One reason women don't like to meet one-on-one with strangers is that something like 1 out of every 5 women is raped at some point in her life.
I don't think the problem is that you are foreign, but as someone said above, because you aren't acting in a culturally acceptable way for your new home. I would be extremely creeped out by almost any man who asked me on a date 5 minutes after meeting me. The women don't know anything about you yet, so they have NO reason to want to go out with you except your looks. If you want the girl to judge you on other things, like your intellect, personality, sense of humor, career, then you need to let her experience some of these things before you ever ask her out. For me at least, your approach would set you back weeks in the process, so just don't do it.
Get to know the girl first. Arranging more group activities, as suggested above, is a great idea. If you're at a group function, and you've been talking with a girl for most of the night (hours), and it seems like you're both really hitting it off, and it seems like she's interested in getting to know you more (this part is just as important as you being interested in getting to know her more, but many guys - even American born guys - forget this part), THEN ask her for a casual date to a public place. Phrase it something like "We should go to Starbucks sometime so we can talk more about [that thing you were talking about that you have in common - if you haven't found this, then why do you want to date her?]. How's Wednesday at 5?" OR "Hey can I get your number so we can go get coffee sometime and talk more about [that thing]?"
Note this does depend on the type of girl you're looking to meet. I, personally, prefer a man who is strong and direct, but ONLY if I already feel like it's a safe space. This is because I am very shy and don't like confrontation, making it extremely uncomfortable for me to feel like I need to fight off a guy I'm not interested in. Only once I have gotten to know a man a little bit, and feel like I want to get to know him better, I do want him to be aggressive. Unfortunately, this requires a lot of reading unspoken signals on his part to make sure I want him to make the next move, which does cut down my options. But I only needed the one
This is why people are always saying "be yourself." In theory, being yourself will attract people that are attracted to people like you, which may be a very limited number. If you want to attract a different kind of woman - or a certain type of woman you are not currently attracting, you most likely need to re-evaluate how you present yourself to women. You will never be attractive to everyone, so don't worry too much if you get turned down sometimes, even following the advice in this thread.
P.S. No, it does not ever hurt to improve your physical appearance. Not all girls are into bulk, but almost everyone is into fitness, so get yourself to a gym during your many non-work hours. And find someone to go clothes shopping with who seems to have good taste, or at least who girls seem to find attractive.