Are marriage agencies screwed?

[TomCat]

I would like to hear from Bala on this one...

Check out Section D of the new VAWA bill...

My concern here is that foreign women are going to start using the system...that is, getting a guy from a marriage agency, getting to America, then filing false DV/rape charges to get her green card and thereby screwing the gringo over. What do you guys think? They pretty much require the agencies to distribute info. to the girls as to how to take your man to court and do this that and the other. (i.e., use the system)

BEGIN TEXT OF BILL
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S.1197
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (Reported in Senate)

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Subtitle D--International Marriage Broker Regulation

SEC. 831. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the `International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005'.

SEC. 832. DEFINITIONS.

In this subtitle:

(a) Crime of Violence- The term `crime of violence' has the meaning given such term in section 16 of title 18, United States Code.

(B) Domestic Violence- The term `domestic violence' means any crime of violence, or other act forming the basis for a past or outstanding protective order, restraining order, no-contact order, conviction, arrest, or police report, committed against a person by--

(1) a current or former spouse of the person;

(2) an individual with whom the person shares a child in common;

(3) an individual with whom the person is cohabiting or has cohabited;

(4) an individual similarly situated to a spouse of the person under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the offense occurs; or

(5) any other individual if the person is protected from that individual's acts pursuant to a court order issued under the domestic or family violence laws of the United States or any State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government.

© Foreign National Client- The term `foreign national client' means an individual who is not a United States citizen, a national of the United States, or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and who utilizes the services of an international marriage broker , and includes an alien residing in the United States who is in the United States as a result of utilizing the services of an international marriage broker .

(d) International Marriage Broker -

(1) IN GENERAL- The term `international marriage broker' means a corporation, partnership, business, individual, or other legal entity, whether or not organized under any law of the United States, that charges fees for providing dating, matrimonial, matchmaking services, or social referrals between United States clients and foreign national clients by providing personal contact information or otherwise facilitating communication between individuals from these respective groups.

(2) EXCEPTIONS- Such term does not include--

(A) a traditional matchmaking organization of a cultural or religious nature that operates on a nonprofit basis and in compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates, including the laws of the United States; or

(B) an entity that provides dating services between United States citizens or residents and other individuals who may be aliens, but does not do so as its principal business, and charges comparable rates to all individuals it serves regardless of the gender, country of citizenship, or residence of the individual.

(e) K Nonimmigrant Visa- The term `K nonimmigrant visa' means a nonimmigrant visa issued pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)).

(f) Personal Contact Information-

(1) IN GENERAL- The term `personal contact information' means information or a forum that would permit individuals to contact each other and includes--

(A) the name, telephone number, postal address, electronic mail address, and voice message mailbox of an individual; and

(B) the provision of an opportunity for an in-person meeting.

(2) EXCEPTION- Such term does not include a photograph or general information about the background or interests of a person.

(g) State- The term `State' includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

(h) United States Client- The term `United States client' means a United States citizen or other individual who resides in the United States and who makes a payment or incurs a debt in order to utilize the services of an international marriage broker .

SEC. 833. REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS.

(a) Prohibition on Marketing Children- An international marriage broker shall not provide any United States client or other person with the personal contact information, photograph, or general information about the background or interests of any individual under the age of 18.

(B) Limitations on Sharing Information Regarding Foreign National Clients-

(1) IN GENERAL- An international marriage broker shall not provide any United States client or other person with the personal contact information of any foreign national client or other individual 18 years of age or older unless and until the international marriage broker has--

(A) collected certain background information from the United States client or other person to whom the personal contact information would be provided, as specified in subsection ©;

(B) provided a copy of that background information to the foreign national client or other individual in the primary language of that client or individual;

© provided to the foreign national client or other individual in such primary language the information about legal rights and resources available to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes in the United States developed under section 834;

(D) received from the foreign national client or other individual in such primary language a written consent that is signed (including using an electronic signature) to release such personal contact information to the specific United States client or other person to whom the personal contact information would be provided; and

(E) informed the United States client or other person from whom background information has been collected that, after filing a petition for a K nonimmigrant visa, the United States client or other person will be subject to a criminal background check.

(2) CONFIDENTIALITY AFTER ORDER OF PROTECTION OR CRIME-

(A) NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION REGARDING INDIVIDUALS WITH PROTECTION ORDERS AND VICTIMS OF CRIMES- In fulfilling its obligations under this subsection, an international marriage broker shall not disclose the name or location of an individual who obtained a restraining or protection order as described in subsection ©(2)(A), or of any other victim of a crime as described in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of subsection ©(2).

(B) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION REGARDING UNITED STATES CLIENTS- An international marriage broker shall disclose the relationship of the United States client or other person to an individual or victim described in paragraph (A).

© Obligations of International Marriage Broker With Respect to Mandatory Collection of Information-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each international marriage broker shall collect the background information listed in paragraph (2) from each United States client or other person to whom the personal contact information of a foreign national client or any other individual would be provided. The background information must be in writing and signed (including using an electronic signature) by the United States client or other person to whom the personal contact information of a foreign national client or any other individual would be provided.

(2) REQUIRED BACKGROUND INFORMATION- An international marriage broker shall collect from a United States client or other person under paragraph (1) background information about each of the following:

(A) Any court order restricting the client's or person's physical contact or communication with or behavior towards another person, including any temporary or permanent civil restraining order or protection order.

(B) Any arrest or conviction of the client or person for homicide, murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, child abuse or neglect, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, stalking, or any similar activity in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law.

© Any arrest or conviction of the client or person for--

(i) solely or principally engaging in, or facilitating, prostitution;

(ii) any direct or indirect attempts to procure prostitutes or persons for the purpose of prostitution; or

(iii) any receipt, in whole or in part, of the proceeds of prostitution.

(D) Any arrest or conviction of the client or person for offenses related to controlled substances or alcohol.

(E) Marital history of the client or person, including--

(i) whether the client or individual is currently married;

(ii) whether the client or person has previously been married and how many times;

(iii) how previous marriages of the client or person were terminated and the date of termination; and

(iv) whether the client or person has previously sponsored the immigration of an alien to whom the client or person was engaged or married.

(F) The ages of any children of the client or person under the age of 18.

(G) All States in which the client or person has resided since the age of 18.

(d) Penalties-

(1) FEDERAL CIVIL PENALTY-

(A) VIOLATION- An international marriage broker that violates subsection (a), (B), or © is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $20,000 for each such violation.

(B) PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSITION OF PENALTY- The Secretary of Homeland Security may impose a penalty under paragraph (A) only after notice and an opportunity for an agency hearing on the record in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.

(2) FEDERAL CRIMINAL PENALTY- An international marriage broker that violates subsection (a), (B), or © within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States shall be fined in accordance with subchapter B of chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years, or both.

(3) STATE ENFORCEMENT- In any case in which the Attorney General of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been, or is threatened to be, adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), (B), or © by an international marriage broker , the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in a district court of the United States with appropriate jurisdiction to--

(A) enjoin that practice;

(B) enforce compliance with this section; or

© obtain damages.

(4) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES- The penalties and remedies under this subsection are in addition to any other penalties or remedies available under law.

(e) Nonpreemption- Nothing in this section shall preempt--

(1) any State law that provides additional protections for aliens who are utilizing the services of an international marriage broker or other international matchmaking organization; or

(2) any other or further right or remedy available under law to any party utilizing the services of an international marriage broker or other international matchmaking organization.

(f) Repeal of Mail-Order Bride Provision- Section 652 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1375) is hereby repealed.

SEC. 834. INFORMATION ABOUT LEGAL RIGHTS AND RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANT VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

(a) Development of Information Pamphlet-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop an information pamphlet to ensure the consistency and accuracy of information disseminated to--

(A) foreign national clients or other individuals by international marriage brokers pursuant to section 833(B)(1)©; and

(B) beneficiaries of petitions filed by United States citizens for K nonimmigrant visas.

(2) CONSULTATION WITH EXPERT ORGANIZATIONS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop such information pamphlet by working in consultation with non-profit, non-governmental immigrant victim advocacy organizations.

(B) Contents of Information Pamphlet- The information pamphlet required under subsection (a) shall include information on the following:

(1) The K nonimmigrant visa application process and the marriage -based immigration process, including conditional residence and adjustment of status.

(2) The requirement that international marriage brokers provide foreign national clients with background information collected from United States clients regarding their marital history and domestic violence or other violent criminal history, but that such information may not be complete or accurate.

(3) The illegality of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse in the United States.

(4) Information on the dynamics of domestic violence.

(5) Domestic violence and sexual assault services in the United States, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting domestic violence, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline, operated by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, and independent anti-sexual assault organization.

(6) A description of immigration relief available to an immigrant victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and other crimes under the Violence Against Women Act, including the amendments made by that Act, section 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)), and section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)).

(7) The legal rights of immigrant victims of abuse and other crimes in immigration, criminal justice, family law, and other matters.

(8) The obligations of parents to provide child support for children.

(9) The illegality of and penalties for knowingly entering into marriage for the purpose of evading the immigration laws of the United States.

© Translation-

(1) LANGUAGES- In order to best serve the language groups most recruited by international marriage brokers and having the greatest concentration of K nonimmigrant visa applicants, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall translate the information pamphlet developed under this section, subject to paragraph (2), into the following languages:

(A) Arabic.

(B) Chinese.

© French.

(D) Hindi.

(E) Japanese.

(F) Korean.

(G) Polish.

(H) Portuguese.

(I) Russian.

(J) Spanish.

(K) Tagalog.

(L) Thai.

(M) Ukrainian.

(N) Vietnamese.

(2) MODIFICATION OF LANGUAGE- The Secretary of Homeland Security may modify the translation requirements of paragraph (1) if the report submitted under section 836(B) includes recommendations for such modification.

(d) Availability and Distribution- The information pamphlet under this subsection shall be made available and distributed as follows:

(1) INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS AND VICTIM ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS- The information pamphlet shall be made available to each international marriage broker and to each governmental or non-governmental victim advocacy organization.

(2) K NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS-

(A) MAILING WITH IMMIGRATION FORMS- The information pamphlet shall be mailed by the National Visa Center, of the Secretary of State, to each applicant for a K nonimmigrant visa at the same time that Form DS-3032 is mailed to such applicant. The pamphlet so mailed shall be in the primary language of the applicant, or in English if no translation into the applicant's primary language is available.

(B) POSTING ON NVC WEB SITE- The Secretary of State shall post the content of the pamphlet on the web site of the National Visa Center, as well as on the web sites of all consular posts processing K nonimmigrant visa applications.

© CONSULAR INTERVIEWS- The Secretary of State shall require that the pamphlet be distributed directly to such applicants at all consular interviews for K nonimmigrant visas. If no written translation into the applicant's primary language is available, the consular officer conducting the visa interview shall review the pamphlet with the applicant orally in the applicant's primary language, in addition to distributing the pamphlet to the applicant in English.

SEC. 835. CHANGES IN PROCESSING K NONIMMIGRANT VISAS; CONSULAR CONFIDENTIALITY.

(a) K Nonimmigrant Visa Processing- Section 214(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

[Bala]

Hey TomCat,

I know it's Chistmas, but where have you been?
(But thanks anyway for your post.)

We have all been debating this new law in the The Visa Information section of Gringotalk.

The new law is called IMBRA (International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005), passed as HR 3402.

Read:
http://www.gringos.com/cgi-bin/ultim...c;f=8;t=000165

Yes, it looks like the agencies and correspondence websites will need to do some heavy-duty information-gathering and distribution (hard work) to stay in business.

Happy holiday.

[TomCat]

Hi Bala, thanks for your reply; I checked out that thread, sorry to make a double post. This law is driving MRAs (Men's Right's Activist's) up a wall.

I've been busy with studies and other issues, but I hope to contribute more. This is a great forum.

[Austin]

tomcat, foreign women have been working the system for awhile now. myself and some of the other gringos have experienced this first-hand fairly recently. my ex used the fake dv and women's shelter angle. however, i ultimately had to call the cops, and get a restraining order against her, after i booted her out for cheating. there are plenty of women's rights organizations/facilities in place now, and they are more than willing to help the poor, abused foreign bride. crazy ass activist *****es...they don't care whether the "abused" woman is lying or not. or whether the man's character is unjustly compromised, permanently.

It is interesting that there is so much bias against men. There are so many Dr. Phil and judge judy tv shows that promote the man as the culprit and sometimes rightfully so. Has anyone ever seen one of these shows where the woman was obviously the sole culprit and the man was totally innecent? Then the host(judge)said so. I haven't. What about that movie forrest gump? The mentally challenged man's girlfriend was busy getting high and screwing everyone. When she got sick she called forrest. What if the genders were reversed? A mentally challenged woman's boyfriend was busy getting high and screwing all the women? Well, nobody would have went to see the movie.

Check out Section D of the new VAWA Bill... My concern is that foreign women are going to start using the system. That is, getting a guy from a marriage agency, getting to America, then filing false DV/rape charges to get her green card and thereby screwing the Gringo over. What do you guys think? -TomCat

After more thought and "in the trenches" discussions in Colombia, there´s no question this new VAWA Bill will hit every agency and tour group not based in Colombia very hard. I predict within two years, half of all agencies will close and the lucky ones that remain open will be Colombian owned and or US based owners who opt to move to Colombia.

For example, tour groups like TLC and agencies like AFA, Sam Smith´s I love Latins and CSH could suffer big time unless they move to Colombia and they must provide official documents to show the Feds to prove the move was credible, real and permanent.

Rest assured the agencies are very concerned how this plays out.

[Neroe]

I have wondered the same thing with this impending new law. Either the American owners will have to relocate and cunduct business in Colombia or close up shop. Either way, there should be light at the end of the tunnel. I forsee LE, I Love Latins, and a handful of others go belly up, while Ricardo, Walter and Nelson and a couple of others (Jamie?) surging ahead. It makes me smile just to think that these crooked resellers will definitely be out of the picture.

[Bala]

I have been discussing this new IMBRA law with various agency owners in the past few days. Even a couple of guys not yet in it but who are doing a website and planning to enter the matchmaking business called me.

One informed person takes the position that the new IMBRA law can even impact a foreign corporation or a U.S. owner-operator who moves and re-forms his company overseas.

(I don't entirely subscribe to that argument, but here it is.)

Look at the definitions of "International Marriage Broker" (IMB), "foreign national client" and "United States client" in the law.

The definition of IMB in the earlier version of the law is:

The term `international marriage broker' means a corporation, partnership, business, individual, or other legal entity, WHETHER OR NOT ORGANIZED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, that charges fees for providing dating, matrimonial, matchmaking services, or social referrals between United States clients and foreign national clients by providing personal contact information or otherwise facilitating communication between individuals from these respective groups.

Foreign national client - (paraphrase) A person NOT a U.S. citizen utilizing the services of a IMB.

United States client - (paraphrase) A person in the U.S. who pays for the services of a IMB.

The law on its face does NOT limit these definitions or it's overall applicability to U.S. companies only.

Note: Some of the foreign corporations have a back-up or secondary U.S. address listed on their website or in other papers, usually for a U.S. sales agent or representative. Most have a website viewable in the U.S. and actively and aggressively solicit U.S. customers and derive most of their revenue from U.S. customers.

How can the Feds or Justice Dept. enforce this law on foreign outfits?

Well, in a real "shock" case where it might be warranted, they could theoretically issue a citation for broker violation (civil or criminal) in "absentia", and obtain an "absentia" conviction which could possibly be enforced at the immigration port of entry by a USCIS officer whenever a foreign owner (or U.S. owner operating overseas) attempts to visit or re-enter the U.S.

Rest assured that this new law is something like an earthquake, tsunami and asteriod all hitting at once, and will probably change the landscape (for the worse) for both the newbie and veteran Gringo alike who wants to purchase matchmaking services, correspondence and socials. Bottom line: over time, fewer agencies, less consumer choices and higher prices and costs for all.

The good news is that the final version of this new law allows sixty (60) days waiting time after date of enactment before it kicks in. Everybody has their 60 days.

[ku78201]

Gary:

When do you expect this law to be enacted? How much time have we got to make trips before the laws change?

7E7

[Bala]

As of December 29, 2005, the law has been sent to the President's desk for signature. He is expected to sign it as early as perhaps next week, first week of Janaury 2006. It will go into effect sixty (60) days after the "date of enactment", which is the day he signs it. This means that the law will likely go into effect March 2006.

In other words, make your trips now and file your visa petitions ASAP.

Note: The sponsors of this new law are already bragging about it.
SEE: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press...orderbill.html

Important note: This new law is very broad. It will affect even people who do NOT meet through a marriage agency or broker or tour group.

For example, the new I-129F petitions will ask the visa petitioner for required information and documents about his criminal background, copy will be given to the lady fiancee. The Consular interviewer will provide the lady with all available criminal and domestic violence background and information in her native language concerning the gentleman petitioner. Visa petitioners will effectively be limited to 2 fiancee or spousal visas; as to the third one, there is a 2 year wait from the date of filing of the last approved petition to file the third one.

In short, more restrictions, more red tape, more potential for problems for more people.

Happy New Year.