The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Subtitle D of Title VIII (Sections 831–834) of United States Public Law 109-162), or IMBRA, codified at , is a United States federal statute that requires

background check A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...

s for all marriage

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

sponsors and limits serial visa applications. Additionally, the law requires background checks for US citizens using marriage brokerage services focused primarily on providing dating services between US citizens or residents and foreign nationals for a fee. The impetus for its introduction were the Susanna Blackwell case in 1995 and the Anastasia King case in 2000, in which foreign women had been abused and murdered by men who had used a K-1 fiancée visa issued by the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

to bring them to the United States. In the King case, the husband had physically abused a previous foreign bride before murdering Anastasia. King had met Anastasia through his own advertisement in a Moscow newspaper (not through an international marriage broker). In the Blackwell case, the husband had a clean record, therefore IMBRA would not have prevented her murder. It was intended to stop abuse of

mail order bride A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend was primarily towards women living in developing country, developing countries seeking men in more developed na ...

s by prospective husbands with criminal histories. IMBRA met with opposition from international dating companies when it was first introduced. Some industry executives claim the industry has grown to appreciate it to ensure the safety of its female clients. Executives from industry leader

A Foreign Affair ''A Foreign Affair'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, and John Lund. The screenplay by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by David ...

have remarked that these changes have been beneficial for men and women.

Key provisions

Marketing of children prohibited

International marriage brokers (IMBs) are prohibited from providing personal contact information, photographs, or other information about anyone under the age of 18 to any individual or entity (section 833(d)(1)).

Duty to disclose criminal history and marital history and obtain written consent

For a fee, before an international marriage broker provides a foreign national client's personal contact information to a United States client, the international marriage broker must: # search sex offender public registries for information regarding the United States client; # collect certain criminal and marital background information through documentation or an attestation from the United States client; # provide to the foreign national client any records retrieved from the sex offender public registry search and the background information collected in the foreign client's primary language; # provide to the foreign national client a government-prepared information pamphlet about the legal rights and resources available in the U.S. to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes; and # obtain the foreign national client's signed, written consent to the release of the foreign client's information to the United States client (sections 833(d)(2) and (3)).

Penalty for misuse of information

Any person who knowingly misuses any information obtained by an international marriage broker under IMBRA (i.e., uses that information for any unauthorized purpose other than IMBRA's required disclosures) is subject to a fine or imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or both, in addition to other possible penalties that may be imposed under federal or state law (sections 833(d)(3)(C)).

Penalties for other violations/nonpreemption

An international marriage broker is subject to a civil penalty of between $5,000 and $25,000 per violation or attempted violation of its obligations under IMBRA, and criminal penalties for not more than five years in prison. This is in addition to other possible penalties and remedies that may be provided for under federal law or state law (sections 833(d)(5) and (6)).

Definition of an international marriage broker

"International marriage broker" is defined as an entity (whether or not U.S.-based) that charges fees for providing matchmaking services or social referrals between U.S. citizens/permanent residents and foreign nationals. The definition also exempts non-profit religious or cultural matchmaking services, and dating services that do not match U.S. citizens/residents with aliens as their principal business and that charge comparable rates and offer comparable services to all clients, regardless of gender or country of citizenship.

Informational pamphlet about legal rights and resources

IMBRA requires the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

(DHS), in consultation with the

Departments of State The United States federal executive departments are the principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but (the Unite ...

(DOS) and

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

(DOJ) and

nongovernmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

with specialized expertise, to develop a pamphlet for foreign fiancé(e)s and spouses about the

K visa A K-1 visa is a visa issued to the fiancé or fiancée of a United States citizen to enter the United States. A K-1 visa requires a foreigner to marry his or her U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or depart the United States. Once the ...

immigration process, the legal rights and resources available to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes, the illegality of

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(i.e., knowingly entering a marriage solely to obtain an immigration benefit) and U.S. legal obligations regarding child support. The pamphlet will also include a warning concerning the potential use of

s by U.S. citizens with a history of violence, whose acts may not have resulted in a

criminal record A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...

; as well as a notification regarding international marriage brokers' obligations to disclose U.S. clients' violent criminal records.

Criminal background disclosure to foreign fiancé(e) or spouse

IMBRA requires U.S. citizens petitioning to sponsor K visas to disclose convictions for a list of violent crimes on the "I-129F" petition form that they file with the Department of Homeland Security, including convictions for

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

and assault & battery, as well as convictions for

elder abuse Elder abuse (also called "elder mistreatment", "senior abuse", "abuse in later life", "abuse of older adults", "abuse of older women", and "abuse of older men") is "a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any rela ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

or neglect, and

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

; and multiple (three or more) convictions for offenses related to alcohol/controlled substances. The Department of Homeland Security must provide the Department of State with a copy of the petitioner's I-129F petition form, together with any criminal background information (including information on protection orders) that the Department of Homeland Security has gathered on the petitioner under existing authority. The Department of State must provide these materials to the foreign fiancé(e) or spouse. The U.S. consular officer conducting the K visa interview overseas must inform the foreign fiancé(e) or spouse that this information may not be complete, and ask him or her whether an international marriage broker facilitated his or her relationship with the petitioner and, if so, which one, and whether the international marriage broker complied with IMBRA by providing him or her with the required disclosures and information (sections 832(a), 833(a)(5), and 833(b)(1)).

Limits placed on number of fiancé(e) visa petitions

IMBRA limits a U.S. petitioner's sponsorship of K-1 fiancé(e) visas to 2 total, with no less than 2 years between the filing of the last approved petition and the current petition. A petitioner may seek a discretionary waiver of these limits from the Department of Homeland Security. However, the Department of Homeland Security cannot ordinarily waive the limits if the U.S. petitioner has a record of violent criminal offenses (section 832(a)(1); ).

References

External links

* {{URL, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-109hr3657ih/pdf/BILLS-109hr3657ih.pdf, Full text of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 Acts of the 109th United States Congress Immigration to the United States Marriage in the United States United States federal criminal legislation United States federal immigration and nationality legislation Visa policy of the United States