Backdoor Law That Sabotages International Romance

[FreakinDJ]

The “International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005” (IMBRA), Public Law No. 109-162, Title VIII, Subtitle D, was passed on a simple but undemocratic “voice vote” in time to allow lawmakers to return home for the holidays, without any hearings, witness testimony or even review of relevant statistical or empirical evidence, in true "backdoor" fashion.

Undemocratic stealth nature of the law's passage: No opportunity to be heard, no hearings held, no witness testimony, no statistical evidence considered comparing or evaluating domestic vs. foreign marriages, divorces, or domestic violence incidents;

"Chilling" of First Amendment free speech and free association rights of U.S. citizen gentlemen who only wish to simply communicate with ladies abroad; "Chilling" of the "unrestricted right to marry" found in the U.N. Human Rights Declaration; the law is also probably “constitutionally overbroad” under the First Amendment since it restricts the rights of U.S. citizens with no criminal or domestic violence records and lumps them with those who do have such a record;

*Infringement of privacy rights of U.S. citizens compelled to disclose mandatory personal data to strangers in order to communicate with ladies abroad;

http://usaimmigrationattorney.com/nucleus/index.php

This new law is going to shut down Mom and Pop internet dating sites while the Big Corp. MegaDating sites are exempted from the law

(B) Exceptions.--Such term does not include--
(ii) 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.

[f-bush]

1. Yup

Welcome to the fourth reich, it's capitol building is in Washington DC

[FreedomAngel82]

2. My question is

what is their purpose for doing this bill?

[FreakinDJ]

3. inspired by a murder in Wash. State

It was inspired by a murder in Wash. State

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/05/politics/main561828.shtml

But as you can see by the link in my sigline I am 1 of the site owners that will be forced out of business by this new law.

I won't be complaining except for the fact i looked all day for this report she cites in the law. I have poured over DOJ spead sheets, and State Dept. reports all day and i can't find any mention of the statistics she is citing in the law.

What I have found is a report by the INS that shows for the most part the foreign marriages statisticly do better then domestic couples.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/repsstudies/Mobappa.htm

Personally I don't think the Senator wrote this bill

[f-bush]

4. That's the face they give the public

The real reason is probably much more sinister.

[Missy Vixen]

7. This wasn't the only murder of a mail order bride in

Washington state by a guy with a previous criminal record. If I recall correctly, a pregnant woman shot to death in King County Courthouse several years ago by her husband during a divorce hearing was also a mail order bride. He had a prior criminal record.

I don't understand why anyone would think it appropriate that these women not be allowed to know if their prospective husband has a criminal record in the US, especially one featuring a previous domestic violence arrest or protection order. Anastasia King might still be alive if she'd had that knowledge.

Julie

[upi402]

5. So, it bans the biz, but not the marrying...right?

I mean, is this the land of the free anymore?
They don't allow dual citizenship -you have to renounce US citizenship if you want to be a citizen of another country.

[ragin_acadian]

6. the idea of the law is commendable considering the Washington cases:

"The act's language is gender-neutral but its clear purpose is to protect foreign women from predatory American men"

but, is is wrapped in so much bureaucracy, and so vague, that it is useless and insidous at the same time.

even after a guy jumps through all those hoops, he's probably not going to have much luck: "Hi, Svetlana, my name is ______, and I would like to meet you. Here is a copy of my criminal record (public mischief, ha ha, tell you about it later) the filings for my last two divorces, and a picture of me at a barbecue last weekend"

yeah, that's gonna win her over!