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The new Law in the United States
makes it impossible for any online dating website to comply.
Latin Affairs
has decided
to discontinue providing Contact
Information
for Ladies from Cuba, Trinidad and Colombia.
Since we are in a Position to comply with the new Law here in the Dominican
Republic
click here
to meet our Dominican Members
The basics
International Marriage Broker Obligations
Before an IMB can release the personal contact information of a foreign
client to a U.S. client, the IMB must:
- Search the National Sex Offender Registry to determine the record of the
U.S. citizen, and disclose any information found concerning the U.S. citizen
to the foreign client
- Obtain a signed statement from the U.S. citizen revealing any current or
past protection or restraining order, most criminal arrests and convictions,
virtually all arrest or convictions for domestic or sexual offenses, multiple
convictions for substance and/or alcohol abuse, the U.S. client's marital
history (including the reason for termination of any prior marriages), the
ages of any of the U.S. citizen's children under the age of 18, and a list of
all States and counties that the U.S. citizen has lived in since the client
was 18 years of age.
- Distribute to the foreign national a pamphlet currently being developed by
the U.S. government to educate foreign fiancé(e)s about U.S. domestic abuse
laws and resources for immigrant victims in the U.S.; and
- Obtain the foreign national's written consent to disclosing her personal
contact information.
Read the new Bill below and learn why you have to proof to
any online dating website dealing with contact Information that you are not a sex
offender, a rapist a wife abuser etc. etc.
before we can sell you a single address.
H.R.3402
Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of
2005 (Engrossed Amendment as Agreed to by Senate)
>
SEC. 833. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS
AND
REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS.
(a) Information for K Nonimmigrants on Legal Rights and Resources
for Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Homeland Security,
in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State,
shall develop an information pamphlet, as described in paragraph (2),
on legal rights and resources for immigrant victims of domestic violence
and distribute and make such pamphlet available as described in paragraph
(5). In preparing such materials, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
consult with nongovernmental organizations with expertise on the
legal rights of immigrant victims of battery, extreme cruelty, sexual
assault, and other crimes.
(2) INFORMATION PAMPHLET- The information pamphlet
developed under paragraph (1) shall include information on the
following:
(A) The K nonimmigrant visa application process and
the marriage-based immigration process, including conditional
residence and adjustment of status.
(B) The illegality of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse in the
United States and the dynamics of
domestic violence.
(C) Domestic violence and sexual assault services in the United States,
including the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Assault
Hotline.
(D) The legal rights of immigrant victims of abuse
and other crimes in immigration, criminal justice, family law, and
other matters, including access to protection orders.
(E) The obligations of parents to provide child support for children.
(F) Marriage fraud under United States immigration
laws and the penalties for committing such fraud.
(G) A warning concerning the potential use of K
nonimmigrant visas by United States citizens who have a history of
committing domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, or other
crimes and an explanation that such acts may not have resulted in a criminal
record for such a citizen.
(H) Notification of the requirement under subsection
(d)(3)(A) that international marriage brokers provide foreign
national clients with background information gathered on United States clients
from searches of Federal and State sex offender public registries and
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 because the United States client may not
have a criminal record or may not have truthfully reported their marital
or criminal record.(3) SUMMARIES- The Secretary of Homeland Security,
in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State,
shall develop summaries of the pamphlet developed under paragraph (1)
that shall be used by Federal officials when reviewing the pamphlet in
interviews under subsection (b).
(4) TRANSLATION-
(A) IN GENERAL- In order to best serve the language groups having the greatest
concentration of K non immigrant visa applicants, the information pamphlet
developed under paragraph (1)
shall, subject to subparagraph (B), be translated by the Secretary of State
into foreign languages, including Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese,
Chinese, Ukrainian, Thai, Korean, Polish, Japanese, French, Arabic,
Portuguese, Hindi, and such other languages as the Secretary of
State, in the Secretary's discretion, may specify.
(B) REVISION- Every 2 years, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State, shall determine at least 14 specific languages
into which the information pamphlet is translated based on the languages
spoken by the greatest concentrations of K nonimmigrant visa applicants.
(5) AVAILABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION- The information
pamphlet developed under paragraph (1) shall be made available and
distributed as follows:
(A) MAILINGS TO K NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS-
(i) The pamphlet shall be mailed by the Secretary of
State to each applicant for a K nonimmigrant visa at the same time
that the instruction packet regarding the visa application process 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. (ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
provide to the Secretary of State, for inclusion in the mailing under
clause (i), a copy of the petition submitted by the petitioner for
such applicant under subsection (d) or (r) of section 214 of such Act (8
U.S.C. 1184). (iii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
provide to the Secretary of State any criminal background information
the Secretary of Homeland Security possesses with respect to a petitioner
> under subsection (d) or (r) of section 214 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1184). The Secretary of State, in turn, shall share any such criminal
background information that is in government records or databases with the K
nonimmigrant visa applicant who is the beneficiary of the petition.
The visa applicant shall be informed that such criminal background
information is based on available records and may not be complete. The Secretary
of State also shall provide for the disclosure of such criminal
background information to the visa applicant at the consular interview in the
primary language of the visa applicant. Nothing in this clause shall be
construed to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct any new or
> additional criminal background check that is not otherwise conducted
in the course of adjudicating such petitions.
(B) CONSULAR ACCESS- The pamphlet developed under
paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public at all consular
posts.
The summaries described in paragraph (3) shall be made available to foreign
service officers at all consular posts.
(C) POSTING ON FEDERAL WEBSITES- The pamphlet
developed under paragraph (1) shall be posted on the websites of the
Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, as well
as on the websites of all consular posts processing applications for K
nonimmigrant visas.
(D) INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS AND VICTIM
ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS- The pamphlet developed under paragraph (1)
shall be made available to any international marriage broker, government
agency, or nongovernmental advocacy organization.
(6) DEADLINE FOR PAMPHLET DEVELOPMENT AND
DISTRIBUTION- The pamphlet developed under paragraph (1) shall be
distributed and made available (including in the languages specified
under paragraph (4)) not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Visa and Adjustment Interviews-
(1) FIANCE(E)S, SPOUSES AND THEIR DERIVATIVES-
During an interview with an applicant for a K nonimmigrant visa, a
consular officers shall--
(A) provide information, in the primary language of the visa applicant, on
protection orders or criminal convictions collected under subsection
(a)(5)(A)(iii);
(B) provide a copy of the pamphlet developed under
subsection (a)(1) in English or another appropriate language and
provide an oral summary, in the primary language of the visa applicant, of
that pamphlet; and (C) ask the applicant, in the primary language of the
applicant, whether an international marriage broker has facilitated the
relationship between the applicant and the United States
petitioner, and, if so, obtain the identity of the international marriage broker
from the applicant and confirm that the international marriage broker
provided to the applicant the information and materials required under
subsection (d)(3)(A)(iii).
(2) FAMILY-BASED APPLICANTS- The pamphlet developed
under subsection (a)(1) shall be distributed directly to applicants
for family-based immigration petitions at all consular and adjustment
interviews for such visas. The Department of State or Department of
Homeland Security officer conducting the interview shall review the
summary of the pamphlet with the applicant orally in the applicant's
primary language, in addition to distributing the pamphlet to the
applicant in English or another appropriate language.
(c) Confidentiality- In fulfilling the requirements of this section,
no official of the Department of State or the Department of Homeland
Security shall disclose to a nonimmigrant visa applicant the name or
contact information of any person who was granted a protection order
or restraining order against the petitioner or who was a victim of a
crime of violence perpetrated by the petitioner, but shall disclose the
relationship of the person to the petitioner.
(d) Regulation of International Marriage Brokers-
(1) PROHIBITION ON MARKETING CHILDREN- An
international marriage broker shall not provide any individual or
entity with the personal contact information, photograph, or general
information about the background or interests of any individual under the age of
18.
(2) REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS
WITH RESPECT TO MANDATORY COLLECTION OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION-
(A) IN GENERAL-
(i) SEARCH OF SEX OFFENDER PUBLIC REGISTRIES- Each
international marriage broker shall search the National Sex Offender
Public Registry or State sex offender public registry, as required
under paragraph (3)(A)(i).
(ii) COLLECTION OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION- Each
international marriage broker shall also collect the background
information listed in subparagraph (B) about the United States client
to whom the personal contact information of a foreign national client
would be provided.
(B) BACKGROUND INFORMATION- The international
marriage broker shall collect a certification signed (in written,
electronic, or other form) by the United States client accompanied by
documentation or an attestation of the following background
information about the United States client:
(i) Any temporary or permanent civil protection
order or restraining order issued against the United States client.
(ii) Any Federal, State, or local arrest or
conviction of the United States client 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, or stalking.
(iii) Any Federal, State, or local arrest or
conviction of the United States client for--
(I) solely, principally, or incidentally engaging in prostitution;
(II) a direct or indirect attempt to procure prostitutes or persons for
the purpose of prostitution; or
(III) receiving, in whole or in part, of the proceeds of prostitution.
(iv) Any Federal, State, or local arrest or
conviction of the United States client for offenses related to controlled
substances or alcohol. (v) Marital history of the United States client,
including whether the client is currently married, whether the client
has previously been married and how many times, how previous marriages of
the client were terminated and the date of termination, and whether the
client has previously sponsored an alien to whom the client was engaged or
married.
(vi) The ages of any of the United States client's children who are under the
age of 18.
(vii) All States and countries in which the United
States client has resided since the client was 18 years of age.
(3) OBLIGATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS
WITH RESPECT TO INFORMED CONSENT-
(A) LIMITATION ON SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT FOREIGN
NATIONAL CLIENTS- An international marriage broker shall not provide
any United States client or representative with the personal contact
information of any foreign national client unless and until the
international marriage broker has--
(i) performed a search of the National Sex Offender
Public Registry, or of the relevant State sex offender public registry for
any State not yet participating in the National Sex Offender Public
Registry in which the United States client has resided during the
previous 20 years, for information regarding the United States client;
(ii) collected background information about the
United States client required under paragraph (2);
(iii) provided to the foreign national client--
(I) in the foreign national client's primary
language, a copy of any records retrieved from the search required under
>paragraph (2)(A) (i) or documentation confirming that such search
retrieved no records;
(II) in the foreign national client's primary
language, a copy of the background information collected by the
international marriage broker under paragraph (2)(B); and
(III) in the foreign national client's primary language (or in English or other
appropriate language if there is no
translation available into the client's primary language), the pamphlet
developed under subsection (a)(1); and (iv) received from the foreign national
client a
signed, written consent, in the foreign national client's primary
language, to release the foreign national client's personal contact
information to the specific United States client.
(B) CONFIDENTIALITY- In fulfilling the requirements
of this paragraph, an international marriage broker shall disclose
the relationship of the United States client to individuals who were
issued a protection order or restraining order as described in clause (i)
of
paragraph (2)(B), or of any other victims of crimes as described in
clauses (ii) through (iv) of such paragraph, but shall not disclose
the name or location information of such individuals.
(C) PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF INFORMATION- A person who
knowingly discloses, uses, or causes to be used any information
obtained by an international marriage broker as a result of the obligations
imposed on it under paragraph (2) and this paragraph for any purpose other
than the disclosures required under this paragraph shall be fined in
accordance with title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 1
year, or both. These penalties are in addition to any other civil or criminal
liability under Federal or State law which a person may be subject to
for the misuse of that information, including to threaten, intimidate, or
harass any individual. Nothing in this section shall prevent the
disclosure of such information to law enforcement or pursuant to a
court order.
(4) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE- An international
marriage broker shall not provide the personal contact information of
any foreign national client to any person or entity other than a United
States client. Such information shall not be disclosed to potential United
States clients or individuals who are being recruited to be United States
clients or representatives.
(5) PENALTIES-
(A) FEDERAL CIVIL PENALTY-
(i) VIOLATION- An international marriage broker that
violates (or attempts to violate) paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) is
subject to a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 and not more than
> $25,000 for each such violation.
(ii) PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSITION OF PENALTY- A penalty
may be imposed under clause (i) by the Attorney General 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 (popularly
known as the Administrative Procedure Act).
(B) FEDERAL CRIMINAL PENALTY- In circumstances in or
affecting interstate or foreign commerce, an international marriage
broker that, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the
United States, violates (or attempts to violate) paragraph (1), (2),
(3), or (4) shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States
Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
(C) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES- The penalties and remedies
under this subsection are in addition to any other penalties or
remedies available under law.
(6) NONPREEMPTION- Nothing in this subsection shall
preempt-- (A) any State law that provides additional
protections for aliens who are utilizing the services of an
international marriage broker; or
(B) any other or further right or remedy available under law to any party
utilizing the services of an international marriage broker.
(7) EFFECTIVE DATE-
(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), this subsection shall take effect on the date that is 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) ADDITIONAL TIME ALLOWED FOR INFORMATION
PAMPHLET- The requirement for the distribution of the pamphlet
developed under subsection (a)(1) shall not apply until 30 days after the date
of its development and initial distribution under subsection (a)(6).
(e) Definitions- In this section:
(1) CRIME OF VIOLENCE- The term `crime of violence'
has the meaning given such term in section 16 of title 18, United
States Code.
(2) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE- The term `domestic violence'
has the meaning given such term in section 3 of this Act.
(3) FOREIGN NATIONAL CLIENT- The term `foreign
national client' means a person who is not a United States citizen or national
or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence
and who utilizes the services of an international marriage broker.
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