Bangkoktraveler Posted April 28, 2007 Report Share Posted April 28, 2007 I was listening to a radio station today and the host was talking about Americans having to have a criminal background check before they could see a foreign woman, that is if the initial contact was thru an internet dating service. If it appears this is legitimate shit, passed along with other laws that nobody checked. The law is called The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) Check this link Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David99UK Posted April 28, 2007 Report Share Posted April 28, 2007 ROTFLMAO 10 years ago I would have said an obvious joke, but nowadays even the completely insane becomes law.........so who knows???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger_Baby Posted April 28, 2007 Report Share Posted April 28, 2007 Just because you heard it on the radio and someone has website, doesn't mean it's true. Can I sell you a bridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe7e Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 If you google it you will find it is true, feminism's gone crazy in the US it would appear, Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKKanalist Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 This is the most bizarre link I have ever seen on this board. It CAN'T be true.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 You could take this even further, and why not? American guy in bar: Like a drink Darling? Bargirl: You have criminal background check? AGIB: err...hang on, it's here somewhere. BG: Solly, this finit yesterday, you must go embassy you tomollow. AGIB: (contemplating lonely wank in hotel room) Oh well, at least our Government cares about us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger_Baby Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 If you google it you will find it is true, feminism's gone crazy in the US it would appear, Link At best this law applies ONLY to INTERNET SITES that act as matchmakers. It seems Bangkoktraveler has either difficulties in listening skills or does not have the ability to put a thought into writing. The sky is not falling Chicken Littles. Reasoning skills are not universal. Have a nice day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted April 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 You should have done what Pe7e said, or at least looked at the link he provided. I was amazed at how much this law might effect us, especially having to get a criminal background check if we want a fiancee visa. It also put, I believe, a 2 year waiting period between fiancee visas. How did this law get thru? Here is the link Pe7e mentioned. US Judge Affirms IMBRA: Americans Must Have Criminal Checks Before Contacting Foreigners on Internet A new federal law that makes it a crime for Americans to communicate with foreigners on dating websites without criminal background checks is upheld by a federal judge. Washington, DC (PRWEB) April 2, 2007 -- On March 26, 2007, a new federal law restricting Americans from contacting foreigners through internet dating sites was upheld by a federal court after a Constitutional challenge by an internet dating company. In European Connections v. Alberto Gonzales, 1:06-CV-0426-CC, Judge Clarence Cooper of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed a lawsuit by European Connections which claimed that the law violated the right to freedom of speech contained in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The plaintiff had failed to challenge the law based on the First Amendment right to assemble. According to Tristan Laurent, President of the advocacy group Online Dating Rights, "We will now have to take legal action from the point of view of the users of online dating sites. The whole idea that it is now a crime for American men to send emails to women in other countries is so preposterous it is beyond belief. The judge's ruling that there is no Constitutional violation in forcing Americans to divulge all sorts of highly personal information to a complete stranger or scammer abroad before the American can even say hello or know to whom he is writing is only exceeded in foolishness by Congress in making the law." The law was originally called the International Matchmaker Regulation Act, but it did not pass Congress in previous years by that name and it was later named the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) before it passed on December 17th, 2005. The law, which was attached to the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was apparently not debated in public and Mr. Laurent says that no dating company or dating site user was invited to a closed-door Senate hearing in July 2004. IMBRA makes it a felony for an internet dating company, that primarily focuses on introducing Americans to foreigners, to allow any American to communicate with any person of foreign nationality without first subjecting that American to a criminal background check, a sex offender check and without first having the American certify any previous convictions or arrests, any previous marriages or divorces any children and all states of residence since 18. Match.com is excluded from the law, and the judge found that this exception posed no challenge to the Fifth Amendment equal protection clause because American women are supposedly not abused by American men that they meet on the internet, and thus are not in need of protection. The law was sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-KS and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA and was championed by key women's groups. The law was passed after these groups made claims that foreign women who marry American men are subjected to higher rates of abuse than are American women. However, the only study that addresses this issue was done by the INS in 1999 and it found that the rate of abuse in such international marriages is one-seventh the rate of abuse in domestic marriages. See http://www.online-dating-rights.com/index.php?ind=downloads&op=entry_view&iden=24 Online Dating Rights Director of Public Relations Jim Peterson said of the judge's ruling: "It is a sad day for freedom in our country when an American has to have a criminal background check before he can say 'Hello" to a foreigner through the internet." He also said that "America is the only country in the world that regulates communication between two consenting adults seeking to communicate via internet, with the possible exceptions of China and North Korea. Without new email technology, IMBRA could not have been even feasible because people generally sent paper letters to each other's home addresses just a few years ago. Is it right for the US government to make a form of communication illegal when it was the only form of communication possible just a few years ago?" And here is the Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitelotuslane Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 LOL.. you Americans are SO fucked.. "It applies only to dating sites".. right, and what is a dating site? Sure that it doesn't apply to the Thaivisa friends site, to CamFrog, to just about any online Thai community site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kojis Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 "Charming socially performing handsome Hillbilly with a 1989 pick up, a scruffy dog and two rifles, 26, Tenessee, US, wants to meet up a with sweet thing from Philippines, preferably walking on two legs only. legal appendum: I was convicted for stealing candies and raping the neighbour's cow but the cow actually never complained , only a jealousy issue from he sister- it's all fucked up around here,but you'll like it better than Manilla's slums" Kojis,US is a funny country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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