Background check for Americans before meeting foreign women?

[Julian2]

Roger_Baby' date='

 

Knock off the personal attacks, okay?

 

Sanuk!

[/quote']

 

Okay.

And put that fucking cigarette out.

[chelseafan]

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

 

so effecitvely they are saying that you need the same criminal check as you would for buying a gun.

 

TIT? more like TIA

[YimSiam]

You must not be American - this is much more than what is required for a gun!

[PhatPhak]

What bothers me about this so much (though I believe penalties for this are for the service, not the man), is that my government is more interested in protecting the rights of foreign citizens than in protecting the rights of American citizens.

[whitelotuslane]

I don't believe so. It's another way to keep the darkies out the door, by making it harder for people to use the internet freely.

[Gadfly]

This is bizzare. I am quoting just a small part to show how bizzare it is.

 

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.

 

Previous marriages or divorces and children? This has got to be a joke?

[OCgringo]

I think this was written to "save" poor women from those bad Americans, maybe a good idea if he wasa convicted of child abuse or violent crimes.

 

But like everything that starts out a good idea ,

it puts everyone in the same net, good or bad,

 

The Bush government has made it a priority to "save" women from slavery, forced labor , prostitution etc

It looks good on TV when they talk about it, and thats how these laws get passed

 

OC

 

ohh no one said anything about the Bush aide who resigned after being found out that he used an escort

Do what I say , not what I do,,,,,

[Prosal]

This comes from my fav dating site, www.luckylovers.net.

 

-------------------------------

Question & Answers regarding the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, subtitle D sec. 831-834 (commonly referred to as IMBR)

 

Q. What is IMBR?

A. IMBR (International Marriage Broker Regulation) is legislation that, theoretically, is supposed to give foreign women more information about US men. It was attached (it failed to pass when it was initially introduced on its own) to the larger Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. It recently passed and will go into effect on or about March 6th, 2006.

 

 

Q. What does this mean to me as a client - male member?

A.

â?¢ United States members:

 

1. if you have already met a special someone and if your first letter was sent and the answer from your mate was received BEFORE March 6, 2006 - you are absolutely fine - no need to do anything.

 

2. if you have already met a special someone and if your first letter was sent and the answer from your mate was received AFTER March 6, 2006 - go to the page IMBR regulations, complete the form and allow your mate to review your background info, after you are again - absolutely fine.

 

3. If you have not met a special someone yet and will be using the site to find someone for marriage or romance .. etc and willing to exchange contact info with potential matches, then please, go to the page IMBR regulations, complete the form (short criminal and marital background history form) and allow foreign members you are interested in to review this form.

 

â?¢ Non - United States members:

 

Non-USA members can use the service as before, no Personal Disclosure required for all countries except the U.S.A.

 

 

Q. What does this mean to me as a client - female member?

A. You have to review criminal and marital background history of any United States members who you are interested in and who are interested in you first, then You can either proceed in your communication or decline the invitation and do not communicate.

 

Also all foreign nationals willing to communicate and exchange email address with United States members will be provided with the federal pamphlet regarding their rights under US law.

 

 

Q. What if I use a service that does not comply or a foreign service.

A. The law states that it does not matter where the company was set up, United States, Russia, Asia, Latin America, offshore, it still must comply with this law. The problem will come in when it is time to apply for visa for your mate. The consular officer will ask how you have met and if you used the services of an International Matchmaker Organization. If you used the site that does not comply, a fiancee visa can and probably will be denied.

 

 

Q. What happen if I lie on my BACKGROUND INFORMATION form?

A. It is not in your interest, one way or another this information will be presented to INS when you apply for a visa and in case of mistakes or discrepancies, visa will be denied.

 

 

Q Is it possible for members who view my BackGround Form to copy the information?

A. No, we are trying to protect you and do not let anyone copy any information from that form.

 

 

Q. What else does LL do to protect our Privacy?

A. We have noticed that a lot of matchmakers are requesting some additional information from their American customers - they request current addresses and phone numbers. We believe this information should not be shared with any person you have just met, so we have checked with INS and Department of Justice, at the moment we do not have to collect your addresses and phone numbers and we will not! if you feel comfortable to share this information with the person you are dating, go ahead - it is your right, but we will not force you. We do our best to protect your privacy as long as we can! We prefer to be questioned then to hurt you.

------------------------------------

 

 

[OCgringo]

"IMBR (International Marriage Broker Regulation) is legislation that, theoretically, is supposed to give foreign women more information about US men. It was attached (it failed to pass when it was initially introduced on its own) to the larger Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. It recently passed and will go into effect on or about March 6th, 2006."

 

They always love to sneak in laws like this that would not ever get thru on their own,

No one reads any of these extra laws as the main law looks like something they MUST vote for if they want to be re-elected.

 

OC

[kojis]

Less foreigners in and more state control is how it looks...but than I don't have the amazing intelectual capacities of Roger Baby so what do I know??