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Gary Bala
Immigration Attorney
1-610- 446 8472
http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com
Email; garybala@comcast.net
Gary is a top Immigration Attorney.
He has been following this case from the beginning and is responsible for making everyone aware about it.
We all owe him gratitude for his work.
Gary is only able take comments from the Media, other Attorneys or future clients .
Here are his insightful thoughts and legal arguments.
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Bulletpoint summary of some arguments:
*Stealth nature of the law's passage: no hearings held, no witnesses heard or other opportunity to be heard,
no statistical evidence considered of marriages, divorces, domestic violence incidences, comparisons with
domestic numbers;
*"Chilling" of First Amendment free speech and free association rights of U.S. citizen gentlemen who wish to
simply communicate with ladies abroad; "chilling" of "unrestricted right to marry" of U.N. Human Rights
Declaration;
*Infringement of privacy rights of U.S. citizens compelled to disclose mandatory personal data to strangers
in order to communicate with ladies abroad;
*Equal protection of the laws violations (similarly situated U.S. citizens treated unjustifiably
differently): For example, requires mandatory disclosure of criminal and other data for communcation and
dating with ladies abroad, but not for communication and dating with domestic ladies; Also, requires
mandatory disclosure of background info. and background check for filing a K visa for foreign lady and
Consular interview, but not for local marriage license with domestic lady;
*Equal protection of the laws of U.S. citizens pursuing K visa petition process for fiancees and spouses are
violated by requirements for mandatory information disclosure and extended background check, when this law
omits same for U.S. citizens pursuing CR-1 residency visa process for spouse;
*Unenforceable and impractial provisions rendering law void - Consular Officer interview and documents
delivered in "primary language" of foreign national client, not practically possible;
*Constitutional presumption in criminal cases of "innocent until proven guilty" is reversed in this law by
mandatory criminal background disclosure as a condition of communication, thus imposing a presumption of
guilt before innocence for gentlemen who simply wish to communicate with a foreign lady;
*Unfairly onerous and commercially impossible restrictions are imposed on "commercial free speech" rights of
companies and businesses to engage in interstate commerce; Also, the "Limitation of Disclosure of
Information" on an International Marriage broker (IMB) preventing release of a lady's personal contact
information to person or entity other than a United States client, even if a company wants to comply with the
law requirements, unfairly restricts "commerical free speech" of companies and businesses.
*Unfair discriminatory treatment of businesses under the law: Example, Mandatory requirements are imposed on
an "International Marriage Broker (IMB)" for supposed purpose of abuse protection of immigrant women, but
exceptions are made for non-profit brokers and brokers who do not do international matchmaking, when the
potential for abuse is the same.
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16/01: The Backdoor Law That Sabotages International Romance
Category: General
Posted by: garybala
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THE BACKDOOR LAW THAT SABOTAGES INTERNATIONAL ROMANCE
---Legally Flawed “Anti-Couple” Legislation Labels U.S. Men Abusers and Hurts Foreign Ladies Who Seek American Courtship---
Opinion-Editorial by Gary Bala, USA Immigration Attorney
Date: January 16, 2006
NOTE: Mr. Bala, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn. (AILA) with 24+ years of legal experience, has completed hundreds of family cases, fiancée visas, spousal petitions and consultations. His office is in Pennsylvania. Contact him via E-Mail at: gb@garybala.com
Website: www.VISA-Attorney.com
After hours on the Saturday before Christmas Weekend 2005, the U.S. House rushed through the final version of a law which will, as a practical matter, effectively shoot down Cupid’s Arrow for many American men (and women) seeking romance and love with a foreign partner.
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.
Many legislators who agreed on the voice vote after a House-Senate Conference probably did not even read the law as it was attached to the back-end of the universally applauded “Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005”, signed by the President on January 05, 2006. Most of the law's provisions go into effect in early March 2006.
Let’s be crystal clear that NO ONE is against protection of women and children from deadly and vicious attacks at the hand of spouses who may be violent offenders. Yes, we all agree and should indeed work hard and imaginatively to combat this pernicious evil in our society.
Keeping the picture in perspective
First off, let’s keep the topic which is the subject of this law - abuse protection for immigrant women entering the U.S. on K Visas – in true perspective.
50,000+ people are killed every year in motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. Almost 50,000 people also die of homicides each year. Almost 5 million incidents of “Intimate Partner Violence” are reported each year, according to the National Institute of Domestic Violence. Yet, compared with these massive numbers, the number of reported deaths and serious injury to immigrant women in an inter-cultural marriage is probably very small.
Thus, we are probably not talking about a major number of incidents here. In fact, the genesis of this law was media reports of two (2) cases from Washington State, Anastasia King from one of the Russian states, and Susanna Blackwell from the Philippines, who were abused by their husbands who petitioned for their K Visas, compared with what Immigration estimates is approximately 5000 marriages each year between inter-cultural couples.
The law’s laudable purpose, yet dubious and even destructive practical consequences
Preventing and limiting potential for domestic violence abuse is indeed a laudable goal.
This law tries to further that purpose by requiring the disclosure of certain mandatory information from a U.S. citizen (mostly men), primarily about their criminal and domestic violence history, who want to file for a K Visa, or pursue romance options through a romance company, so that the foreign client (mostly ladies) can make an informed choice to pursue the relationship or not.
In fact, the provisions of this law requiring U.S. citizen petitioners for K Visas to submit criminal and domestic violence history information and records to the U.S. government is probably a good thing. As are the provisions which require the U.S. Consulates to conduct intensive background checks of the petitioners and share that information in the K Visa applicant’s primary language, together with domestic violence help information, at Consulate at time of visa interview.
Law enforcement and consular databases in the electronic age probably make Uncle Sam best suited for this investigative task anyway. And the distributing of this information to the K Visa applicants BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT and BEFORE the applicant receives the visa, will ensure that information has maximum relevant impact from the most credible actor, if it is in fact needed. (Most K Visa applicants are foreign ladies who will share 90 days of time in the U.S, with their gentleman suitor before making a decision to marry.)
The real problem of this law is found in the provisions in Section 833 (d) pertaining to the requirements imposed on “International Marriage Brokers”, private companies which range from correspondence only to full-blown matchmakers for U.S. clients (usually gentlemen) and foreign clients (usually ladies).
This provision mandates private brokers to secure from U.S. clients the same extensive criminal and domestic violence background information, AND THEN to translate and provide the information to a potential foreign client, AND THEN to obtain from her a signed, written consent BEFORE allowing her personal contact information to be released to the U.S. client. In other words, this information release and paperwork is a condition for the couple to even begin to communicate or even just say “Hi.”
Take a look at the extensive nature of some of the information at issue:
— Any arrest or conviction for crimes ranging from "homicide" to "child neglect", not making any distinctions between any arrest or those arrests not resulting in conviction;
— Any arrest or conviction related to controlled substances, alcohol or prostitution, again making no distinction on arrests not leading to conviction;
— Any arrest or conviction for "similar activity in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law" without specifying what "similar" means;
— Any family court orders, including temporary restraining orders, which are often not difficult to procure in many states;
— Every state and country of the U.S. client’s residence since the age of 18;
— Current or previous marriages, and how and when they were terminated;
— Ages of children under age 18;
Most romance agencies and companies are realistically dealing with hundreds and thousands of U.S. clients, and hundreds and thousands of foreign clients as well.
It is obvious that it will be commercially prohibitive and physically impossible for most agencies and companies to begin to comply with these onerous and punitive requirements as a condition of doing business. They will be forced from business or driven overseas or offshore. U.S. clients will have fewer customer choices and options for overseas romance. And foreign clients abroad will have fewer choices and options to communicate with U.S. clients.
In short, “international romance” is the real casualty, and the couples pursuing it, are the true losers.
The “anti-male” and “anti-couple” bias of this law
The feminist advocates of this law, including reportedly Bo Cooper, former INS General Counsel who sits on the feminist Tahirih Justice Center, latched on the practices of seedy and distasteful “bad guy” international agencies: a very few unethical and criminal companies who are operating as fronts for human trafficking, the sex tourism trade and child prostitution. To address this issue, the Human Trafficking Reauthorization Law was just signed this month by President Bush, with stiff new penalties for these offenses.
This new IMBRA law however misses the mark. It basically punishes men by “branding” them abusers, as Wendy McElroy put it in her recent "iFeminist" Op-Ed piece at Fox News:
See: Mail Order Bride Law Brands All American Men Abusers
It forces U.S. client men to prove that they are NOT abusers to just say “Hi” to a lady abroad in a romance agency. Under the guise of protecting foreign women against men with possible domestic violence records, it inhibits and prevents any real romance communication before it can even begin, thus pushing men for being men, and killing a potential couple’s romantic courtship before it even can start.
In layperson’s language, how will this new law affect me as a U.S. gentleman seeking love abroad?
Some of the things which this new law means for you are:
*You must submit a world of personal and confidential information to a private agency if you wish to communicate with a foreign lady for possible friendship and romance, including criminal and domestic violence background (even if you have no such record);
*You must wait until the information is translated to her primary language and is provided to her and she signs a written consent for you to receive her “personal contact information”;
*You must supply the same personal information if you file for a K Visa (fiancée or spousal visa);
*You are effectively limited to three (3) fiancée or spousal visas, unless you can get a special “waiver”;
*You will likely pay more as a customer and have fewer options in foreign romance, since there will likely be less agencies willing and able to remain in business because of the onerous and even punitive documentary requirements.
In lawyer’s language, what are some of the legal and constitutional flaws?
Here’s a summary of some of this law’s flaws, in lawyer’s language:
*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 incidences;
*"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 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;
*Equal protection of the laws violations (similarly situated U.S. citizens treated unjustifiably differently): For example, the law requires mandatory disclosure of criminal and other data for communication and dating with ladies abroad, but not for communication and dating with domestic ladies; Also, the law requires mandatory disclosure of background info. and background check for filing a K Visa for foreign lady and Consular interview, but not for local marriage license with domestic lady;
*Equal protection of the laws of U.S. citizens pursuing K Visa petition process for fiancées and spouses are violated by the law’s requirements for mandatory information disclosure and extended background check, when this law fails to require the same for U.S. citizens pursuing CR-1 residency visa process for spouse;
*Unenforceable and impractial provisions rendering law void - Consular Officer interview and documents delivered in "primary language" of foreign national client, which is probably not realistically possible;
*Constitutional presumption in criminal cases of "innocent until proven guilty" is reversed in this law by mandatory criminal background disclosure as a condition of communication, thus imposing a presumption of guilt before innocence for gentlemen who simply wish to communicate with a foreign lady;
*Unfairly onerous, punitive and commercially impossible restrictions are imposed on "commercial free speech" rights of companies and businesses to engage in interstate commerce; Also, the "Limitation of Disclosure of Information" on an International Marriage broker (IMB) preventing release of a lady's personal contact information to person or entity other than a United States client, even if a company wants to comply with the law requirements, unfairly restricts "commercial free speech" of companies and businesses.
*Unfair discriminatory treatment of businesses under the law: Example, Mandatory requirements are imposed on an "International Marriage Broker (IMB)" for supposed purpose of abuse protection of immigrant women, but exceptions are made for non-profit brokers and brokers who do not do international matchmaking, when the potential for abuse is the same.
Where do we go from here?
Contact your Congressman, Congresslady and Senator and make them own up to the fact that they voted for this flawed law. Many of them do not even know that they voted for it in a “voice vote”. We can embarrass them into re-considering this bad law. Tell your friends and neighbors and tell anyone in the media who will listen. Visit Websites and Discussion Forums and sign petitions which are coming online to repeal this pernicious law. There are bound to be legal challenges to this new, but we don’t need to wait for the courts to rule on this law to make our voices heard.
FOR MORE ON CONTACTING THE CONGRESS, CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW: "READ MORE"
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01/01: Welcome to Gary Bala's Immigration Blog
Category: General
Posted by: garybala
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INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER REGULATION ACT OF 2005:
Date: January 05, 2006
Dear Clients, Friends and Supporters,
On January 05, 2006, President Bush signed into law the "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005", H.R. 3402, Public Law No. 109-162, Title VIII, Subtitle D.
This law was attached to the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 up for renewal (passed by House and Senate). No public hearings were conducted, or any witnesses questioned. There was no statistical evidence submitted regarding International marriages, subsequent divorces or incidences of domestic violence. In fact, all informal studies suggest that inter-cultural couples enjoy a divorce rate percentage much smaller than the national domestic rate of 50%. More discussion will certainly result from this as individuals learn of this law's enactment.
For the text of the final version of the new law, see this link (in Adobe PDF Format):
International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005
WHAT IS THIS NEW LAW? WHAT DROVE IT?
Based on a very few unfortunate cases around the country of a foreign lady spouse who became a victim of domestic abuse, Congress passed a law to, understandably, offer some protection for these immigrant women. The law was passed as part of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2005.
The new law is called the "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005". It requires all U.S. gentlemen who petition for a fiancee or spousal visa to provide more personal background information to Immigration Service and the State Department than ever before. It creates more restrictions in the process such as the number of fiancee or spousal petitions one can file, and how quickly a gentleman can file some visa petitions.
The law also requires a U.S. gentleman who wishes to meet his future fiancee or spouse through an "International Marriage Broker" to first submit extensive personal background information to the broker agency. The broker must then share that information with a future lady fiancee or spouse who must consent before the couple can start a communication and relationship.
WHY IS THIS LAW IMPORTANT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ME?
For the foreign ladies, the law is important because it tries to protect immigrant women by allowing them to review a potential gentleman suitor's background before starting a relationship. For the gentlemen, it means that they must be prepared to forego some privacy and offer some extensive background data. Perhaps, the best way to view this law is simply to acknowledge the obvious: in the long run, full disclosure is the best "relationship" policy.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE SOME OF THE PROVISIONS?
Some highlights of the new law:
1. NEW PETITION FORMS: New I-129F Fiancee and Spousal Visa petitions will require that the petitioner provide information on his criminal convictions for specified crimes, including violent offenses, domestic abuse and sexual assualt.
2. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PETITIONS: Some petitioners will need to wait before they can successfully file for a fiancee visa. For example, if you filed two (2) or more fiancee visa petitions in the past, and at least one of them was approved, you must wait two (2) years from the filing date of the last approved petition before you can be successfully approved for another fiancee visa petition. (Exception: Under some circumstances, a petitioner may be able to obtain a "waiver".)
3. MULTIPLE VISA PETITION DATABASE: Any person approved for a second visa petition or filing a third visa petition will be notified by Immigration that their case has been put into a special visa petition database which will track multiple petition filers and help identify those who might be abusing the system.
4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PAMPHLET BROCHURE: Homeland Security will develop and make available on USCIS, State Department and Embassy websites a domestic violence pamphlet brochure in 14 languages and revised every 2 years which discusses the visa process, adjustment of status, conditional residency, marriage and visa fraud, domestic violence abuse rights, where and how to get help and other warnings and notifications.
5. CONSULAR INTERVIEW: The Consular Officer at interview will provide the visa applicant with a copy of the fiancee or spousal petition, and information and documents in her native language on any past marital and divorce history, past criminal history and past domestic violence history of the petitioner. The Consular Officer will also answer any questions about the domestic violence pamphlet brochure. The Consular Officer will also ask the visa applicant if the relationship was facilitated by an International Marriage Broker and , if so, confirm that the broker provided the applicant with information or documents about the petitioner's background.
6. REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS (IMBs): IMBs are required to check the National Sex Offender public registry and state public registry for each specific U.S. client, and to gather mandatory background information and documents on that particular U.S. client's past criminal history, including prostitution offenses, past domestic violence history, past marital and divorce history, past visa petition history, ages of any children under age 18, and all states and countries where the U.S. client lived since age 18. IMBs must then provide that information to the foreign client lady in her native language and secure a signed, written consent from her before releasing her personal contact information to that specific U.S. client. The law imposes stiff civil and criminal penalties of up to $25,000 and up to 5 years in federal prison for each broker violation.
WHEN DOES THE LAW GO INTO EFFECT? WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Most of the new law's provisions go into effect in sixty (60) days after date of enactment, which is early March 2006. The bottom line for gentlemen and foreign ladies with an international romance and courtship is, if possible, to finalize their engagement and file their visa petitions as soon as possible.
WHAT IF I DISAGREE WITH THIS LAW? HOW DO I COMPLAIN ABOUT IT?
Many gentlemen value their rights of privacy. Many gentlemen feel that this new law might unduly impinge on their rights of free speech and free association as U.S. citizens. Perhaps, the law may also intrude on equal protection rights of U.S. citizens who are required to provide extensive background data for foreign romances but not for domestic dating. If you wish to register and voice your concerns and complaints about this law, please contact your federal Senator's or local Congressman's office.
SEE THIS LINK FOR HELP:
Contacting the Congress
WHAT NEXT?
Needless to say, this new law mandates a significant change in the way the fiancee and spousal visa process will take place. It poses new challenges to brokers, U.S. clients and foreign clients alike in the international romance field. In the coming days and weeks, we will together monitor and follow the roll-out of this new law. Your comments, suggestions and ideas are welcome.
Good luck to all,
Gary Bala
USA Immigration Attorney
Pennsylvania USA
Web: www.garybala.com
E-Mail: gb@garybala.com
Tel: 610-446-VISA (8472)
Copyright©, 2006. All Rights Reserved. Gary Bala