The International Marriage Broker Act of 2005 goes into effect March 5. It focuses on abuse protection for immigrant women entering the U.S. on K Visas.
The act passed on a voice vote as it was attached to the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. The vote occurred after hours before Christmas weekend.
The fine print leads me to believe that the act was rushed, biased and questionable in intent. Mandatory background checks are part of the act, to be mediated by marriage brokers. While this is a good thing, editorials against the act clearly state that such checks will bog down the system, hurting paying customers’ chances due to the potential scarlet letters these background checks will unearth. I’m all for disclosure, but there is a big difference for getting popped for a DUI than going crazy with an axe.
I think this act was not the most effective way to go about addressing the protection of foreigners visiting potential spouses in the US. That said, my take is that many “foreign bride” companies are scams or downright illegal. Such is the unsavory reputation of that sector of the industry.
Attaching the act to the Violence Against Women act was a sharp tactical move. How come True.com didn’t latch onto the bill?
More details on the Act at the International Marriage Broker Law Blog.
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