|
U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 1375. Mail-order bride business
(a) Findings
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) There is a substantial "mail-order bride" business in the
United States. With approximately 200 companies in the United
States, an estimated 2,000 to 3,500 men in the United States find
wives through mail-order bride catalogs each year. However, there
are no official statistics available on the number of mail-order
brides entering the United States each year.
(2) The companies engaged in the mail-order bride business earn
substantial profits.
(3) Although many of these mail-order marriages work out, in
many other cases, anecdotal evidence suggests that mail-order
brides find themselves in abusive relationships. There is also
evidence to suggest that a substantial number of mail-order
marriages are fraudulent under United States law.
(4) Many mail-order brides come to the United States unaware or
ignorant of United States immigration law. Mail-order brides who
are battered often think that if they flee an abusive marriage,
they will be deported. Often the citizen spouse threatens to have
them deported if they report the abuse.
(5) The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that
the rate of marriage fraud between foreign nationals and United
States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent
residence is 8 percent. It is unclear what percentage of these
marriage fraud cases originate as mail-order marriages.
(b) Information dissemination
(1) Requirement
Each international matchmaking organization doing business in
the United States shall disseminate to recruits, upon
recruitment, such immigration and naturalization information as
the Immigration and Naturalization Service deems appropriate, in
the recruit's native language, including information regarding
conditional permanent residence status and the battered spouse
waiver under such status, permanent resident status, marriage
fraud penalties, the unregulated nature of the business engaged
in by such organizations, and the study required under subsection
(c) of this section.
(2) Civil penalty
(A) Violation
Any international matchmaking organization that the Attorney
General determines has violated this subsection shall be
subject, in addition to any other penalties that may be
prescribed by law, to a civil money penalty of not more than
$20,000 for each such violation.
(B) Procedures for imposition of penalty
Any penalty under subparagraph (A) may be imposed only after
notice and opportunity for an agency hearing on the record in
accordance with sections 554 through 557 of title 5.
(c) Study
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of
Immigration and Naturalization and the Director of the Violence
Against Women Initiative of the Department of Justice, shall
conduct a study of mail-order marriages to determine, among other
things -
(1) the number of such marriages;
(2) the extent of marriage fraud in such marriages, including
an estimate of the extent of marriage fraud arising from the
services provided by international matchmaking organizations;
(3) the extent to which mail-order spouses utilize section
1254a(a)(3) (!1) of this title (providing for suspension of
deportation in certain cases involving abuse), or section
1154(a)(1)(A)(iii) of this title (providing for certain aliens
who have been abused to file a classification petition on their
own behalf);
(4) the extent of domestic abuse in mail-order marriages; and
(5) the need for continued or expanded regulation and education
to implement the objectives of the Violence Against Women Act of
1994 and the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 with
respect to mail-order marriages.
(d) Report
Not later than 1 year after September 30, 1996, the Attorney
General shall submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives and of the Senate setting forth the
results of the study conducted under subsection (c) of this
section.
(e) Definitions
As used in this section:
(1) International matchmaking organization
(A) In general
The term "international matchmaking organization" means a
corporation, partnership, business, or other legal entity,
whether or not organized under the laws of the United States or
any State, that does business in the United States and for
profit offers to United States citizens or aliens lawfully
admitted for permanent residence, dating, matrimonial, or
social referral services to nonresident noncitizens, by -
(i) an exchange of names, telephone numbers, addresses, or
statistics;
(ii) selection of photographs; or
(iii) a social environment provided by the organization in
a country other than the United States.
(B) Exception
Such term does not include a traditional matchmaking
organization of a religious nature that otherwise operates in
compliance with the laws of the countries of the recruits of
such organization and the laws of the United States.
(2) Recruit
The term "recruit" means a noncitizen, nonresident person,
recruited by the international matchmaking organization for the
purpose of providing dating, matrimonial, or social referral
services to United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted
for permanent residence.
|
|