[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1618 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1618

   To regulate international marriage broker activity in the United 
States, to provide for certain protections for individuals who utilize 
the services of international marriage brokers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 7, 2005

 Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mr. Brownback) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To regulate international marriage broker activity in the United 
States, to provide for certain protections for individuals who utilize 
the services of international marriage brokers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Marriage Broker 
Regulation Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There is a substantial international marriage broker 
        business worldwide. A 1999 report by the Immigration and 
        Naturalization Service estimated that there were at least 200 
        such companies operating in the United States, and that as many 
        as 4,000 to 6,000 individuals in the United States, almost all 
        male, found foreign spouses through for-profit international 
        marriage brokers each year. The international marriage broker 
        business has grown significantly in recent years, greatly 
        facilitated by the Internet. Studies suggest that in 2005 
        approximately 500 such companies operate in the United States. 
        In addition, the total number of foreign individuals entering 
        the United States to marry United States residents each year 
        more than doubled between 1998 and 2002. It is estimated, then, 
        that in 2005 at least 8,000 to 12,000 individuals in the United 
        States find foreign spouses through for-profit international 
        marriage brokers each year.
            (2) That report noted that the ``pervasiveness of domestic 
        violence in our society has already been documented, and with 
        the burgeoning number of unregulated international matchmaking 
        organizations and clients using their services, the potential 
        for abuse in mail-order marriages is considerable.'' The report 
        noted further that men in the United States who use the 
        services of an international marriage broker tend to seek 
        relationships with women whom they feel they can control.
            (3) The dangers posed to foreign women who meet their 
        United States husbands through international marriage brokers 
        are underscored by the growing number of cases across the 
        United States of foreign women who have been abused or killed 
        by those husbands. Two highly publicized examples are the 
        murders in Washington State of Susanna Remunerata Blackwell of 
        the Philippines and Anastasia Solovieva King of Kyrgyzstan.
            (4) A 2003 survey of programs providing legal services to 
        battered immigrant women across the country found that more 
        than 50 percent of these programs had served female immigrant 
        clients battered by men in the United States they met through 
        international marriage brokers.
            (5) 30.4 percent of all women in the United States are 
        physically abused by their husbands or male cohabitants at some 
        point in their lives. 49.3 percent of immigrants reported 
        physical abuse by an intimate partner during their lifetimes, 
        with 42.1 percent reporting severe physical or sexual abuse. 
        Among immigrants who were married or formerly married the 
        lifetime abuse rate raises as high as 59.5 percent.
            (6) Of abusive United States citizen or legal resident 
        spouses, 72.3 percent never file the immigration papers 
        necessary for their foreign spouses to obtain legal immigrant 
        status, and the 27.7 percent who eventually do file wait an 
        average of 4 years to do so. In 1994, Congress included 
        immigration protections in the Violence Against Women Act 
        (``VAWA'') (Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 1902), to remove the 
        ability of abusive United States citizens and legal permanent 
        residents to fully control their foreign spouses' ability to 
        gain legal immigration status. By removing the threat of 
        automatic deportation, VAWA aims to enable battered immigrants 
        to take actions to protect themselves and their children, such 
        as calling the police, obtaining a civil protection order, or 
        filing criminal charges.
            (7) Aliens seeking to enter the United States to marry 
        citizens or legal residents of the United States currently lack 
        the ability to access and fully verify personal history 
        information about their prospective spouses in the United 
        States.
            (8) Many individuals entering the United States on K 
        nonimmigrant visas to marry citizens of the United States are 
        unaware of United States laws regarding--
                    (A) domestic violence, including protections for 
                immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, 
                and stalking;
                    (B) prohibitions on involuntary servitude;
                    (C) protections from automatic deportation; and
                    (D) the role of police and the courts in providing 
                assistance to victims of domestic violence and other 
                crimes.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Crime of violence.--The term ``crime of violence'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 16 of title 18, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Domestic violence.--The term ``domestic violence'' 
        means any crime of violence, or other act forming the basis for 
        a past or outstanding protective order, restraining order, no-
        contact order, conviction, arrest, or police report, committed 
        against a person by--
                    (A) a current or former spouse of the person;
                    (B) an individual with whom the person shares a 
                child in common;
                    (C) an individual with whom the person is 
                cohabiting or has cohabited;
                    (D) an individual similarly situated to a spouse of 
                the person under the domestic or family violence laws 
                of the jurisdiction in which the offense occurs; or
                    (E) any other individual if the person is protected 
                from that individual's acts pursuant to a court order 
                issued under the domestic or family violence laws of 
                the United States or any State, Indian tribal 
                government, or unit of local government.
            (3) Foreign national client.--The term ``foreign national 
        client'' means an individual who is not a United States 
        citizen, a national of the United States, or an alien lawfully 
        admitted to the United States for permanent residence and who 
        utilizes the services of an international marriage broker, and 
        includes an alien residing in the United States who is in the 
        United States as a result of utilizing the services of an 
        international marriage broker.
            (4) International marriage broker.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``international marriage 
                broker'' means a corporation, partnership, business, 
                individual, or other legal entity, whether or not 
                organized under any law of the United States, that 
                charges fees for providing dating, matrimonial, 
                matchmaking services, or social referrals between 
                United States clients and foreign national clients by 
                providing personal contact information or otherwise 
                facilitating communication between individuals from 
                these respective groups.
                    (B) Exceptions.--Such term does not include--
                            (i) a traditional matchmaking organization 
                        of a cultural or religious nature that operates 
                        on a nonprofit basis and in compliance with the 
                        laws of the countries in which it operates, 
                        including the laws of the United States; or
                            (ii) an entity that provides dating 
                        services between United States citizens or 
                        residents and other individuals who may be 
                        aliens, but does not do so as its principal 
                        business, and charges comparable rates to all 
                        individuals it serves regardless of the gender, 
                        country of citizenship, or residence of the 
                        individual.
            (5) K nonimmigrant visa.--The term ``K nonimmigrant visa'' 
        means a nonimmigrant visa issued pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) 
        of section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)).
            (6) Personal contact information.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``personal contact 
                information'' means information or a forum that would 
                permit individuals to contact each other and includes--
                            (i) the name, telephone number, postal 
                        address, electronic mail address, and voice 
                        message mailbox of an individual; and
                            (ii) the provision of an opportunity for an 
                        in-person meeting.
                    (B) Exception.--Such term does not include a 
                photograph or general information about the background 
                or interests of a person.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of 
        Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American 
        Samoa.
            (8) United states client.--The term ``United States 
        client'' means a United States citizen or other individual who 
        resides in the United States and who makes a payment or incurs 
        a debt in order to utilize the services of an international 
        marriage broker.

SEC. 4. REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS.

    (a) Prohibition on Marketing Children.--An international marriage 
broker shall not provide any United States client or other person with 
the personal contact information, photograph, or general information 
about the background or interests of any individual under the age of 
18.
    (b) Limitations on Sharing Information Regarding Foreign National 
Clients.--
            (1) In general.--An international marriage broker shall not 
        provide any United States client or other person with the 
        personal contact information of any foreign national client or 
        other individual 18 years of age or older unless and until the 
        international marriage broker has--
                    (A) collected certain background information from 
                the United States client or other person to whom the 
                personal contact information would be provided, as 
                specified in subsection (c);
                    (B) provided a copy of that background information 
                to the foreign national client or other individual in 
                the primary language of that client or individual;
                    (C) provided to the foreign national client or 
                other individual in such primary language the 
                information about legal rights and resources available 
                to immigrant victims of domestic violence and other 
                crimes in the United States developed under section 5;
                    (D) received from the foreign national client or 
                other individual in such primary language a written 
                consent that is signed (including using an electronic 
                signature) to release such personal contact information 
                to the specific United States client or other person to 
                whom the personal contact information would be 
                provided; and
                    (E) informed the United States client or other 
                person from whom background information has been 
                collected that, after filing a petition for a K 
                nonimmigrant visa, the United States client or other 
                person will be subject to a criminal background check.
            (2) Confidentiality after order of protection or crime.--
                    (A) Nondisclosure of information regarding 
                individuals with protection orders and victims of 
                crimes.--In fulfilling its obligations under this 
                subsection, an international marriage broker shall not 
                disclose the name or location of an individual who 
                obtained a restraining or protection order as described 
                in subsection (c)(2)(A), or of any other victim of a 
                crime as described in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of 
                subsection (c)(2).
                    (B) Disclosure of information regarding united 
                states clients.--An international marriage broker shall 
                disclose the relationship of the United States client 
                or other person to an individual or victim described in 
                paragraph (A).
    (c) Obligations of International Marriage Broker With Respect to 
Mandatory Collection of Information.--
            (1) In general.--Each international marriage broker shall 
        collect the background information listed in paragraph (2) from 
        each United States client or other person to whom the personal 
        contact information of a foreign national client or any other 
        individual would be provided. The background information must 
        be in writing and signed (including using an electronic 
        signature) by the United States client or other person to whom 
        the personal contact information of a foreign national client 
        or any other individual would be provided.
            (2) Required background information.--An international 
        marriage broker shall collect from a United States client or 
        other person under paragraph (1) background information about 
        each of the following:
                    (A) Any court order restricting the client's or 
                person's physical contact or communication with or 
                behavior towards another person, including any 
                temporary or permanent civil restraining order or 
                protection order.
                    (B) Any arrest or conviction of the client or 
                person for homicide, murder, manslaughter, assault, 
                battery, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, 
                abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, 
                child abuse or neglect, torture, trafficking, peonage, 
                holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, 
                kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, 
                false imprisonment, stalking, or any similar activity 
                in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law.
                    (C) Any arrest or conviction of the client or 
                person for--
                            (i) solely or principally engaging in, or 
                        facilitating, prostitution;
                            (ii) any direct or indirect attempts to 
                        procure prostitutes or persons for the purpose 
                        of prostitution; or
                            (iii) any receipt, in whole or in part, of 
                        the proceeds of prostitution.
                    (D) Any arrest or conviction of the client or 
                person for offenses related to controlled substances or 
                alcohol.
                    (E) Marital history of the client or person, 
                including--
                            (i) whether the client or individual is 
                        currently married;
                            (ii) whether the client or person has 
                        previously been married and how many times;
                            (iii) how previous marriages of the client 
                        or person were terminated and the date of 
                        termination; and
                            (iv) whether the client or person has 
                        previously sponsored the immigration of an 
                        alien to whom the client or person was engaged 
                        or married.
                    (F) The ages of any children of the client or 
                person under the age of 18.
                    (G) All States in which the client or person has 
                resided since the age of 18.
    (d) Penalties.--
            (1) Federal civil penalty.--
                    (A) Violation.--An international marriage broker 
                that violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) is subject to 
                a civil penalty of not less than $20,000 for each such 
                violation.
                    (B) Procedures for imposition of penalty.--The 
                Secretary of Homeland Security may impose a penalty 
                under paragraph (A) only after notice and an 
                opportunity for an agency hearing on the record in 
                accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, 
                United States Code.
            (2) Federal criminal penalty.--An international marriage 
        broker that violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) within the 
        special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United 
        States shall be fined in accordance with subchapter B of 
        chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for 
        not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years, or both.
            (3) State enforcement.--In any case in which the Attorney 
        General of a State has reason to believe that an interest of 
        the residents of that State has been, or is threatened to be, 
        adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), (b), or 
        (c) by an international marriage broker, the State, as parens 
        patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of 
        the State in a district court of the United States with 
        appropriate jurisdiction to--
                    (A) enjoin that practice;
                    (B) enforce compliance with this section; or
                    (C) obtain damages.
            (4) Additional remedies.--The penalties and remedies under 
        this subsection are in addition to any other penalties or 
        remedies available under law.
    (e) Nonpreemption.--Nothing in this section shall preempt--
            (1) any State law that provides additional protections for 
        aliens who are utilizing the services of an international 
        marriage broker or other international matchmaking 
        organization; or
            (2) any other or further right or remedy available under 
        law to any party utilizing the services of an international 
        marriage broker or other international matchmaking 
        organization.
    (f) Repeal of Mail-Order Bride Provision.--Section 652 of the 
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 
U.S.C. 1375) is hereby repealed.

SEC. 5. INFORMATION ABOUT LEGAL RIGHTS AND RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANT 
              VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

    (a) Development of Information Pamphlet.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop an 
        information pamphlet to ensure the consistency and accuracy of 
        information disseminated to--
                    (A) foreign national clients or other individuals 
                by international marriage brokers pursuant to section 
                4(b)(1)(C); and
                    (B) beneficiaries of petitions filed by United 
                States citizens for K nonimmigrant visas.
            (2) Consultation with expert organizations.--The Secretary 
        of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        State, shall develop such information pamphlet by working in 
        consultation with non-profit, non-governmental immigrant victim 
        advocacy organizations.
    (b) Contents of Information Pamphlet.--The information pamphlet 
required under subsection (a) shall include information on the 
following:
            (1) The K nonimmigrant visa application process and the 
        marriage-based immigration process, including conditional 
        residence and adjustment of status.
            (2) The requirement that international marriage brokers 
        provide foreign national clients with background information 
        collected from United States clients regarding their marital 
        history and domestic violence or other violent criminal 
        history, but that such information may not be complete or 
        accurate.
            (3) The illegality of domestic violence, sexual assault, 
        and child abuse in the United States.
            (4) Information on the dynamics of domestic violence.
            (5) Domestic violence and sexual assault services in the 
        United States, including the National Domestic Violence 
        Hotline, a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence, a 
        nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting domestic violence, 
        and the National Sexual Assault Hotline, operated by the Rape, 
        Abuse and Incest National Network, and independent anti-sexual 
        assault organization.
            (6) A description of immigration relief available to an 
        immigrant victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, 
        trafficking, and other crimes under the Violence Against Women 
        Act, including the amendments made by that Act, section 
        101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101(a)(15)(U)), and section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)).
            (7) The legal rights of immigrant victims of abuse and 
        other crimes in immigration, criminal justice, family law, and 
        other matters.
            (8) The obligations of parents to provide child support for 
        children.
            (9) The illegality of and penalties for knowingly entering 
        into marriage for the purpose of evading the immigration laws 
        of the United States.
    (c) Translation.--
            (1) Languages.--In order to best serve the language groups 
        most recruited by international marriage brokers and having the 
        greatest concentration of K nonimmigrant visa applicants, the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of State, shall translate the information pamphlet 
        developed under this section, subject to paragraph (2), into 
        the following languages:
                    (A) Arabic.
                    (B) Chinese.
                    (C) French.
                    (D) Hindi.
                    (E) Japanese.
                    (F) Korean.
                    (G) Polish.
                    (H) Portuguese.
                    (I) Russian.
                    (J) Spanish.
                    (K) Tagalog.
                    (L) Thai.
                    (M) Ukrainian.
                    (N) Vietnamese.
            (2) Modification of language.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security may modify the translation requirements of paragraph 
        (1) if the report submitted under section 7(b) includes 
        recommendations for such modification.
    (d) Availability and Distribution.--The information pamphlet under 
this subsection shall be made available and distributed as follows:
            (1) International marriage brokers and victim advocacy 
        organizations.--The information pamphlet shall be made 
        available to each international marriage broker and to each 
        governmental or non-governmental victim advocacy organization.
            (2) K nonimmigrant visa applicants.--
                    (A) Mailing with immigration forms.--The 
                information pamphlet shall be mailed by the National 
                Visa Center, of the Secretary of State, to each 
                applicant for a K nonimmigrant visa at the same time 
                that Form DS-3032 is mailed to such applicant. The 
                pamphlet so mailed shall be in the primary language of 
                the applicant, or in English if no translation into the 
                applicant's primary language is available.
                    (B) Posting on nvc web site.--The Secretary of 
                State shall post the content of the pamphlet on the web 
                site of the National Visa Center, as well as on the web 
                sites of all consular posts processing K nonimmigrant 
                visa applications.
                    (C) Consular interviews.--The Secretary of State 
                shall require that the pamphlet be distributed directly 
                to such applicants at all consular interviews for K 
                nonimmigrant visas. If no written translation into the 
                applicant's primary language is available, the consular 
                officer conducting the visa interview shall review the 
                pamphlet with the applicant orally in the applicant's 
                primary language, in addition to distributing the 
                pamphlet to the applicant in English.

SEC. 6. CHANGES IN PROCESSING K NONIMMIGRANT VISAS; CONSULAR 
              CONFIDENTIALITY.

    (a) K Nonimmigrant Visa Processing.--Section 214(d) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(d)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Attorney General'' and inserting 
        ``Secretary of Homeland Security'' each place it appears;
            (2) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``A visa''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) A United States citizen may not file a petition under 
paragraph (1) if such a petition filed by that petitioner for another 
alien fiancee or fiance is pending or has been approved and is still 
valid.
    ``(3) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the 
Secretary of State the criminal background information on a petitioner 
for a visa under clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K) to which 
it has access under existing authority in the course of adjudicating 
the petition.
    ``(4) Each petitioner for a visa under clause (i) or (ii) of 
section 101(a)(15)(K) shall provide, as part of the petition, in 
writing and signed under penalty of perjury, information described in 
section 4(c)(2) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 
2005.
    ``(5) The Secretary of State shall ensure that an applicant for a 
visa under clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K)--
            ``(A) shall be provided, by mail or electronically--
                    ``(i) a copy of the petition for such visa 
                submitted by the United States citizen petitioner; and
                    ``(ii) any information that is contained in the 
                background check described in paragraph (3) relating to 
                any court orders, arrests, or convictions described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 4(c)(2) of the 
                International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005;
            ``(B) shall be informed that petitioner information 
        described in subparagraph (A) is based on available records and 
        may not be complete; and
            ``(C) shall be asked in the primary language of the visa 
        applicant whether an international marriage broker has 
        facilitated the relationship between the visa applicant and the 
        United States petitioner and whether that international 
        marriage broker complied with the requirements of section 4 of 
        such Act.
    ``(6) The Secretary shall provide for the disclosure of information 
described in paragraph (5) to the visa applicant at the consular 
interview in the primary language of the visa applicant.
    ``(7) The fact that an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) of 
section 101(a)(15)(K) is aware of any information disclosed under 
paragraph (5) shall not be used against the alien in any determination 
of eligibility for relief under this Act or the Violence Against Women 
Act (Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 1902), and the amendments made by 
that Act.
    ``(8) In fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (5)(A)(ii), a 
consular officer shall not disclose the name or location of any person 
who obtained a restraining or protective order against the petitioner, 
but shall disclose the relationship of the person to the petitioner.''.
    (b) Sharing of Certain Information.--Section 222(f) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) shall not be 
construed to prevent the sharing of information under section 214(d) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(d)).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to petitions filed after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, through the 
Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall 
conduct a study of the international marriage broker industry in the 
United States that--
            (1) estimates, for the years 1995 through 2005,the number 
        of international marriage brokers doing business in the United 
        States, the number of marriages resulting from the services 
        provided by such brokers, and the extent of compliance with the 
        applicable requirements of this Act;
            (2) assess the information gathered under this Act from 
        clients by international marriage brokers and from petitioners 
        by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services;
            (3) examine, based on the information gathered, the extent 
        to which persons with a history of violence are using the 
        services of international marriage brokers and the extent to 
        which such persons are providing accurate information to 
        international marriage brokers in accordance with section 4;
            (4) assess the accuracy of the criminal background check at 
        identifying past instances of domestic violence; and
            (5) assess the extent to which the languages of translation 
        required under section 5(c)(1) continue to accurately reflect 
        the highest markets for recruitment by international marriage 
        brokers and the greatest concentrations of K nonimmigrant visa 
        applicants.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report to 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives setting forth the results of 
the study conducted under subsection (a).

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), section 5, 
and the amendments made by section 6, this Act shall take effect on the 
date which is 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Additional Time Allowed for Information Pamphlet.--Section 5(b) 
shall take effect on the date which is 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>