REPEAL INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER LAW

To:  U.S. CONGRESS

SUBJECT: REPEAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER LAW, H.R. 3402, P.L. No. 109-162, TITLE VIII, SUBTITLE D, WHICH VIOLATES MY FREE SPEECH AND FREE ASSOCIATION, PRIVACY RIGHTS, RIGHT TO COURT AND MARRY, AND LIMITS MY ROMANCE CHOICES ABROAD AND IS ANTI-MALE AND ANTI-COUPLE.

Dear Congressman, Congresslady and Senator:

I am a U.S. citizen gentlemen, and reside in the United States, or am a foreign national woman, or am a friend, supporter or ally. I have read and heard about the passage of "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005" (IMBRA), H.R. 3402, Public Law No. 109-162, Title VIII, Subtitle D.

I am very concerned about the practical consequences of this law, which was passed with only a voice vote without any hearings or testimony or statistical evidence to support it, at the last minute just before the Holiday recess, after being tacked onto the back of other important legislation, namely, The Violence Against Women and Justice Dept. Reauthorization Act.

Did you vote for this International Marriage Broker law? Did you mean to vote for it?

As a single gentleman, foreign woman, or friend, supporter or ally, very interested in romance options outside my country for love, courtship and marriage, this law plainly violates the rights of U.S. citizens, and unfairly and improperly restricts my opportunities.

For me as a U.S. citizen gentleman, just to say "Hi" to a woman from another country through a legitimate romance agency or tour company, I am now forced to supply any legitimate romance agency or tour company all my police record information, domestic violence records, and much more (even if I have no such record). My free speech and privacy rights are being grossly violated, to say the least.

Why am I and other single American gentlemen being branded as "criminal abusers" under this law? Is there any supporting statistical or empirical evidence that incidences of serious abuse and death of foreign national women are any higher than that of domestic women, to justify this law?

This law requires that before "International Marriage Brokers" release a woman’s contact information to a person, they must provide her with a copy of the background collected on that person in her primary language, advise her of the rights and resources available to domestic violence victims in the U.S. in written form, and obtain her written consent to release her contact information.

It is obvious that romance companies, which have signed up a large volume of hundreds and even thousands of sincere women abroad seeking sincere and good-faith U.S. gentlemen spouses, will NOT be able to complete this kind of prohibitively costly and physically impossible commercial task. They will go out of business or go overseas or offshore. My choices as a U.S. citizen consumer or foreign woman consumer will be severely curtailed.

As a foreign woman interested in romance options with sincere U.S. citizen gentlemen, I know that there are thousands of happy and successful inter-cultural marriages, many among my friends, neighbors and even family. With the passage of this law, I and my friends and female family members will have even less options in my country, where there is higher domestic violence and a less desirable living condition and future.

If the purpose of the law is to provide some abuse protection for immigrant women, then that purpose is more than adequately served anyway by other less onerous and violative provisions of the law which say that the U.S. Embassy in the woman's home country will conduct an intensive criminal and domestic violence background check on the gentleman and supply her with all documentation available on him in her primary language, together with domestic violence protection information, BEFORE she secures a visa to visit the U.S.

The International Marriage Broker provisions are not necessary and only unjustifiably violate U.S. citizen rights of free speech and privacy, and a foreign woman's romance options and opportunities.

I urge you to re-consider this unnecessary and pernicious law as it pertains to International Marriage Brokers, and vote to repeal it.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The REPEAL INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER LAW Petition to U.S. CONGRESS was created by and written by Gary Bala, USA Immigration Attorney (garybala@visa-attorney.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.