Subtitle D--International Marriage Broker Regulation
USA Law Current Restrained By a
Federal District
Court Order from being Enforced
SEC. 831. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 832. ACCESS TO VAWA PROTECTION REGARDLESS OF MANNER OF ENTRY.
(a) Information on Certain Convictions and Limitation on Petitions for
K Nonimmigrant Petitioners-
(1) 214(d) AMENDMENT- Section 214(d) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(d)) is amended--
`(2)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), a consular officer may
not approve a petition under paragraph (1) unless the officer has verified
that--
`(i) the petitioner has not, previous to the pending petition,
petitioned under paragraph (1) with respect to two or more applying
aliens; and
`(ii) if the petitioner has had such a petition previously approved,
2 years have elapsed since the filing of such previously approved
petition.
`(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may, in the Secretary's
discretion, waive the limitations in subparagraph (A) if justification
exists for such a waiver. Except in extraordinary circumstances and
subject to subparagraph (C), such a waiver shall not be granted if the
petitioner has a record of violent criminal offenses against a person or
persons.
`(C)(i) The Secretary of Homeland Security is not limited by the
criminal court record and shall grant a waiver of the condition described
in the second sentence of subparagraph (B) in the case of a petitioner
described in clause (ii).
`(ii) A petitioner described in this clause is a petitioner who has
been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty and who is or was not the
primary perpetrator of violence in the relationship upon a determination
that--
`(II) the petitioner was found to have violated a protection order
intended to protect the petitioner; or
`(III) the petitioner committed, was arrested for, was convicted of,
or pled guilty to committing a crime that did not result in serious
bodily injury and where there was a connection between the crime and the
petitioner's having been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.
`(iii) In acting on applications under this subparagraph, the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall consider any credible evidence relevant to the
application. The determination of what evidence is credible and the weight
to be given that evidence shall be within the sole discretion of the
Secretary.
`(3) In this subsection:
`(A) The terms `domestic violence', `sexual assault', `child abuse
and neglect', `dating violence', `elder abuse', and `stalking' have the
meaning given such terms in section 3 of the Violence Against Women and
Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005.
`(i) Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect,
dating violence, elder abuse, and stalking.
`(ii) Homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact,
sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding
hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction,
unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or an attempt to
commit any of the crimes described in this clause.
`(4)(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall create a database for
the purpose of tracking multiple visa petitions filed for fiance(e)s and
spouses under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K). Upon approval
of a second visa petition under section 101(a)(15)(K) for a fiance(e) or
spouse filed by the same United States citizen petitioner, the petitioner
shall be notified by the Secretary that information concerning the
petitioner has been entered into the multiple visa petition tracking
database. All subsequent fiance(e) or spouse nonimmigrant visa petitions
filed by that petitioner under such section shall be entered in the
database.
`(B)(i) Once a petitioner has had two fiance(e) or spousal petitions
approved under clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K), if a
subsequent petition is filed under such section less than 10 years after
the date the first visa petition was filed under such section, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify both the petitioner and
beneficiary of any such subsequent petition about the number of previously
approved fiance(e) or spousal petitions listed in the database.
`(ii) A copy of the information and resources pamphlet on domestic
violence developed under section 833(a) of the International Marriage
Broker Regulation Act of 2005 shall be mailed to the beneficiary along
with the notification required in clause (i).
`(5) In this subsection:
`(A) The terms `domestic violence', `sexual assault', `child abuse
and neglect', `dating violence', `elder abuse', and `stalking' have the
meaning given such terms in section 3 of the Violence Against Women and
Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005.
`(i) Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect,
dating violence, elder abuse, and stalking.
`(ii) Homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact,
sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding
hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction,
unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or an attempt to
commit any of the crimes described in this clause.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this subsection shall take
effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(b) Limitation on Use of Certain Information- The fact that an alien
described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(K) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)) is aware of any
information disclosed under the amendments made by this section or under
section 833 shall not be used to deny the alien eligibility for relief
under any other provision of law.
SEC. 833. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND
REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS.
(a) Information for K Nonimmigrants on Legal Rights and Resources for
Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation
with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, shall develop an
information pamphlet, as described in paragraph (2), on legal rights and
resources for immigrant victims of domestic violence and distribute and
make such pamphlet available as described in paragraph (5). In preparing
such materials, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with
nongovernmental organizations with expertise on the legal rights of
immigrant victims of battery, extreme cruelty, sexual assault, and other
crimes.
(2) INFORMATION PAMPHLET- The information pamphlet developed under
paragraph (1) shall include information on the following:
(D) The legal rights of immigrant victims of abuse and other crimes
in immigration, criminal justice, family law, and other matters,
including access to protection orders.
(G) A warning concerning the potential use of K nonimmigrant visas
by United States citizens who have a history of committing domestic
violence, sexual assault, child abuse, or other crimes and an
explanation that such acts may not have resulted in a criminal record
for such a citizen.
(H) Notification of the requirement under subsection (d)(3)(A) that
international marriage brokers provide foreign national clients with
background information gathered on United States clients from searches
of Federal and State sex offender public registries and 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 because the United States client may
not have a criminal record or may not have truthfully reported their
marital or criminal record.
(3) SUMMARIES- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation
with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, shall develop
summaries of the pamphlet developed under paragraph (1) that shall be
used by Federal officials when reviewing the pamphlet in interviews
under subsection (b).
(A) IN GENERAL- In order to best serve the language groups having
the greatest concentration of K nonimmigrant visa applicants, the
information pamphlet developed under paragraph (1) shall, subject to
subparagraph (B), be translated by the Secretary of State into foreign
languages, including Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Chinese,
Ukrainian, Thai, Korean, Polish, Japanese, French, Arabic, Portuguese,
Hindi, and such other languages as the Secretary of State, in the
Secretary's discretion, may specify.
(B) REVISION- Every 2 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State,
shall determine at least 14 specific languages into which the
information pamphlet is translated based on the languages spoken by
the greatest concentrations of K nonimmigrant visa applicants.
(5) AVAILABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION- The information pamphlet developed
under paragraph (1) shall be made available and distributed as follows:
(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the
Secretary of State, for inclusion in the mailing under clause (i), a
copy of the petition submitted by the petitioner for such applicant
under subsection (d) or (r) of section 214 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1184).
(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the
Secretary of State any criminal background information the Secretary
of Homeland Security possesses with respect to a petitioner under
subsection (d) or (r) of section 214 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184).
The Secretary of State, in turn, shall share any such criminal
background information that is in government records or databases
with the K nonimmigrant visa applicant who is the beneficiary of the
petition. The visa applicant shall be informed that such criminal
background information is based on available records and may not be
complete. The Secretary of State also shall provide for the
disclosure of such criminal background information to the visa
applicant at the consular interview in the primary language of the
visa applicant. Nothing in this clause shall be construed to
authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct any new or
additional criminal background check that is not otherwise conducted
in the course of adjudicating such petitions.
(D) INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS AND VICTIM ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATIONS- The pamphlet developed under paragraph (1) shall be
made available to any international marriage broker, government
agency, or nongovernmental advocacy organization.
(6) DEADLINE FOR PAMPHLET DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION- The pamphlet
developed under paragraph (1) shall be distributed and made available
(including in the languages specified under paragraph (4)) not later
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Visa and Adjustment Interviews-
(1) FIANCE(E)S, SPOUSES AND THEIR DERIVATIVES- During an interview
with an applicant for a K nonimmigrant visa, a consular officers shall--
(B) provide a copy of the pamphlet developed under subsection
(a)(1) in English or another appropriate language and provide an oral
summary, in the primary language of the visa applicant, of that
pamphlet; and
(C) ask the applicant, in the primary language of the applicant,
whether an international marriage broker has facilitated the
relationship between the applicant and the United States petitioner,
and, if so, obtain the identity of the international marriage broker
from the applicant and confirm that the international marriage broker
provided to the applicant the information and materials required under
subsection (d)(3)(A)(iii).
(2) FAMILY-BASED APPLICANTS- The pamphlet developed under subsection
(a)(1) shall be distributed directly to applicants for family-based
immigration petitions at all consular and adjustment interviews for such
visas. The Department of State or Department of Homeland Security
officer conducting the interview shall review the summary of the
pamphlet with the applicant orally in the applicant's primary language,
in addition to distributing the pamphlet to the applicant in English or
another appropriate language.
(c) Confidentiality- In fulfilling the requirements of this section, no
official of the Department of State or the Department of Homeland Security
shall disclose to a nonimmigrant visa applicant the name or contact
information of any person who was granted a protection order or
restraining order against the petitioner or who was a victim of a crime of
violence perpetrated by the petitioner, but shall disclose the
relationship of the person to the petitioner.
(d) Regulation of International Marriage Brokers-
(1) PROHIBITION ON MARKETING CHILDREN- An international marriage
broker shall not provide any individual or entity with the personal
contact information, photograph, or general information about the
background or interests of any individual under the age of 18.
(2) REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS WITH RESPECT TO
MANDATORY COLLECTION OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION-
(B) BACKGROUND INFORMATION- The international marriage broker shall
collect a certification signed (in written, electronic, or other form)
by the United States client accompanied by documentation or an
attestation of the following background information about the United
States client:
(ii) Any Federal, State, or local arrest or conviction of the
United States client 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, or stalking.
(v) Marital history of the United States client, including
whether the client is currently married, whether the client has
previously been married and how many times, how previous marriages
of the client were terminated and the date of termination, and
whether the client has previously sponsored an alien to whom the
client was engaged or married.
(i) performed a search of the National Sex Offender Public
Registry, or of the relevant State sex offender public registry for
any State not yet participating in the National Sex Offender Public
Registry in which the United States client has resided during the
previous 20 years, for information regarding the United States
client;
(iv) received from the foreign national client a signed, written
consent, in the foreign national client's primary language, to
release the foreign national client's personal contact information
to the specific United States client.
(B) CONFIDENTIALITY- In fulfilling the requirements of this
paragraph, an international marriage broker shall disclose the
relationship of the United States client to individuals who were
issued a protection order or restraining order as described in clause
(i) of paragraph (2)(B), or of any other victims of crimes as
described in clauses (ii) through (iv) of such paragraph, but shall
not disclose the name or location information of such individuals.
(C) PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF INFORMATION- A person who knowingly
discloses, uses, or causes to be used any information obtained by an
international marriage broker as a result of the obligations imposed
on it under paragraph (2) and this paragraph for any purpose other
than the disclosures required under this paragraph shall be fined in
accordance with title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more
than 1 year, or both.
|