On March 6th, American males must submit US Gov paperwork to be introduced to foreign women

The Violence Against Women Act signed by President Bush on Jan. 5 contains an almost unnoticed attachment.

Subtitle D, also known as the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBA), will become law when VAWA is enacted. The IMBA is an ostensibly noble measure with a surprising and ominous twist.

A headline in Washington State's The Daily Herald announced, "Mail-order brides gain protection" with the subtitle "The mother of a murdered immigrant hopes that pending federal legislation will keep foreign brides from abuse, neglect and slavery."

The "murdered immigrant" refers to Anastasia King, a "mail-order bride" from the former Soviet Union. In 2000, King was murdered by her husband in Washington State where the case created a sensation largely because the husband had violently assaulted a previous "mail-order bride."

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who championed the measure for years, introduced the IMBA to Congress.

Some parts sound reasonable. For example, U.S. consulates will provide "mail-order brides" with brochures that explain their legal rights.

Other parts sound draconian. For example, the IMBA requires American men who wish to correspond with foreign women through private for-profit matchmaking agencies to first provide those businesses with their police records and other personal information to be turned over to the women.

Corresponding with a foreigner is legal. Marrying a foreigner is legal. Immigrating spouses and their husbands go through rigorous and lengthy screening before visas are issued. U.S. laws against violence protect "mail-order brides."

Now American men who wish to pursue a legal activity must release their government files to a foreign business and foreign individuals for their personal benefit.

(Note: The act's language is gender-neutral but its clear purpose is to protect foreign women from predatory American men. Application to "male-order husbands" would be incidental as such 'brides' are relatively rare.)

The disclosure requirement is detailed under the provision entitled "Obligations of International Marriage Broker With Respect to Mandatory Collection of Information."

An international broker cannot provide contact or general information on a foreign woman to an American man unless that broker first collects and discloses to the woman the following information about the man:

Every state of residence since the age of 18; Current or previous marriages as well as how and when they terminated; Information on children under 18; Any arrest or conviction related to controlled substances, alcohol or prostitution, making no distinction on arrests not leading to conviction; Any court orders, including temporary restraining orders, which are notoriously easy to procure; Any arrest or conviction for crimes ranging from "homicide" to "child neglect"; Any arrest or conviction for "similar activity in violation of Federal, State or local criminal law" without specifying what "similar" means. U.S. law will provide foreign women with extensive government information on American suitors that is not similarly offered to American women — which it shouldn't it be either.

Contacting a woman for romantic purposes — internationally or domestically — is not a crime. Those who do so are not a priori criminals who must prove themselves innocent before being allowed an e-mail exchange.

[Match.com doesn't promise marrige or even long term commitment exclusively, it's definitly unfair though if they are wholesale exempted not to mention defeating the who point of the legislation.]

You saved me $85 tonight! I was late for the German-American Magnolia Ball and the Kasse (cashier) was closed when I got there. But a ball matron decided that a good bachelor in a tuxedo must not be wasted. I stayed about 40 minutes.

I see we're getting somewhere with your "definitely unfair" remark about Match.com buying its way out of this legislation. They "bought" their way out of the law because they clearly had the kind of lawyers and financial clout to ruin everything for the feminists...who want to crush, kill and destroy the entire concept of American men being introduced to young Russian women for marriage, sex or anything else. But the Match lawyers know that they are next...and they know the websites with more than 50% foreign women can claim the 50% rule is arbitrary and unfair and that those with less than 50% foreign women will have to abide by the "law" as well. They will say that men will have to undergo background checks to chat with any woman on the Internet, foreign or domestic. At least Match will have to send the government forms for each man who wants to meet foreign women on its site, including Canadian women. Fair is fair.

It is the competition and the male happiness the feminists hate. Senator Maria Cantrell cared nothing for Anastasia King except she would have hated Anastasia if the young woman been happily married to a nice Seattle-area guy.

I've seen letters from liberal Senators to American males telling them that they should be ashamed of themselves for wanting to marry young foreign brides and they, the Senators, will proudly NOT help him find happiness.

I should get a friend to scan such a letter from Patty Murphy, another Washington State Senator who openly carried her hatred for men who like Russian women on her sleeve.

Meanwhile...Anastasia clearly died defending a friend. The confession of the boarder who did the strangling while the husband held her down...said that she refused to tell the husband who the person was whom she had warned about her possible death. She didn't die because of a lack of legislation. She died like so many others because she came face to face with evil and didn't run away fast enough. She stuck around in a violent marriage for more than a year after he first hit her. But saving her friend like that at the end, probably earned her a ticket to Heaven.

Secondly, there is a myth that Russian girlfriends cannot receive visas to come for a visit. That is not correct. While the visa denial rate is high, it has nothing to do with whether the girl is your girlfriend or not. It has all to do with whether or not she has enough reasons to return (bank account, apartment, good job, children, parents, etc.). Plus, a lot of the American boyfriends either don't write a good enough support letter (stating they will ensure she returns home at the end of her stay and stating that they will bear all expenses for her) or don't write one at all. Long before I got married I was able to help Russian girlfriends get tourist visas - but they all met the above qualifications. And, don't forget, if the American boyfriend hasn't actually met his "girlfriend" and she doesn't have a job or other ties to the motherland she ain't gonna get the visa.

I'm not certain when you brought these ladies over, but unless they have strong ties to home there is no way they qualify under the visa waiver program. I have seen doctors and lawyers turned down. A letter insuring the will guarantee their return has not been helpful. Indeed, we have suggested letters to use, which need to be modified for each case. The only single RW I have seen get a visa was when a man brought her by lying she was coming to help him write a book.

Marriage Agencies - I've seen a lot of them in action in my travels throughout the FSU and what I've seen disgusts me. Sixty or seventy year old guys after the twentysomethings (or younger). They should know that the girl is just looking for a way out and the girl should know they're dealing with a pervert. However, I've seen some men searching for a bride after beind discouraged about American women's apparent preference to put career first and family second. A Russian woman won't do that.

Granted, the older men need to know there is no way a 20 year old is interested in him for love. However, I'm not certain that is fair to blame that on the agency. They sell the name and address. When you pass a 10 year age difference one can expect problems, albeit I have seen some good marriages with larger differences.

The other bad thing about the marriage agencies is almost all of them sell their database to other agencies. Sometimes girls are listed on multiple sites when they only signed up for one.

That's not quite correct. One man created a special database for listing multiple agencies, and that database lists the girls for that agency in with all the other agencies. As an example Blue Sapphires Agenccy is one member of that group, and when you look at their site you are actually seeing ladies from multiple agencies. Note carefully the ladies listed are from many cities. Now when you look at other agencies and see a different format, but all of the same ladies you are looking at the same network.

Some of these girls have ended up on "blacklists" because unscrupulous agencies have had someone else pretend to be them and bilk stupid foreigners out of money with the sick mother, ill son, etc., sob stories. Personally, I have no sympathy for anyone dumb enough to fall for those stories.

And many of these ladies are blacklisted by men who have been rejected. There are several men who are constantly taking trips to Russia and the FSU for what we call the Former Soviet Union Sex Tour. They write these ladies in advance, and then when they meet them promise the world for sex. If the ladies do not perform, then they let them know they will be blacklisted as scammers. Mind you, I don't doubt there are some bad women and prostitutes playing the game.

Another myth is the criminal background check the US Embassy requires. Anyone with any time in Russia knows that all it takes is a little cash to get a clean report. I'd be willing to bet good $$$$ that a lot of prostitutes have managed to slip through the system. So, the American man following the new rules is actually at a disadvantage because he's not having a credible background check done on his "love." Best thing to do is go over there on your own. Meet her friends, her parents, see her in her element. If warning bells ring in your head heed them.

Granted one needs to be very careful. The police report at one time came from the local milita, and we knew women could get a good report with $$$. That changed about the time I married Nadya, and afterwards it had to come from Moscow. One may be able to give a few $$$ to change things, but I am not certain how that can be done now, and nobody else has been able to find out if it can be done.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.