International Marriage Broker question 19. I-129f

[VeniyaAO 4]

While I was in Kiev, in my apartment. I connected to the internet and met my fiancee that day on www.ukrainedate.com

Ukrainedate.com is a dating site with images of people and if they are online at the same time as you, you can chat with them immediately.

On the I-129f, question 19, it asks if we met through the services of an International Marriage Broker.

I would assume we would enter the website, postal mailing address, and phone number for Ukrainedate.com ????

Or would this type of internet dating site Not be considered an International Marriage Broker?

Why do they even ask this question?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

While I was in Kiev, in my apartment. I connected to the internet and met my fiancee that day on www.ukrainedate.com

Ukrainedate.com is a dating site with images of people and if they are online at the same time as you, you can chat with them immediately.

On the I-129f, question 19, it asks if we met through the services of an International Marriage Broker.

I would assume we would enter the website, postal mailing address, and phone number for Ukrainedate.com ????

Or would this type of internet dating site Not be considered an International Marriage Broker?

Why do they even ask this question?

They ask this to comply with the international marriage broker act which was passed to protect women (and men) from unscrupulous people dealing in women for prostitution and porn.

I highly doubt this site meets the qualifications of an IMB which are very specific and quite narrow, but it does no harm to list them if you are not sure.

[BurningFinger 5]

A quick review of the I-129F Instructions should give you an answer. Let me quote some information for you in regards to the International Marriage Broker:

"If you met your fiancé(e) or spouse through the services of an international marriage broker, you must notify USCIS of that fact by answering Question 19 on this form. 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 citizens or nationals or aliens lawfully admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents and foreign national clients by providing personal contact information or otherwise facilitating communication between individuals.

The term international marriage broker does not include: Traditional matchmaking organizations of a cultural or religious nature that operate on a non-profit basis and in compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates, including the laws of the United States; or Entities that provide dating services if their principal business is not to provide international dating services between United States citizens or United States residents and foreign nationals and charge comparable rates and offers comparable services to all individuals it serves regardless of the individual's gender or country of citizenship."

I do not believe that ukrainedate.com falls under the IMBRA category. The are part of a collection of international dating websites managed by Cupid Media. There is a member at the Vietnam sub-forum that got his petition and ultimately the K-1 visa approved without listing vietnamcupid.com as an international marriage broker on the I-129F. However, it would still be a great idea to inquire with the website tech support staff to find out how their international operations could affect your petition application. I am not 100% sure about this, but I believe the website has a visa assistance section once you create an account with them since the purpose of the website is to connect people internationally. I could be wrong about ukrainedate.com, but I know am sure that their sister websites such as vietnamcupid.com and singaporelovelinks.com do provide this. Best of luck!

[VeniyaAO 4]

I still have not seen a concrete answer on this question. Everyone seems to "think it is not" an international marriage broker but it seems to be a gray area.

Should I say yes or no for questions 19, International Marriage Broker?

[VeniyaAO 4]

I got the GOLD answer! Direct from Ukrainedate.com

I am pasting the email here to help others. Should I include this with the I-129f petition???

From: team@UkraineDate.com

Sent: Thu 3/04/10 6:26 PM

Dear member,

Thank you for contacting us.

Please be advised that section 4 (B) (ii) of IMBRA exempts dating companies whose principal business is not to provide dating services beteeen US citizens and foreign nationals so long as it charges comparable rates and offers comparable services to all individuals regardless of gender or country of citizenship. Consequently our company is exempt as it falls within this exemption (as do many other large dating companies).

We have provided a link below to the internet site where you can find detailed information about this law:

http://usaimmigrationattorney.com/images/IMBRA2005.pdf

International Marriage Broker Act Frequently Asked Questions

What is the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005?

This is a US law that requires US citizens and US residents who communicate with foreign nationals using some dating, matchmaking or matrimonial services to provide specified background information (including arrest or conviction for certain offences and details of their marital history) to the entity providing the dating services. This information must then be available to the foreign national. In addition, the dating company needs to conduct a search of the Sex Offenders Public Registry and provide those results to the foreign national.

Does this mean that the US government has made international dating and international marriage illegal?

No, it just means that additional information needs to be collected and disclosed if you are a US citizen or US resident using some international dating websites. However, we are exempt from the IMBRA law under the provisions of section 4 (B) (ii), and therefore we are not required to collect this information.

Why does this law apply to online dating companies?

The above act specifies that the law applies to most online dating companies that charge 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. We are exempt from the IMBRA law under the provisions of section 4 (B) (ii).

If you are not a US company why are you complying with this law?

The US government claims that this law applies to all US citizens and US residents and to all corporations worldwide. As is the case with many other laws that effect cyber space, the legal validity of the right of the US government to enforce this law (and others) on foreign corporations that do not have any assets or operations in the USA can only be resolved through the court system in the US, the court system in the country of incorporation of a foreign entity and if need be through international law. In the interim, as a responsible corporation we aim to comply with all appropriate laws in all jurisdictions in which we have customers. However, we are exempt from the IMBRA law under the provisions of section 4 (B) (ii).

[Dot 0]

Yeah i was going to say that if they don't charge you a cost or fee to date through their website then it should not count.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yeah i was going to say that if they don't charge you a cost or fee to date through their website then it should not count.

It's not a matter of how much they charge, or whether they charge anything at all. It's a matter of whether they specifically cater to US citizens or legal residents, and whether they charge the same rates (if any) to US citizens and LPR's as they charge to anyone else.

The IMBRA is intended to protect foreign beneficiaries from potentially hooking up with US citizens or LPR's who have a history of specific crimes. The IMBRA requires IMB's to collect information about those crimes and disclose that information to the foreign girl/boy before they release any contact information, allowing the foreigner to choose not to contact someone with a criminal history. It has nothing to do with porn or prostitution.

They ask the question on the I-129F because they want to ensure that an IMB (if one was used) complied with the information collection and disclosure requirements of the law.

[Audy_Rob 26]

I think you got a very good, responsible and complete reply from Ukraine Date .com.

As JimVaPhoung points out, the determining factor is if they charge US citizens and residents substantially different from other members for comparable services.

[pushbrk 13,000]

I still have not seen a concrete answer on this question. Everyone seems to "think it is not" an international marriage broker but it seems to be a gray area.

Should I say yes or no for questions 19, International Marriage Broker?

It's not an IMB. Further, I've seen no evidence in four years that it makes any difference how you answer that question unless you ALSO have an applicable criminal record. It's just there to comply with the law.

[baron555 934]

I still have not seen a concrete answer on this question. Everyone seems to "think it is not" an international marriage broker but it seems to be a gray area.

Should I say yes or no for questions 19, International Marriage Broker?

Since I paid $99 for private email addresses/phone numbers/postal addresses from Elenas Models, I listed them on Q19. It did no harm at all to our petition even though Alla was asked about the agency during her interview.

My take: If you paid any money, list them. It will do no harm. If everything was free, then do not list them.

[emerson24 1]

This is my 2nd time through the K1 visa process. (1st one didn't work out for me so I withdrew my application). Both times I met the person on a cupid dating site (filipino and thai). The first time with FC, they asked for an RFE explaining that they were not an IMB. What really annoyed me is the guy I hired didn't have us include that into the submission despite having done this process many times. At any rate, we submitted what they told us and it was fine. The second time, I just did it myself and included this with the I-129F petition and there was no problems. And I was actually lucky because I put filipinocupid in the letter when it was thaicupid (just saw that now - smh).

Here is what both sites sent me. It was the same exact email except different named site.

Thank you for contacting us.

Please be advised that section 4 (B) (ii) of IMBRA exempts dating companies
whose principal business is not to provide dating services between US citizens
and foreign nationals so long as it charges comparable rates and offers
comparable services to all individuals regardless of gender or country of
citizenship. Consequently our company is exempt as it falls within this
exemption (as do many other large dating companies).

However, as a service to our members, we provide an optional form to all our
websites for US residents to complete the required IMBRA background
information. This ensures we are complying with the legislation and will also
assist our members who wish to apply for USA K non-immigrant visa in future.

We have provided a link below to the internet site where you can find detailed
information about this law:

http://usaimmigrationattorney.com/images/IMBRA2005.pdf

International Marriage Broker Act Frequently Asked Questions

* What is the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005?

This is a US law that requires US citizens and US residents who communicate
with foreign nationals using some dating, matchmaking or matrimonial services
to provide specified background information (including arrest or conviction for
certain offenses and details of their marital history) to the entity providing
the dating services. This information must then be available to the foreign
national. In addition, the dating company needs to conduct a search of the Sex
Offenders Public Registry and provide those results to the foreign national.

* Does this mean that the US government has made international dating and
international marriage illegal?

No, it just means that additional information needs to be collected and
disclosed if you are a US citizen or US resident using some international
dating websites.

* Why does this law apply to online dating companies?

The above act specifies that the law applies to some online dating companies
that charge 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.

* Why should I complete this background information?

It is our understanding that if you later apply for a USA K non-immigrant visa
for your foreign partner then as part of the visa assessment process you may be
asked to demonstrate that this background information was provided to your
partner. It is therefore advantageous to complete this information so that your
visa application process goes smoothly and is not found to be invalid.

* Will the US Government see my background information?

No, we are not required to pass your background information to the US
government. The only people who will see your information are foreign nationals
who you communicate with or who attempt to communicate with you. If you later
apply for a K non-immigrant visa then you will need to complete a separate
criminal background check, however the information that you provide to us is
not used as part of that process.

* Do you do criminal background checks with the information that I provide?

The above Act requires that dating companies that fall within the provisions of
the act are required to search the Sex Offenders Public Registry and provide a
copy of any records (or a statement that no records have been found) to the
foreign national.

* How will my information be viewable by foreign nationals that I am
corresponding with?

When you attempt to communicate with a foreign national, or a foreign national
attempts to communicate with you (either by sending a message or instant
messenger), an Icon will appear for the foreign national to click to view your
background information.

* If you are not a US company why are you complying with this law?

As a responsible corporation we aim to comply with all appropriate laws in all
jurisdictions in which we have customers. Consequently, we recommend that US
citizens and US residents comply with US law. We also support efforts to
protect women from abuse and feel that some women may be in a better position
to make an informed decision regarding their prospective partner if they have
access to this information.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Please contact us if you require any further assistance and quote your Incident
Number

-----------------------------------

This is all you need to send the dating site:

Due to the USCIS's new requirement, all Fiance visa clients (who met online)
are required to provide proof that the website complied with IMBRA or is exempt
from IMBRA.

Thanks,
Name

[TBoneTX 45,659]

Thread from 2010 is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the IMBRA subforum and is locked to further comment.

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