I have mentioned a few times of late that there are changes coming across the mail-order-bride industry. There are. They are now on the horizon and looming into view.
I believe the industry in its current form is dying a rapid death.
The majority of the English speaking Russian wife seeking market is located in the US. We all know about IMBRA. Hands up who thought it would be the tip of a very big iceberg?
The further plans for IMBRA are starting to develop. On October the 27th, there was an information pamphlet issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. A copy of it is here: Information on the Legal Rights Available to Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence in the United States and Facts about Immigrating on a Marriage-Based Visa.
Reading it leaves one in no doubt which way the wind is blowing. I read today that individual US states are now taking up the charge in regulating so called “International Marriage Brokers” — and their statutes are more onerous than the federal legislation.
Why is this pamphlet been published now? That’s exactly the question being asked by citizens (women and men) regarding a now passed bill in the Maryland General Assembly. See below.
The state of Maryland has brought to law in recent weeks the “International Marriage Brokers Regulation (IMBR)”. This will restrict men’s rights to use dating sites to meet foreign women and will likely spur copycat legislation in other states.
Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio , Vice President of the women’s caucus is leading 35 other delegates (all women) on a campaign for passage of HB 65, that would shockingly require Maryland men to submit their fingerprints and other background information before they can initiate communication with a foreign woman if they use an “International Marriage Broker”.
A close examination of the fine print reveals the bill is littered with false, misleading, and inaccurate information. Nobody is being traded or sold as the title, “Regulation of Marriage Brokers”, deceptively implies. The truth reveals these are merely dating sites that provide names, addresses and phone numbers so that a Maryland citizen can initiate communication (as in saying “hello”) with a foreigner.
Punishment for violations of the law include $12,000 fine and or up to one year imprisonment.
The drama that has unfolded since the controversial bill was introduced reads like a war script. The attack was announced on January 4, 2010, in a AP news release , “MD lawmakers push for restrictions on mail order brides”.
Will it stop at Maryland? What do you think? Would YOU submit to fingerprints just to contact a foreign woman?
This is a back door method to almost criminalize foreign facing dating agencies and their clients. The industry cannot fight the government and the feminists (they tried that with IMBRA). Any dating site that is deemed to be an “IMB” will fall under this and whatever else the US lawmakers throws at them.
Times they are a changing……………..