Got my IMBRA RFE in the mail today, and already sent it back to Vermont.
Here is a scan of the RFE [attachmentid=1535]

Thanks Igor

Thank you for sharing that.

Thanks so much for sharing, it is truly helpful. I thought they would give more details about the marriage broker definition. It is very broad, and leaves a lot of questions.

I met my fiancee on Yahoo personals, should I check yes or no????

Yahoo personals are not considered a IMB because they welcome everyone, international or domestic to join.

That is just my opinion. Please ask others who have filled out the form (mine was done before IMBRA) and read the descriptions for yourself.

Anyone else see a red herring in the midst of this form?....

I understood that the "waiver" that the new law included was specifically related to the number of prior K1 application filings by the petitioner. Now, the RFE includes reference to a "waiver" needed for any criminal conviction as well?!!

It was my fear that the delays were very much due to the Justice Dept/Homeland Security's efforts to expand the law beyond what was written. Am I alone in reading the law and RFE this way?

Ok, the questions begin. I met Luz through Yahoo personals. I am guessing that it isn't a MB but I would like to hear that from someone official. I had one previous petition MORE than 2 years ago. If I read that right I don't think I need the wavier. Right?

My acrobat reader couldnt open it!! Does the RFE have a place on it where you have to make your signature?

Yes, you have to swear that the above is true and accurate under penalty of law.

I'm in Algeria until mid-July, I wonder what I can do... I dont have the money to send it round trip with DHL ($160) for a signature

Do you have a lawyer working for you? He may be able to sign it for you. Maybe, just a thought.
The US Post office has international delivery for letters a lot cheaper. You might try that.

Can the form be faxed to you? That would save 1/2 the time and money as you would only be mailing one way. If it has to be the original form I suppose that wouldn't work, but its a thought.



Are you asking for an opinion, or something 'official' from the government?

yes I have a lawyer working for me, I'll call him and ask him if he can sign it. I dont trust US post office international delivery...... look up some Yallah Middle East Posts for my USPS/Poste Algerienne Nightmare...

Although I'm probably overreacting, I dont even know if I'll get an RFE... My NOA1 is March 10th, BUT Aussie says they are going by receipt date, which for me would be February 9th......

::Sigh::

thank you for posting that. i now know what to expect, as soon as cali service center gets off their $@%$*&%^*@%@#% @^%#&$%*& and sends me the form.

An opinion from my friends here for now but I will make some calls tomorrow and get it "official".

Gary
Im not official but it seems very clear on the RFE what they require.......

If you have filed two or more K-1 petitions at any time in the past or previously had a K-1 petition approved within two years prior to the filing of this petition, you must apply for a waiver.

You say you had a previous petition more then 2 years ago. That would mean the above DOES NOT apply in your case as you have only had ONE previous petition. Being outside of the two years, the second part does not apply either.

Yahoo Personals.......NO WAY and I will bet my life on that.

Thanks Aussie, I kind of thought that but I guess after all this I am getting gun-shy.

Thank is so helpful to see what it looks like. Looks simple enough , very much like the new section on the newest version of the 129F petiton. Good luck! You are on your way!

Ok i have question about the marriage broker question.
I met my fiancee in june 2005 on filipinaheart but that was before the law was in affect.
1. is filipinaheart a marriage brokerage by the laws terms?


2.with us meeting before the law actually being in affect do i have to say yes or no for the question?

This is so confusing because how can they hold us to something that wasnt even in affect a year ago
anyone have an idea on this?

It does not matter when you met, only when you filed your petition. I know, that sucks but thems the rules. I don't know about this filipinaheart site. Is it geared only to introducing Philipinas to men from other countries? If so then I would say yes, it is a marriage broker.

Well i dont have any criminal record so i am not too worried about the whole IMBRA just hope that being as that the filipinaheart website didnt ask me for the information before us talking online doesnt cause us more delays because that is part of the law also that the marriage brokerage is supposed to collect the information before you can have contact with the other members.
Being that it wasnt a law a year ago they never collected that info from me.

Thanks for sharing this. It seems odd that no question relates to the limitation on the number of application you had filed or had approved in the past two years. I guess because it is unenforceable in that it attempts to apply the law retroactively which may be unconstitutional since prior to the effective date of March 06th, 2006 no such limitation existed. They are only requesting that you voluntarily seek a waiver if you know that you have filed more than two K-1 visa before March 06th, 2006. I think it was intended for the post March 06th, 2006 serial applicants by then there will also be database to verify their accuracy

I have some thoughts and comments on this. If you met your fiance before March 6 2006 then the whole question of how you met is moot. The rest of the law will still apply ie. criminal background and number of petitions. So for you it's not the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act but the Alien Fiance Regulation Act. (I just made that up ) If you met AFTER March 6 2006 then the only thing that will change is the MB should have gotten this info they are now asking for and gave it to the fiance before exchanging personal info. If they didn't provide the background of the USC then the penalty would be on the broker and not the petitioner. I can't see them denying a petition because of a f##k up on the brokers part. It just wouldn't stand up to a court challenge. From the way they are applying this law however, they are asking EVERYONE for the criminal background checks. The law is misnamed and misleading.
Just my thoughts here. Take it for what it's worth.

I and my Fiance' met on Match.com. I would like to know it is considered as a "Marriage Broker"?
we are also waiting for RFE. if we know we will will have the correct answer....Thanks [size=1]

I was just told by my lawyer that Yahoo does not count as a MB so I would guess that Match.com would fall into the same category.

[color=#3333FF]oh! Thanks GaryC , at least make us happy
wishing all good news soon[/color]!
[color=#3333FF]Littleone & Robert[/color]



sorry...not good at making post

The waivers for criminal convictions where also included in the IMBRA.......there is no red herring in that regard.

‘‘©(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 ( 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—
‘‘(I) the petitioner was acting in self-defense;
‘‘(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.

I wish they would give examples of what they considered international marriage brokers. According to the RFE ("any blah blah blah blah that charges fees"), it's basically any paid services.

I met my fiance in 1998 at a friend's party, but we eventually lost touch. We ran into each other in 2005 on a FREE dating/friendship website. So since the site is free, and since we technically didn't meet through it, than it doesn't apply to me. I hope I'm right

I assume on question 2 and 3 if you haven't had any convictions or abuse you just don't check anything right?

that is my guess. I am surprised they don't have a space for saying "none" since they are so keen on that throughout the I-129F application!

Thanks to whomever posted the RFE but seriously.... SERIOUSLY... We are speaking about our government here.. They don't have records of whether or not we committed these types of crimes???? Secondly ... didn't they require us on the form to state how we met? I met my fiance at work .. while she was here on a student visa in the US...... It's kinda silly if you ask me to ask us these questions again. I guess I just will never understand...

You dont think so hu

It's true that they do but then why ask us for it?

Plus.... (I am sorry I am still trying to understand this .. it makes no sense) How can you back date? In my work industry we have constant regulations that pop out of the wood work and our customers may not like them but the requirements are always current or forward.. we don't go and fine customers for stuff they did 2 months ago .. that just makes no sense.

The part about back dating was the awful one. If they didn´t have the law ready in time it shouldn´t have applied to us at all! No laws can back up to prejudice anyone.

I spoke with a nice person at USCIS who told me about the current status of the "recalled applications" to the Vermont Service Center.

The "files" were recalled along with the "Petitions" from the foreign embassy. My petition was still on its way back to square one so I could be sent my IMBRA addition (ironic considering we met in USA and IMBRA is applied to all K-1's now).

So now she tells me that once my file and petition are together in the office I will get my RFE and my case along with everyone else affected will be expedited. She said the RFE's sent out due to IMBRA will be mailed in bulk from the Vermont Service Center.
How can that be true if I am hearing that other people using the Vermont Service Center have already got their RFE's?

She said my case was of course recalled like everyone else's due to IMBRA, but I am hearing that other people have already gotten their RFE.

Let me if anyone is along the lines of my timeline and has heard back from the VSC.

Thanks

Maybe she meant "bulk of day" ?
I think everyone who's gotten an IMBRA related RFE have been those whose petitions have not been approved yet (easier to catch maybe?). I don't know if anyone with a NOA2 has. I'm not certain though.

I don’t know if this is the correct place to post it. But my REF is at home I am at work and can’t leave right now. But I am very excited and wanted to update you all that the REF has come. I hope it is the REF it is from homeland security anyway.

Luke and Ro

You are a life savor!!! I am currently in Spain ! I have been going crazy trying to get my hands on what the RFE will be!!!

A call to Vermont has yielded a fax # to request a "petition expedite". They told me that since I have a copy of your scanned IMBRA RFE that it may further expedite the process if I include the doc, filled out already. I was wondering what kind of info aside from the obvious was blocked out in case it's something pertinent that I should include. Thanks

That's kind of strange that they would allow you to use someone elses RFE. Because isnt there a Barcode that must belong only to your case on the RFE?
Hey, if they allow you to do that great! But it does surprise me...

Also Timmaricel, you and I both got our NOA2's on the same day. Both of us are also dealing with the Philippines.
We should keep in touch with each other....

If you noted in other threads, expediated requests are being denied. I would also be very wary of taking what someone says via the call center as factual. It isnt known as the misinformation line for no reason. The RFE will contain numbers/dates etc specific to your case (including a bar code by the looks of it) How do you know what these are? There will be no guarantee that it will be successfully linked to your case even if they do accept it.

I wish you success with it. Let us know what happens.

The definition of IMB, under Section 833(e)(4)(A), is any corporation, individual, or legal entity, whether or not existing under the laws of the U.S., who charges fees for providing dating, matrimonial, matchmaking or social referrals or is "otherwise faciliating communication between individuals.There are, under Section 833(e)(4)(, two exceptions : 1) "The Non-Profit": a traditional matchmaking organization of a cultural or religious nature which offers its services on a non-profit basis under law, tyically a state-registered corporation, and 2) "The Non-Primary Business with Comparable Rates": a domestic dating service or other primary service whose principal business is not international dating and which charges comparable rates for comparable services to all individuals, men and women, domestic and foreign.

deleted.

wrong topic. D'oh.

Hi I am new to visa journey and logged on just to see how long it was taking others to have their k1 visas processed. I saw that yours is being processed in VT like mine.
My application was initially approved for my fiance from Australia in April. The it was recalled because of the new info they needed for Imbra. I got my RFE and returned it to VT, they noted they recieved it on June 17th.
I was wondering if you could tell me when they said they recieved yours and how long you have been waiting for yours to be approved?
Thanks!

It takes an average time of 15 days. But this can really vary. Some have taken 6 days, others more than 20.

About the questions asked on the IMBRA form, If you use the newest I-129F form these questions are on page 3.

It is recommended to get the latest forms before submitting them.

I think a "marraige broker" is a nicer way of saying "mail order bride service". Also stuff like match.com but geared exclusively international relationships or international "sex tours". I have seen many of these sites, whether its just as small as a simple "meet" service with profiles or as elaborate as what seemed like these women were all photoghraphed at a hotel just to get an American man constitues a marriage broker.

(I have nothing against anybody trying to get here in anyway, I don't hate, I congratulate)

Thanks for the copy of the RFE. That was really helpful. I have a question and I'm hoping that someone out there has an answer. I met my SO online on a site set up specifically for members of my religion. You CAN sign up for the service if you are outside the U.S., but the bulk of the members are from the U.S. Maybe I should check yes to IMBRA just to be safe? I'm not sure.

If it is set up for members of your religion it is exempt from IMBRA