We have debated the IMB issues at another site... and here is one angle that is bothersome to me; The USC deciding what is an IMB or not without consulting with the dating service.

Here's my thinking:
If the USC puts an answer that is not consistent with what the service states, then there could be implications to that.

If you put a NO and they are saying YES, this could lead to serious issues.

If you say YES and they say NO, then your SO will get questioned at the interview if she received from the IMB the necessary info about the USC; which the answer will be NO, they never gave her anything.. Maybe one outcome could be administrative review to figure out what's going on (?).

For the above reasons, my advice to date has been to first consult with the service and ask them if they are an IMB or not. They cannot give you a "you decide answer" because by IMBRA, if they are an IMB they must have the operational ability (themselves or through contract to another party) to do the necessary database checks on the USC. They either have this operational ability or they don't. If they give an unclear answer, I'd ask them if they are setup to do the database searches as IMBRA require...

My feeling is that what the service tells you might be what you want to write down on the form; in this way, you are consistent with them and the responsibility for the answer is put on their shoulders.

I know that some want to play the "I want to tell the truth" card... This is consistent with telling the truth; Your source for this is the service itself. I would get it documented from them as well with any emails or website notices they might have setup.

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I'm not looking to debate the IMBRA definitions as much as looking to see what you think of this approach.... or reasons why you think a USC should possibly put something down that is in contradiction to what the service is claiming...

thanks in advance for reading.

david

good infor here regarding this....


http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18806

Dave, I think the problem are the labels of "Marriage Broker" and "Mail Order Bride." At their core these businesses are just like Yahoo, etc. except they sell addresses or emails of ladies who want to be listed. Because they cater toward single people it is only logical that the majority would be marriage-minded and many of the younger men would only be interested in friendship.

All relationships begin on a friendship basis. After the initial contact is made it is up to the couples how they wish to pursue that friendship and the PEN PAL services are not involved beyond providing the initial contact information (just like the personal ads in a newspaper.)

Therefore the label "International Marriage Broker" is intentionally misleading. The accurate term would be "International Friendship Broker" as in PEN PAL. However this would not suit the feminists' purpose for drafting and sneaking in this law. Who in their right mind wants to regulate "International Friendship"? Well except the feminists that is.

So how can a Pen Pal service say that it is a "Marriage Broker" when it is not? A marriage broker is someone in India or Japan who arranges marriages for couples who have not even met. In the case of India there is often a "dowry" which is what the bride's family offers to have her married. Naturally NO such system exists in the USA or ever will. It is a cultural thing.

The other label "Mail Order Bride" while offensive at best is another example of a label made up to suit the feminist agenda. There is no such thing as a mail order bride! They existed back in the old West among Asian nationals as well as Americans. They have ceased to exist for well over 100 years now.

You cannot "order" a bride out of a catalog and never could! What you say "Let's see.. I think I'll buy #78922. Maybe I should buy an extra one of her for my friend while I'm at it. I'll get my friend the medium size one and I'll get the small size one. Shall I have her sent Federal Express or UPS? I sure hope the airholes in her box are big or I'll just have to send her back for a replacement. What kind of guarantee does she have? Let's see....if she is not submissive enough I can return her postage paid for my money back or exchange her for another bride. Sounds good to me! Lets place my order now."

You can see how ridiculous this sounds yet that is the label and train of thought feminist groups and the media like to put on these foreign ladies and men who use PEN PAL services. The ladies naturally find this to be quite insulting and rightly so. In fact, it is the LADIES who do the picking and choosing of who they wish to respond back to. You would think the feminists would like that but they prefer to slander them instead because they feel threatened by them.

Perhaps we should put labels on feminists (foreign women and man hating American lesbians who want men on leashes) and politicians (bribe facilitators and special interest/corporate government reps) while we are at it.

they already did "femanazis"

To the original post: You need to decide for yourself correctly. Read the definition of marriage broker.