Thought it might be a good plan to start a thread and a list for those who have interviews scheduled who checked that they met via a marriage broker on the I-129F. That way it will give all those who did meet through a marriage broker some idea of what is happening at the consulate level. Interesting to see how they also handle couples that met prior to March 6 when there was no IMBRA for MB's to comply with and to the best of my knowledge this law is not grandfathered.

ID.................Interview....Met prior 6 March..........Embassy..........Visa Issued
JoeDog............09-18-2006.........Yes.................Kiev, Ukraine..........Yes
Jello.............10-24-2006.........Yes.................Moscow.................Yes
Jim_Tanja.........10-25-2006.........Yes.................Moscow.................Yes
Jim1969...........10-31-2006.........Yes.................Kiev, Ukraine..........Yes

Note: Please do not copy and paste the list to add your info as I will keep the list updated in this first post.


Please also detail any related issues that arose during your interview and if and how it was resolved.

"bump* to get this back on first page

Hopefully wont be too long and we will see some entries.

I think it's important to note that this is a "marriage broker" as defined as an "International Marriage Broker" under IMBRA, not necessarily what WE would consider to be a marriage broker. Correct?

Well it looks like I am one of the first to make it thru... I feel kind of like survivor of sorts, not really sure what to add...

1st, based on the data table (so far)..

ID: JoeDog
Interview: 09-18-2006
Met Prior to 6 March = Yes
Embassy = Kiev
Visa Issued = Yes!

As for the experience:

Once the petition was sent from NVC there was no acknowledgement from Kiev for like 2 weeks. Then out of the blue my fiancee gets a phone call with the interview scheduled for 9/18 @ 9:00 am. No packet 3, and no packet 4 sent out! Fortunately, we had all the elements for packet 3, and the Embassy folk helped fill out the actual DS 156 forms. Very Nice.

There were no questions about IMBRA other than my fiancee's complete responses to how we met. (Thru an agency). There were no questions about my past. It was like IMBRA never took place, except for the time loss....

Nov 1st I go to kiev to fly with her.

Joe

When did you file your petition? Did you file prior to March 6th? I'm not sure, but this might be a key factor to determine whether you were officially IMBRA'd or not.

Joe,

Perhaps there was nothing in your past to ask questions about? No prior petitions, no criminal record as enumerated in IMBRA?

Thanks for the post.

Yodrak

I filed the I-129f April 3rd.
I answered "no" to all the anti-social characteristics they were interested in.
I have no idea what they found during their security checks.

Joe

bump bump

Added the first that we know of. Come on guys and gals, add your details if they apply. This list will be a great help to others following.

Well --- I haven't posted yet becaues we are still waiting for our interview. But I guess I can add some info now, then resubmit our info after the interview... Mind you, our APPROVRED I-129F (For K3 Visa) issued on Aug 10, 2006 but my wife (in Cartagena) STILL has not recieved packet 3.

So, we downloaded the appropriate forms included in Packet 3, completed the applications, faxed and sent via courier to the Embassy (September 28, 2006). Tomorrow we will call the Embassy to find out if we can finally schedule the appointment (we still have not recieved confirmation that our completed Packet 3 has been entered into their systems and that they understand we never recieved packet 3)..

Anyway -- here you go,

James


ID: jamesfreddyc
Interview: no/waiting
Met prior 6: yes
Embassy: Bogota, Colombia
Visa Issued: no/waiting for interview

Met prior to March 6
NOA1 was April 17
Checked Yes to MB
Answered No to all other questions
Passed Interview today
Moscow Embassy

Don't know if fiance was asked anything unusual, but suspect not. If different, I will post questions.

Here is our post for this...


Met prior to March 6
Checked Yes to MB
Answered No to all other questions
Passed Interview October 25
Moscow Embassy

Nothing unusual at interview.

Also met before March 6th and checked yes to MB.

No problems at the interview and passed on Halloween day - how spooky

Nobody dressed up at the embassy for the holiday - how boring

I checked yes, phils embassy, it was a "just in case" move if they end up legislating that all online social websites are a form of an IMB by the time the imbra RFE ever went through. Interview is scheduled foor december 4th and we did meet twice before march 6th in person.

What is the defination of a Marriage Broker? How does one get under IMBRA?

Definition of a Marriage Broker. Off the top of my head. If you pay for anything, membership, names, contact info, meeting or anything that allows you to connect with her then it is a marriage broker. If it is free totally it is not a marriage broker.

The firm is not primarily Religious in nature.

It must be primarily 51% matching people from the USA with non citizens (This exempts Match, Yahoo, etc.)

Met through Cherry Blossoms... when we asked them if they are considered as IMB, they denied it but because my fiancee (the USC) was then paying $25 a month, we thought it's ok to say "Yes" on meeting thru IMB. We still don't have interview date but we're hoping that everything will go smoothly and favorably.

Here's our details:
Met prior to March 6
Check yes to IMB
No to all other questions
Consulate: Manila, Philippines
Interview date: waiting


David and Mae

Hey Aussie pirate queen, ahoy!

I was wondering... we did only the CR-1 (I-130). I remember some question coming up about the "marriage broker" but that was when we were still contemplating doing the K3 also (I-129F) in addition.

So, I'd have to look back at my docs....that we filed. I can't remember if our I-130 asks that or not...and I can't remember what we said. I think "no" because once I even called USCIS and spoke with a manager and he said, "no" it would not be considered a marriage broker even if somebody met online. Hope this question helps others to get info!



I always wondered: If people meet each other on the internet, is that considered a marriage broker?

Thanks!

c:)