Is Match.com considered a 'marriage broker'?

[GeordieWife 1]

I need to know also if I need to list the physical address of their home office as well as their website address. Peter and I met through this service prior to meeting in London. ALSO....ashamed to admit this BUT....I have THREE ex husbands and there are only TWO lines for it on the bio and the I-129F...should I squeeze them in in handwriting? or attach a separate typewritten page with the info as a supplement. I'm feeling the crunch now with all the talk of the fees going up!!!!!

[pushbrk 12,163]

I need to know also if I need to list the physical address of their home office as well as their website address. Peter and I met through this service prior to meeting in London. ALSO....ashamed to admit this BUT....I have THREE ex husbands and there are only TWO lines for it on the bio and the I-129F...should I squeeze them in in handwriting? or attach a separate typewritten page with the info as a supplement. I'm feeling the crunch now with all the talk of the fees going up!!!!!

IMO, match.com is not an IMB. Yes, put the latest divorce on the sheet and use the space for the second to refer to an attached sheet. On the attached sheet, refer to the form and question number and give all information requested.

Edited May 30, 2007 by pushbrk

[Dan&Tiffany 0]

I need to know also if I need to list the physical address of their home office as well as their website address. Peter and I met through this service prior to meeting in London. ALSO....ashamed to admit this BUT....I have THREE ex husbands and there are only TWO lines for it on the bio and the I-129F...should I squeeze them in in handwriting? or attach a separate typewritten page with the info as a supplement. I'm feeling the crunch now with all the talk of the fees going up!!!!!

I hear you on the fee crunch! As far as needing more room for info - Dan had more jobs than the space allowed for, and we attached a separate typed page with the other information. I think if you look on the sample G325a it has an example of this (I THINK).

EDIT: Jeepers - so THAT'S what happens when you try to reply to a post as it's being shifted! Got a lil confused there for a minute.

[GeordieWife 1]

Thanks for the info..sorry about the wrong topic thingie....sometimes hard to know where to put stuff! I'm stressin a bit now..lol

[JoeMama 0]

I need to know also if I need to list the physical address of their home office as well as their website address. Peter and I met through this service prior to meeting in London. ALSO....ashamed to admit this BUT....I have THREE ex husbands and there are only TWO lines for it on the bio and the I-129F...should I squeeze them in in handwriting? or attach a separate typewritten page with the info as a supplement. I'm feeling the crunch now with all the talk of the fees going up!!!!!

MATCH.COM absolutely falls under IMB act! Yes, you must list the physical address of the corporate address, website, telephone, etc. As far as listing the 3 ex-husbands, not enough room, attach another sheet of paper as the supplement.

[Yodrak 7]

GeordieLover,

I would treat Match.com as if it were an IMB. If the USCIS considers it otherwise then there's no issue.

Squeeze the ex info in on the G-325A but make an attachment for the I-129f - the latter is important, the former is not and is not worth the effort of making 4 attachment pages.

Yodrak

I need to know also if I need to list the physical address of their home office as well as their website address. Peter and I met through this service prior to meeting in London. ALSO....ashamed to admit this BUT....I have THREE ex husbands and there are only TWO lines for it on the bio and the I-129F...should I squeeze them in in handwriting? or attach a separate typewritten page with the info as a supplement. I'm feeling the crunch now with all the talk of the fees going up!!!!!

[GeordieWife 1]

WOW..it's absolutely AMAZING what happens when you read the instructions!! Check out what I found RIGHT on the instructions of the I-129F form.....I'm sooo rolling my eyes at myself!

The term "international marriage broker" does not include:

Traditional matchmaking organizations of a cultural orreligious nature that operate on a non-profit basis andin compliance with the laws of the countries in whichit operates, including the laws of the United States; or

Entities that provide dating services if their principalbusiness is not to provide international dating servicesbetween United States citizens or United Statesresidents and foreign nationals and charge comparablerates and offers comparable services to all individualsit serves regardless of the individual's gender orcountry of citizenship

Thank you everyone for your help.

[pushbrk 12,163]

WOW..it's absolutely AMAZING what happens when you read the instructions!! Check out what I found RIGHT on the instructions of the I-129F form.....I'm sooo rolling my eyes at myself!

The term "international marriage broker" does not include:

Traditional matchmaking organizations of a cultural orreligious nature that operate on a non-profit basis andin compliance with the laws of the countries in whichit operates, including the laws of the United States; or

Entities that provide dating services if their principalbusiness is not to provide international dating servicesbetween United States citizens or United Statesresidents and foreign nationals and charge comparablerates and offers comparable services to all individualsit serves regardless of the individual's gender orcountry of citizenship

Thank you everyone for your help.

Yes, the ommission of that paragraph from the original IMBRA comliant I-129F along with the fact that this paragraph is far removed from the definition you read in the law itself, was a major oversight, IMO. The misunderstanding lingers, as evidenced by much of the discussion in this forum.

[boondi 0]

WOW..it's absolutely AMAZING what happens when you read the instructions!! Check out what I found RIGHT on the instructions of the I-129F form.....I'm sooo rolling my eyes at myself!

The term "international marriage broker" does not include:

Traditional matchmaking organizations of a cultural orreligious nature that operate on a non-profit basis andin compliance with the laws of the countries in whichit operates, including the laws of the United States; or

Entities that provide dating services if their principalbusiness is not to provide international dating servicesbetween United States citizens or United Statesresidents and foreign nationals and charge comparablerates and offers comparable services to all individualsit serves regardless of the individual's gender orcountry of citizenship

Thank you everyone for your help.

Yes, the ommission of that paragraph from the original IMBRA comliant I-129F along with the fact that this paragraph is far removed from the definition you read in the law itself, was a major oversight, IMO. The misunderstanding lingers, as evidenced by much of the discussion in this forum.

So, in other words, Match.com is not an international marriage broker? Am I understanding that right?

[NavarreMan 10]

WOW..it's absolutely AMAZING what happens when you read the instructions!! Check out what I found RIGHT on the instructions of the I-129F form.....I'm sooo rolling my eyes at myself!

The term "international marriage broker" does not include:

Traditional matchmaking organizations of a cultural orreligious nature that operate on a non-profit basis andin compliance with the laws of the countries in whichit operates, including the laws of the United States; or

Entities that provide dating services if their principalbusiness is not to provide international dating servicesbetween United States citizens or United Statesresidents and foreign nationals and charge comparablerates and offers comparable services to all individualsit serves regardless of the individual's gender orcountry of citizenship

Thank you everyone for your help.

Yes, the ommission of that paragraph from the original IMBRA comliant I-129F along with the fact that this paragraph is far removed from the definition you read in the law itself, was a major oversight, IMO. The misunderstanding lingers, as evidenced by much of the discussion in this forum.

So, in other words, Match.com is not an international marriage broker? Am I understanding that right?

The way I see it:

1. Match.com is in no way a "traditional matchmaking organization".

2. Match.com does provide as part of its principal business, international dating services between USC's and foreign nationals, therefore does qualify as an International Marriage Broker. From their website:

"Match.com lets you connect with singles around the globe. Our International sites support local languages and currencies. Please note: Use of Match.com international sites requires a separate membership on the International Match.com network."

QUESTIONS???

Press/Public Relations

Contact Match.com PR at 214-265-3039 or email pr@match.com.

Match.com

P.O. Box 25472

Dallas, TX 75225

USA

[payxibka 10,044]

Match.com is NOT an IMB because they qualify for the following exclusion:

"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 orcountry of citizenship."

Edited September 19, 2007 by fwaguy

[boondi 0]

Is that information about Match.com being excluded available anywhere? What if I'm asked at the interview where we met and I answer "online", and they then bring up IMBRA? It's a strange, amorphous boundary there...

Edited September 19, 2007 by boondi

[payxibka 10,044]

If you read the judges ruling on the European Connections suit against IMBRA (starting at page 49):

111. IMBRA excludes from the definition of IMBs nonprofit organizations and companies such as Match.com that operate domestic dating services where the principal business is not international matchmaking. Section 833(e)(4)(A) defines an IMB as follows:

(4) INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER. –-

(A) IN GENERAL. — 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 permanent residents and foreign national clients by

providing personal contact information or otherwise facilitating communication between individuals.

In Section 833(e)(4)(B), the Act provides for two exceptions to this definition of IMB, including the

following:

(i) a traditional matchmaking organization of a cultural or religious nature that operates on a nonprofit basis and

otherwise operates in compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates, including the laws of the

United States; or

(ii) an entity that provides dating services if its principal business is not to provide international dating services

between United States citizens or United States residents and foreign nationals and it charges comparable rates and offers comparable services to all individuals it serves regardless of the individual’s gender or country of

citizenship.

Link

[NavarreMan 10]

Match.com is NOT an IMB because they qualify for the following exclusion:

"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 orcountry of citizenship."

You forgot the first part of that exclusion:

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.

Because they do not qualify as a "not-for-profit" business and their principal business is to enable dating services, the part about charging comparable rates does not apply. They cannot be excluded as a IMB.

But I will happily defer to any one who feels differently. I used rBrides.com and did indeed list them as an IMB.

[NavarreMan 10]

If you read the judges ruling on the European Connections suit against IMBRA (starting at page 49):

111. IMBRA excludes from the definition of IMBs nonprofit organizations and companies such as Match.com that operate domestic dating services where the principal business is not international matchmaking. Section 833(e)(4)(A) defines an IMB as follows:

(4) INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKER. –-

(A) IN GENERAL. — 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 permanent residents and foreign national clients by

providing personal contact information or otherwise facilitating communication between individuals.

In Section 833(e)(4)(B), the Act provides for two exceptions to this definition of IMB, including the

following:

(i) a traditional matchmaking organization of a cultural or religious nature that operates on a nonprofit basis and

otherwise operates in compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates, including the laws of the

United States; or

(ii) an entity that provides dating services if its principal business is not to provide international dating services

between United States citizens or United States residents and foreign nationals and it charges comparable rates and offers comparable services to all individuals it serves regardless of the individual’s gender or country of

citizenship.

Link

That pretty much says it in black and white.