Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 4.djvu/875

 PUBLIC LAW 104-208—SEPT. 30, 1996 110 STAT. 3009 -712 SEC. 652. MAIL -ORDER BRIDE BUSINESS. 8 USC 1375. (a) FINDINGS.— The Congress finds as follows: (1) There is a substantial "mail-order bride" business in the United States. With approximately 200 companies in the United States, an estimated 2,000 to 3,500 men in the United States find wives through mail-order bride catalogs each year. However, there are no official statistics available on the number of mail-order brides entering the United States each year. (2) The companies engaged in the mail-order bride business earn substantial profits. (3) Although many of these mail-order marriages work out, in many other cases, anecdotal evidence suggests that mail-order brides find themselves in abusive relationships. There is also evidence to suggest that a substantial number of mail-order marriages are fraudulent under United States law. (4) Many mail-order brides come to the United States unaware or ignorant of United States immigration law. Mailorder brides who are battered often think that if they flee an abusive marriage, they will be deported. Often the citizen spouse threatens to have them deported if they report the abuse. (5) The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that the rate of marriage fraud between foreign nationals and United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence is 8 percent. It is unclear what percentage of these marriage fraud cases originate as mail-order marriages. (b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.— (1) REQUIREMENT. —Each international matchmaking organization doing business in the United States shall disseminate to recruits, upon recruitment, such immigration and naturalization information as the Immigration and Naturalization Service deems appropriate, in the recruit's native language, including information regarding conditional permanent residence status and the battered spouse waiver under such status, permanent resident status, marriage fraud penalties, the unregulated nature of the business engaged in by such organizations, and the study required under subsection (c). (2) CIVIL PENALTY. — (A) VIOLATION.— Any international matchmaking organization that the Attorney General determines has violated subsection (b) shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties that may be prescribed by law, to a civil money penalty of not more than $20,000 for each such violation. (B) PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSITION OF PENALTY.— Any penalty under subparagraph (A) may be imposed only after notice and opportunity for an agency hearing on the record in accordance with sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States Code. (c) STUDY. —The Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization and the Director of the Violence Against Women Initiative of the Department of Justice, shall conduct a study of mail-order marriages to determine, among other things— (1) the number of such marriages;

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