Title 8 › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - IMMIGRATION › Part Part IX— - Miscellaneous › § 1375a
Requires the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to make a simple pamphlet for immigrant victims about their rights and where to get help. The pamphlet must explain the K visa and marriage-based immigration steps, say that domestic violence and sexual assault are crimes in the United States, list help services (like national hotlines), describe legal rights (including protection orders), explain child support and marriage-fraud penalties, and warn that U.S. petitioners may have violent histories that are not always in records. The agencies must consult victim groups when making it. The pamphlet must be translated into at least 14 languages (chosen every 2 years, including languages such as Russian and Spanish), be mailed to every K visa applicant with their application packet, be available at consulates and on State and DHS websites, and be given to international marriage brokers and advocacy groups. Consular officers must give applicants the pamphlet in the applicant’s main language, explain it orally, tell them about any protection orders or criminal records the government has on the petitioner, ask whether an international marriage broker was used, and confirm the broker gave required information. Victim names and contact details must not be given to applicants—only the victim’s relationship to the petitioner. International marriage brokers must not share contact details or photos of anyone under 18. They must check the National Sex Offender Public Website, collect and keep signed background information and proof of age, give copies of records and the pamphlet to the foreign client in that client’s language, and get the foreign client’s written consent before releasing that client’s contact details to a specific U.S. client. Brokers may only give a foreign client’s contact information to the named U.S. client. Violations carry civil fines of $5,000 to $25,000 per violation and possible criminal penalties (up to 1 year in most cases, or up to 5 years for knowing violations). The Attorney General enforces the rules and consults the Office on Violence Against Women. The Comptroller General must study the law’s effects and report within 2 years after January 5, 2006 and again within 2 years after March 7, 2013. Definitions in the law include: crime of violence, domestic violence, foreign national client (a non‑U.S. person using a broker), international marriage broker (a business that arranges international matches), K nonimmigrant visa, personal contact information, representative, and United States client (a U.S. person who pays for broker services).
Full Legal Text
Aliens and Nationality — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
8 U.S.C. § 1375a
Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73