Title 8 › Chapter 12— IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter II— IMMIGRATION › Part IX— Miscellaneous › § 1375a
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to make a simple pamphlet and short summaries that explain legal rights and help for immigrant victims of domestic violence. The pamphlet must cover K (fiancé(e)/spouse) visa rules, that domestic violence and child abuse are illegal, where to get help (hotlines and local services), legal rights in immigration, criminal, and family matters, child support, marriage fraud, and warnings about possible criminal histories of U.S. petitioners. The pamphlet must be translated into at least 14 languages (chosen every 2 years), mailed to every K visa applicant with the visa packet and any criminal or protection-order checks the government has, posted at consulates and on State and DHS websites, given at interviews in the applicant’s primary language with an oral summary, and shared with international marriage brokers and advocacy groups. Consular officers must ask if a broker helped and confirm the broker gave required materials. Names or contact details of victims under protection orders cannot be given to applicants, only the victim’s relationship to the petitioner. An international marriage broker must not share contact information for anyone under 18, must verify and keep proof of age for 7 years, must search the National Sex Offender Public Website, and must collect and give foreign clients certified background information about the U.S. client (criminal history, protection orders, marital history, children’s ages, places lived) and the pamphlet in the client’s language before releasing the foreign client’s contact details. Brokers may only give a foreign client’s contact information to the specific U.S. client who agreed in writing. Violations carry civil fines of $5,000 to $25,000 per violation and possible criminal fines or jail (up to 1 year, or up to 5 years for certain knowing violations). The Attorney General enforces these rules. Key dates: the pamphlet had to be available within 120 days after January 5, 2006; enforcement rules took effect 60 days after January 5, 2006; and the pamphlet’s distribution requirement begins 30 days after its creation. The Comptroller General must study and report on the law’s effects, with reports due within 2 years after January 5, 2006, and within 2 years after March 7, 2013. Defined terms (one line each): “crime of violence” and “domestic violence” — refer to federal definitions; “foreign national client” — a non‑U.S. person who uses a broker; “international marriage broker” — a paid service that connects U.S. people and foreign nationals; “K nonimmigrant visa” — fiancé(e)/spouse visa; “personal contact information” — details that let people contact each other; “representative” — someone acting for a broker; “United States client” — a U.S. person who uses and pays a broker; “State” and “United States” — include the listed territories.
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 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60