The International Marriage Brokers Act (IMBRA) requires that the U.S. government provide information to foreign fiancees concerning domestic violence issues before immigrating to the U.S.

Now, after several years, the State Department has published a good set of instructions regarding the rights of foreigners in the U.S. Essentially, the concern is that a foreigner who is new to the U.S. will feel insular and isolated, vulnerable. Often, women who are abused are afraid to seek help that is readily available in communities.

According to IMBRA, for profit dating agencies must screen U.S. citizens looking for criminal backgrounds before revealing the contact information about foreigners to U.S. citizens. For those who have criminal convictions, the foreigner must receive a copy of the U.S. citizen criminal records as part of immigration processing so she is fully aware when deciding to immigrate. At the same time, the U.S. government has an obligation to inform foreigners of their rights against domestic violence prior to visa issuance. Now, the U.S. government has published a very thorough set of instructions to help foreign victims get to safety when the need arises. Here are those instructions: IMBRA Pamphlet PDF