Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

374 Dorchen A. Leidholdt
such as swinging and anal sex, that their previous female partners had refused.
When the internet brides also refused, they were raped; when they fled, the men
pursued new “brides” over the internet.
When internet marriages turn violent, victims need the same kinds of
protection as other battered women. Explore with your client the possibility of
calling the police to initiate a criminal prosecution and obtain a criminal order
of protection. Also discuss with her the advantages and disadvantages of filing
for a civil order of protection in family court or as part of the interim relief in a
matrimonial action.
Like women and girls who have been prostituted, victims of the internet
bride trade are often subjected to misogynistic stereotypes. The popular media
and commercial movies have portrayed the internet bride as a gold-digging
“Natasha,” in pursuit of a green card, who preys on vulnerable, lovelorn
American men. Interviews with victims represented by Sanctuary for Famlies
reveal that the women, several of whom came with their children, genuinely
hoped for warm, loving, and supportive husbands with whom they could build
families. Their new husbands, by contrast, were often sex industry consumers;
several were substance abusers or mentally ill. Often the men portrayed a falsely
wholesome and affluent picture of their lives in the United States that induced
their victims to give up apartments and jobs in their home countries. Soon after
they arrived, the women were confronted with a depressing and violent reality
— along with threats that unless they complied with all of their husband-to-be’s
demands they would be forever undocumented and subject to deportation.
You should be prepared to confront the derogatory stereotypes of internet
brides and educate the court and any other key players in your case about the
reality of your client’s situation. Unless challenged, these stereotypes will undercut
your client’s credibility and increase the difficulty of persuading authorities to
pursue appropriate action, such as prosecuting her American husband for marital
rape or granting her immigration protection.
Even when their husbands refuse to serve as their immigration sponsors,
internet brides are likely to be eligible for immigration law relief. Women who
can establish that they married their American husbands in good faith and were
subjected to battering or extreme cruelty are usually eligible either to apply for
battered spouse waivers or to self-petition under the Violence Against Women
Act. Internet brides subjected by their husbands to forced labor or sexual
exploitation through fraud, force, or coercion may be able to establish the
requirements of “severe trafficking” under the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act. If they are willing to cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of a