London Olympics 2012
After all the excitement and eagerness, I missed watching the opening ceremony. Unlike Olympics past, I really do not think we miss much when we miss an event because of the internet and social media. You need not even worry about getting the program recorded for later viewing. The London 2012 website and YouTube are just a couple of sites where you can catch up with all that you missed.
Twitter and Olympic Athletes
The 2012 Olympics has already seen the exit of 2 athletes (Voula Papachristou of Greece and Switzerland's Michel Morganella) because of their racist remarks on Twitter. People are so eager to share their thoughts with the world that they don't stop to think twice about how their words may affect themselves, others, or the world at large!
There are so many websites giving us all the information on the Olympics - right from the schedules for the various sporting events to the medal tally and even to information on the birthdays of athletes if they happen to fall on one of the days between July 27 and August 12. This being the case, I will keep further information about Olympics to myself. I will share if I feel strongly about something related to this major event.
Green Card Lottery
The US government runs the Diversity Visa Lottery Program each year between October and November during which time eligible applicants can file electronic applications for participation in the program. This program chooses 55,000 winners who will be welcome to apply for and get green cards. (A green card is proof of permanent resident status in the United States).
Over the years, the US Department of State has tweaked and made changes to the process for the lottery, especially about how winners are notified. Only winners are informed; others don't get to hear anything. Earlier, winners received mail notifications. Now, the only way participants can know whether they are winners or not is by checking their case status online on the official government site. To check their status they need to have their confirmation number which they would have received as soon as their electronic application was accepted online on the DV lottery site.
This lottery program has led to a lot of scamming by people and organizations out to make a quick buck. Earlier, people received letters saying they had won the lottery and asking them to pay a certain amount of money to further process their visas. The current trend is that scamsters cold call people and tell them they have won the lottery and ask them to send money for further processing of their applications.
The government has warned participants several times about such fraudulent activities. It continues to warn people to be aware of who they are communicating with. It is understandable that people are excited when they win anything, and a US green card can be a person's life mission! But they need to keep certain things in mind - the government does not send mails or e-mails, nor does it make calls to inform people about the status of their lottery entry. Participants need to check online for their case status. Also, the government does not ask for any fees to be sent anywhere. Winners will need to pay the fees in person only at the American consulates, where they go to for their visa interviews, to immigration officers.
...and More
I will be sharing more information on US visas. Look out for posts related to specific US visas. And do let me know which visa is of most interest to you.
After all the excitement and eagerness, I missed watching the opening ceremony. Unlike Olympics past, I really do not think we miss much when we miss an event because of the internet and social media. You need not even worry about getting the program recorded for later viewing. The London 2012 website and YouTube are just a couple of sites where you can catch up with all that you missed.
Twitter and Olympic Athletes
The 2012 Olympics has already seen the exit of 2 athletes (Voula Papachristou of Greece and Switzerland's Michel Morganella) because of their racist remarks on Twitter. People are so eager to share their thoughts with the world that they don't stop to think twice about how their words may affect themselves, others, or the world at large!
There are so many websites giving us all the information on the Olympics - right from the schedules for the various sporting events to the medal tally and even to information on the birthdays of athletes if they happen to fall on one of the days between July 27 and August 12. This being the case, I will keep further information about Olympics to myself. I will share if I feel strongly about something related to this major event.
Green Card Lottery
The US government runs the Diversity Visa Lottery Program each year between October and November during which time eligible applicants can file electronic applications for participation in the program. This program chooses 55,000 winners who will be welcome to apply for and get green cards. (A green card is proof of permanent resident status in the United States).
Over the years, the US Department of State has tweaked and made changes to the process for the lottery, especially about how winners are notified. Only winners are informed; others don't get to hear anything. Earlier, winners received mail notifications. Now, the only way participants can know whether they are winners or not is by checking their case status online on the official government site. To check their status they need to have their confirmation number which they would have received as soon as their electronic application was accepted online on the DV lottery site.
This lottery program has led to a lot of scamming by people and organizations out to make a quick buck. Earlier, people received letters saying they had won the lottery and asking them to pay a certain amount of money to further process their visas. The current trend is that scamsters cold call people and tell them they have won the lottery and ask them to send money for further processing of their applications.
The government has warned participants several times about such fraudulent activities. It continues to warn people to be aware of who they are communicating with. It is understandable that people are excited when they win anything, and a US green card can be a person's life mission! But they need to keep certain things in mind - the government does not send mails or e-mails, nor does it make calls to inform people about the status of their lottery entry. Participants need to check online for their case status. Also, the government does not ask for any fees to be sent anywhere. Winners will need to pay the fees in person only at the American consulates, where they go to for their visa interviews, to immigration officers.
...and More
I will be sharing more information on US visas. Look out for posts related to specific US visas. And do let me know which visa is of most interest to you.
This post first appeared on US Immigration And Citizenship Services, please read the originial post: here
