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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Time to end the diversity visa lottery program as scammers feast on it like vultures

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Time to end the diversity visa lottery program as scammers feast on it like vultures

Posted on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 04:28 PM

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Republicans have sent a bill to the House floor looking to end the diversity visa program which allows 50,000 immigrants a year to enter the country through a lottery system.

I hope it passes and in the US Senate too.

The diversity visas, known as the Schumer visas after Senator Charles Schumer, originally started out as a visa system to help more Irish come legally to America after they were frozen out by the 1965 immigration act.

Nowadays only about 200 Irish a year win the lottery and the rest come from countries with far large populations who have far more candidates entered.

I believe the Diversity Visa days should be numbered.

Just this week an employee in my own office, here on a one year working visa, thought she'd won when a cleverly forged e mail, purporting to be from the State Department, claimed she was a winner.

Sending the check to process the visa was, of course, the next step.

She's a pretty sophisticated woman and she figured it out.

However, I can only imagine the tragic joy of thousands from far less sophisticated parts of the world, when they find out they think they have won the visa lottery from such vultures only to later find out they had not.

They will send thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars to such scammers, money none can afford

Year round now there are scam artists all over the world targeting people desperately hoping to come to America. This has become a major industry now and it is time to wipe it out.

The visas should be reallocated to a points system where those most needed in the US could be able to gain admittance and where scamming cannot occur.

Senator Schumer meant well and the visa worked for years, but now there is such a flood of illegal activity surrounding it that it is time to call a halt.

The Diversity Visa no longer works.

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mccarthy305 | Jul 25, 2011, 01:38 PM EDT

what a scam

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Phaenius | Jul 25, 2011, 01:33 PM EDT

Notice your name is Niall. This happens to have been the son of Phaenius Farsaidh, the Scythian King who ruled over the Canaanites, and gave them, according to Irish legend, the Aleph Beth, which the even the Hebrews used when they came in and took on the language and aleph beth of the Canaanites. Nial was a second son of Phaenius who married an Egyptian princiss by the name of Scota, the first of two Egyptian ladies named Scota found in the Milesian Irish lineage. He must have done some wonders because the non-Egyptian name for the river in Egypt was supposed to have been named after him, the Nial River of Egypt.

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themurphia | Jul 25, 2011, 12:34 PM EDT

Decison of Parole commissioners on compassioante release for Mr Lillis said to be 'imminent'... apologies again for posting off topic...

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Babsy1989 | Jul 25, 2011, 08:25 AM EDT

Nooooo dont end it!! its the only way I can possibly come to the USA!! . I plan on entering it this year please dont end it! sheesh im screwed now if this bill passes:( . Make a visa program strictly for the Irish if it was orginally ment for the irish .!

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Tariqullah | Jul 24, 2011, 10:18 AM EDT

its intrested story

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themurphia | Jul 24, 2011, 07:58 AM EDT

Irish Journalists on twitter are similarly ignoring requests to highlight the campaign...apologies for typos in post below...!

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themurphia | Jul 24, 2011, 07:56 AM EDT

I apologise for going off topic here...the mainstream Irish media is not reporting the Brendan Lillis campaign...No surprise there..It is obvious that the Justice Minister is not going to exercise his discretion in favour of Mr Lillis...the Campaign/ers should take the matter to the SoS Owen Patterson...The UK press is camped out on College Green opposite the Palace of Wesminister every day...a protest before the worlds press might foucs some minds on the subject...Perhaps Mary Robinson UN Human Rights ambassador would like to do something about the Human Rights abuses taking place on her own turf...just a wee thought.

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Pittsburghkid | Jul 24, 2011, 01:23 AM EDT

Obama will veto it.

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longislander1940 | Jul 23, 2011, 02:34 PM EDT

I guess Schumer thought it would get him some votes. Now we have to pay for all the third world people that collect welfare and medicade.

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Springfield9 | Jul 23, 2011, 12:32 PM EDT

GET RID OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You want a VISA? SHow us a College Degree.

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