‘Potential Irish immigrants should be wary of Green Card scams’ – McGinn
Sinn Fein Newry and Mourne Councillor Pat Mc Ginn has warned potential Irish immigrants to beware of Green Card Scams.
The elected representative, who has had a lengthy involvement in the campaign to highlight the plight of the “undocumented Irish” in the USA, was echoing the warning issued by the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres (CIIC) about the scams.
McGinn explained to Newry Times,
“The US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Opened for Applications on the 5th of October. The DV program is congressionally mandated and allows up to 55,000 persons from nations that are historically under-represented in terms of migration to the United States to qualify each year for immigrant visas.
“The randomly selected Visa winners are then given the opportunity to gain permanent residency status by obtaining a green card. The submission period for DV-2014 applications began on 2nd October 2012 and will continue until November 3, 2012.”
He continued, “It is important to note that applications for the DV Lottery can only be submitted via the US Department of State website, at the following link: https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, and that there is no charge for submitting a DV application.”
“Potential applicants should read instructions and follow directions carefully, and be aware that the Department of State does not notify successful applicants via letter or email, but that applicants must check the status of their application online at the US Department of State website.”
McGinn added, “The Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers have pointed out that there are a number of fraudulent websites and companies trying to take advantage of immigrants who wish to participate in the DV Lottery for monetary gain.
“It is important that applicants understand that submissions can only be made via the US Department of State website, and that there is no cost associated with the process. The Department of State has all the pertinent information regarding the lottery outlined on their website, and applicants should use this site as their reference.
“If people have questions, they can always contact their regional Irish Centers for assistance”.
A listing of regional Irish Immigration Centers can be found at the following link: http://www.ciic-usa.org/whoweare_findcenter.html
Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=23615
Posted by Newry Times News
on Oct 9 2012. Filed under Community.
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