Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Visa Lottery
Everywhere I go these days I keep seeing signs for 'raffles' for US visas. To be entered you need to apply with your documents, a photo and a small fee. 'What a ridiculously obvious scam!' thought I... but actually it is not. Both the USA and Canada set up lotteries for visas in countries such as Peru (where everyone is absolutely gagging to get out and live somewhere more civilised). Why the dickens would they do that? I hear you say... Don't they have tides of the great unwashed applying for visas as it is? You would think so, but apparently the aim is to populate remote areas of the two vast countries, and to provide willing staff to work in factories that may be set up in such places. Erm, won't be setting up a scheme like that in the UK, then...
