By Paddy McCarthy
Well it’s a start with the restaurant’s and bar’s indoor dining that was officially allowed on September 30 with a capacity of only 25%, and you might ask 25% of what? For instance, your capacity is 60 patrons occupancy by law and believe me some of the smaller bars have only an occupancy of only 15 patrons… now you have to have a laugh at that, right? That is true believe me
Now the other side of the coin is if your capacity is 160 occupancy, then you can have only 40 patrons; now Mary and Joseph where do we go from there? Whoever came up with this rule has never drunk in his life or was never in a pub or a restaurant for that matter? No matter what you might hear I am going to tell you that the liquor business is one of the biggest tax revenues for big cities all over the world. I am the first to tell you to be safe, healthy and well in this pandemic and I am so sure everybody is doing the same. I keep on saying is to let the professional people in the bar and restaurant business to handle their patrons to the best of their ability, as they know what they are doing. The lockdowns are not helping from what we are told and it’s not just the USA having this problem, it is all over the world and the politicians should stop making it a political thing and all work together hand in hand and beat this thing. If you can’t stop criticizing each other to gain points then shame on you, let the medical people handle it as they are the professionals not the politicians.
Next we have a very important announcement from the Emerald Isle Immigration Center that will be welcome to a lot of ears and that is that the annual diversity visa lottery registration period opens once again on October 7 and runs until November 10 for those who are eligible to apply for a green card to reside permanently in the United States. Only entries submitted during this period will be accepted and considered for selection in the lottery. Applications will only be accepted online via the US Department of State official website at www.dvlottery.state.gov.
In recent years there has been an increase in online scams promising green cards or quicker service for a fee. EIIC’s Immigration Attorney and Director of Immigration Legal Services, John A. Stahl, Esq., urges those interested in applying to note that “[t]here is still no fee to apply and there is only one official website to register.” He advises individuals to ignore any email offers to help complete or expedite the application process. Please call either of their offices if you need assistance with your application.
The immigration legal services staff at the Center is once again appealing to potential applicants to apply early this year, cautioning that the official DV Lottery website can get frozen closer to the deadline of noon on Tuesday, November 10. If you are a member of a local group or organization and would like their staff to speak to your group on the DV Lottery in October or on any immigration topic at a future meeting, please contact John A. Stahl, Esq., Director of Immigration Legal Services and Immigration Attorney at (718) 478-5502, extension 201.
Check their website for additional information and upcoming public meeting dates at www.eiic.org.
Those selected in the random drawing are not notified of their selection by e-mail. Those individuals not selected will be notified of their non-selection through the web-based “entry status check.”
No fee is charged to enter the annual DV program. The US Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare submissions for applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the applicant’s discretion. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant.
The current immigration laws carry heavy penalties for visa overstays. Those who have overstayed their visa by 6 months, face a 3 year bar upon their departure from the United States, if they have overstayed for one year or more, they are subject to a 10 year bar. Successful lottery applicants who are undocumented in the US must be processed for a visa at a US Consulate abroad under existing immigration laws.
Departing the US will trigger the 3 or 10 year bars making them ineligible for a visa. Undocumented lottery winners with a relative petition or an employer labor certification pending before April 30, 2001, may be eligible to be interviewed in the United States under Section 245(i), provided they have not already triggered the 3/10 year bars by leaving the US. Inquiries may be made to the EIIC at their Woodside, Queens’s office at (718) 478-5502 or at their Woodlawn, Bronx office at (718) 324-3039 or again, on the EIIC website www.eiic.org.
Please join the IBO-NY Women’s Networking Committee for a reunion with IBO Global Member Tweeting Goddess Samantha Kelly via Zoom on Thursday, October 8, from noon to 1:30 pm.
Samantha will update attendees on what the Covid lockdown has been like for her family and online community. From reaching out to her Twitter followers about isolation and self-care, to walks along the Rosslare seaside in County Wexford, to taking her Women’s Inspire Network conference virtual — this social media maven has been sprinkling Twitter magic everywhere she goes and will share her latest with all of us!
See you all next week when I am hopefully Out&About again…