Tag: lottery

Permanent Residency & The Green Card

Permanent Residency. Permanent residency is often referred to as having a Green Card. There are two primary categories of immigration: Immigrant status and Non-immigrant status. Immigrant status allows permanent residency in the United States. Non-immigrant status provides an authorization to aliens for temporary residency that expires upon the occurrence of a specific event.
A Permanent Resident is commonly referred to as a “Green Card” holder. Permanent residents have many rights which include the following:
The right to live in the United States permanently;
The right to reenter the United States after traveling out of the country abroad;
The right to apply for U.S. Citizenship after continuously living as a Permanent Resident in the United States for five (5) years
The right to employment in any work that is legal;
There are four main categories for green card permanent residency and even more subcategories under each main category. The main green card categories include Family Sponsored Immigration, Employment Immigration, DV Lottery, and Asylum and Refugee status.
Family Sponsored Immigration Green Card. Foreign family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents may qualify for an immigrant visa. However, the United States sets strict limitations on the number of immigrant visas allowed each year. The closer the relative is the higher that person falls on the priority scale for obtaining an immigrant visa. Immediate family members of U.S. citizens are given the highest priority. Foreign parents, children under the age of 18, and spouses fall outside of the quota system and usually qualify quickly for an immigrant visa. Extended family members of United States citizens and family members of permanent residents may also qualify. However, the waiting period may be much longer. In some cases, the wait for a visa may exceed 10 years. The priority list for family sponsored immigration is as follows: (1) F-1 – Unmarried Sons or Daughters of U.S. Citizens over the age of 21; (2) F2-A -Spouses and unmarried Children of Permanent Residents under the age of 21; (3) F2-B -Unmarried Sons or Daughters of Permanent Residents over the age of 21; (4) F-3 -Married Sons or Daughters of U.S. Citizens over the age of 21; (5) F-4 – Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens.
The relationship is only one criteria in determining preference. A second criteria includes the country of the relative’s origin. Economically poor countries such as China and India tend to have the longest waiting periods.
Employment Immigration Green Card. Aliens seeking permanent residency in the United States for employment purposes must fit into one of five categories. The first category is “Priority Workers” which includes Intra-Company Transferees of Managers and Executives, Outstanding Professors and Researchers and Aliens of Extraordinary Ability in the Sciences, Arts, Education, Business and Athletics. The second employment category is “Aliens of Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business” which includes Professionals with advanced degrees. The third category includes “Professionals with Bachelors Degrees not qualifying in the 2nd Preference, skilled workers, and unskilled workers in special needs professions. The fourth category is very narrow encompassing “Religious Workers” who are here to carrying out their religious mission. Finally, the last category is based on economic development and includes individuals who invest one million dollars ($1,000,000.00)in a new “commercial enterprise” or in a “troubled business” or those who invest Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in a “new commercial enterprise” or “troubled business” in a “targeted employment area.”
DV Lottery Green Card. 55,000 immigrant visas each year are available to those winning a Visa Lottery. The number of lottery visas are apportioned to countries that have fewer visa applicants. To apply, an immigrant must fill out a number of forms detailing their background with the INS. Each year lottery contestants are drawn and notified if they have won. A winning alien may make application for an immigrant visa.
Refugee/Asylum Status. Refugee and Asylum status allows foreigners fearing persecution to seek refugee status in this country. Foreigners outside of the United States may seek refugee status. Foreigners already in the United States may seek asylum to prevent deportation. After approval of Refugee or asylum status, the alien is allowed to enter or remain in the United States and may seek an adjustment of their status to one of permanent residency after one year.
For legal assistance Call (952) 746-2153.

Canadian Casinos – North Of The Border For Fun & Games

Gambling in Canada expanded in leaps and bounds during the 1990’s.

Canada now boasts 59 casinos and 70 racetrack/slots venues in 7 provinces and NWT.

Provincial governments oversee gaming in each of the participating provinces.

The legal gambling age is 19 years of age. I suggest you call ahead for casino hours and location.

All information is correct at time of writing, but may change.

Nova Scotia

Casino Nova Scotia operates two locations in Halifax, 1983 Upper Water St. on the waterfront-Purdy’s Wharf and Sydney.

Quebec

All casinos have a dress code (no jeans), and no gratuities are accepted.

Casino Montreal: 1, Avenue du Casino, Montreal in Parc Des Iles. Nuance – 5 star restaurant.

Casino de Hull: 1, Blvd. du Casino, Hull. Across the river from Ottawa, Canada’s capital city.

Ontario

Contact Ontario Casino Corp. 416-326-0076 for current updates.

Charity Casinos: Four locations. All use The Winners Circle players card.

Brantford: 40 Icomm Drive, Brantford. Located 55 miles southwest of Toronto in downtown Brantford, ON. This celestial themed casino has a gift shop, a liquor license, Meteor Bar lounge and dining at the Cosmic Diner cafeteria. Open 24 hours.

Thunder Bay: 50 Cumberland St. S., Thunder Bay. Location: On the north shore of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay, ON. The area is rich in the history of mining, marine and fur trading. A sea faring themed casino of more than 14,000 square feet.

Point Edward: 2000 Venetian Blvd., Point Edward. Location: Ten blocks from Sarnia, Ont. near the Bluewater Bridge on the St. Clair River. Indoor sights of a ship’s hull, saltwater aquarium and glass bridge add to this nautical themed casino.

Casino Sault Ste. Marie: 30 Bay St. W., Sault Ste. Marie. Location: Northern Ontario approx. 400 miles north of Toronto. Great hunting and fishing in this area.

Eighteen racetracks have placed more than 9000 slots as per the provincial plan in partnership with the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Commission.

Manitoba

VLT’s available in many bars throughout Manitoba. Two of the best are:

Club Regent: 1425 Regent W., Winnipeg.
McPhillips Stn.: 484 McPhillips St., Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan

Casino Regina: Union Station, 1880 Saskatchewan Dr. is this province’s premiere casino.

Alberta

Casinos offer regular slots rather than VLT’s.

Edmonton is Canada’s fastest growing gaming city, and Casino Yellowhead is its jewel.

Home to the world’s largest shopping/entertainment complex – West Edmonton Mall.

Casino Yellowhead: Yellow Head Trail at 153rd St. located in the West Edmonton Mall.

At 73,500 sq. ft, Yellowhead is the largest casino in western Canada.

British Columbia

Great Canadian Casinos operates several casinos in BC.

Most locations offer these table games: Blackjack, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Red Dog, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud Poker, Sic Bo, Texas Hold ‘Em, Seven-Card Stud Poker and slots.

Each casino is centrally located in large municipalities and offers currency exchange,food and beverage service, wheel chair accessibility and nearby public transportation.

Western Canada Lottery Corporation works in conjunction with the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and territory of Yukon and Sport North Lottery Authority.

There are no taxes paid on lottery or casino winnings in Canada.

Being Canadian and born in Toronto, the research for this information was a labour (Canadian spelling) of love.

When Selling A Property, Who Is Responsible For The Property Taxes

When you are selling a property and it is in the middle of a property tax year, the seller is responsible for the property taxes up to the day of closing after which time the remaining tax is due by the buyer. Now some people are very unaware of this fact when they close on a property and usually find out at the closing. The seller will bring a check along for their part of the taxes and the seller’s mortgage company receives the check, which is deposited in the buyer’s escrow account. This however is only one option presented for coving split property taxes.

Many times the seller’s mortgage company will keep the funds and send it directly to the property tax office at the appropriate time of year. This rare of course, but has been done in the past. It all depends on the new mortgage company for the buyer and the mortgage company for the seller. The proper way many believe is to give the monies to the buyer’s mortgage lender and have them send the check to the property tax office by passing the intermediary, which is the buyer. This ensures the buyer’s mortgage lender that the money is indeed going for the property taxes.

You might wonder how they divide up property taxes and for a year. The mortgage lender of the seller will take the total property taxes owed from the past year and divide this by twelve months. After finding a monthly amount owed every month, they then will divide the number of days in the month of the closing that the buyer had the property in their name by the monthly amount. This will give a prorated property tax amount owed by the seller. The same is done to calculate the remainder of the months for the buyer.

Who Receives The Lottery Credit If There Is One

The lottery credit is usually awarded to the buyer. If the lottery credit is smaller than the previous year, you may have to add some money to your escrow account to pay the property taxes. If the lottery credit is smaller, you may see a small refund coming your way. This amount however is never very much, it could be as high as fifty dollars or as low as five dollars that you would owe or receive a refund for unless there are other circumstances you are unaware of with the taxes.

You never have to worry about the property taxes when a property change takes place, the mortgage lenders would not allow the seller to forget about their share. There are officers of the mortgage company that have special jobs and one is the property tax issues and insurance as well.

Your first year of property taxes is always your best, it can change after that, especially if they raise your taxes after a sale of the property and you are not escrowing enough money to cover the raise. Your mortgage company made alter your monthly payment to cover this issue.

When Selling A Property

When you are selling a property and it is in the middle of a property tax year, the seller is responsible for the property taxes up to the day of closing after which time the remaining tax is due by the buyer. Now some people are very unaware of this fact when they close on a property and usually find out at the closing. The seller will bring a check along for their part of the taxes and the seller’s mortgage company receives the check, which is deposited in the buyer’s escrow account. This however is only one option presented for coving split property taxes.

Many times the seller’s mortgage company will keep the funds and send it directly to the property tax office at the appropriate time of year. This rare of course, but has been done in the past. It all depends on the new mortgage company for the buyer and the mortgage company for the seller. The proper way many believe is to give the monies to the buyer’s mortgage lender and have them send the check to the property tax office by passing the intermediary, which is the buyer. This ensures the buyer’s mortgage lender that the money is indeed going for the property taxes.

You might wonder how they divide up property taxes and for a year. The mortgage lender of the seller will take the total property taxes owed from the past year and divide this by twelve months. After finding a monthly amount owed every month, they then will divide the number of days in the month of the closing that the buyer had the property in their name by the monthly amount. This will give a prorated property tax amount owed by the seller. The same is done to calculate the remainder of the months for the buyer.

Who Receives The Lottery Credit If There Is One

The lottery credit is usually awarded to the buyer. If the lottery credit is smaller than the previous year, you may have to add some money to your escrow account to pay the property taxes. If the lottery credit is smaller, you may see a small refund coming your way. This amount however is never very much, it could be as high as fifty dollars or as low as five dollars that you would owe or receive a refund for unless there are other circumstances you are unaware of with the taxes.

You never have to worry about the property taxes when a property change takes place, the mortgage lenders would not allow the seller to forget about their share. There are officers of the mortgage company that have special jobs and one is the property tax issues and insurance as well.

Your first year of property taxes is always your best, it can change after that, especially if they raise your taxes after a sale of the property and you are not escrowing enough money to cover the raise. Your mortgage company made alter your monthly payment to cover this issue.

Premium Bond and ERNIE

Premium bonds are bonds that do not pay interest. They do something much better. You purchase premium bonds and let it sit just like in a savings account. Each month there is a lottery and if your bond number is picked, then you have a chance to win over a million dollars. Over one and a half million cash prizes are given away each month and if your bond number is picked, you win from fifty British pounds to well over a million pounds. The great thing is if you do not want to participate in the program anymore you can take back your money like it was never invested at all. This program is so popular that over a third of the population of Great Britain participates in it.

Unlike the American lottery system where numbers are picked randomly from ping pong balls, Great Britain uses ERNIE to generate numbers from premium bonds. ERNIE is a random number generator hardware system and has been around since 1957. ERNIE first generated the bond numbers by picking up on signal noise from a bank of neon tubes. It was the size of a mini van and could only generate about 2000 numbers an hour. The first number generator lasted almost seventeen years and was replaced by an updated version in 1972.

The computer age came to age in the eighties and in 1988 ERNIE 3 was invented. The generator was about the size of a personal computer but ran at no where near the speed personal computers run today. It took ERNIE 3 almost six hours to generate the numbers for the monthly lottery. ERNIE 4 is being used today and it came of age in 2004. Working at speeds five hundred times as fast as the original model, ERNIE 4 uses thermal noise instead of the noise from neon lights. It can compute over a million numbers and hour

Once the numbers are generated, a staff of hundreds validates the generated numbers with real bond numbers that the numbers match. Once matched, prizes are allotted to the public. The machine is checked over monthly to ensure proper validation and to keep the system honest. With over a million and a half winners monthly, the machine keeps every thing running smoothly. The investments pay off as winners are awarded their prizes depending on the order that their premium bond number was generated.

ERNIE is so popular in Great Britain that the machine actually receives cards on holidays such as Christmas. Jethro Tull, a poetic singer and song writer even wrote mentions ERNIE in his song, “Thick as a Brick.” The magic of ERNIE and the thrill of lottery and a chance to win a million has the majority of the population of Britain investing more and more. The idea that your money can earn more than a mere one or two percent that savings accounts earn has the British public flocking to the bank to let ERNIE make them a million.

Need To Reduce Debt? Consider A Home Equity Loan

Now that we’re over half way through our first decade of the new millennium, it is interesting to look back and see how our attitude to debt has changed. It seemed that many of us had an invincible view towards our debt, brushing it under the carpet, extending our credit line further and secretly hoping that our numbers would come up on the Lotto.
Now that we’re all a little older with perhaps more responsibilities, we’ve decided that it is hard time we addressed the little problem of our credit card debt, head on. One of the most affective ways to do this is by taking out a home equity loan. In many cases, the equity in our home represents the only form of savings we have. It is important to reduce debt as quickly as possible in order to start saving money.
It is always good advice to shop around when looking for a home equity loan; this is because lenders will have different criteria. Some lenders are only in the poor credit home equity loan business as this allows them to charge more interest on the loan, while other lenders are more interested in the quality of the equity at stake.
A very good piece of advice when you have completed your home equity loan is to cut up or close the credit cards that contributed to your high debt. The worst possible situation is for you to start using the credit cards again. If you think you are at risk of doing this, cut them up immediately, your house is now at risk.

Law of Attraction – How to be a Money Sucking Magnet

You are about to discover one of the important steps to allowing the law of attraction to bring you riches beyond your wildest desires.

One of the biggest flaws that most people make in their desire to attract more money into their lives is their inability to be flexible about the way in which money enters their lives.

Perhaps you are one of the people who have discovered the law of attraction and you may be wondering how you can increase your finances. Maybe you are duped into believing that you can wish away and make millions on the lottery.

It isn’t that you couldn’t win the lottery it is just that you are missing one most vital tool to doing so and that is the power behind the intention. This of course is a secret few people realize and so people flounder with their manifesting techniques.

It is surprising just how many educated and seemingly intelligent people spend most of their time dreaming up a win in the lottery. There is nothing wrong in dreaming of winning the lottery. However what is limiting about that focus of ones energy is how limited it can make a person.

People who are discovering the law of attraction do not open themselves to the many possible ways in which money can enter their lives.

People have forgotten that life is a school for greater learning of the soul and if you allowed yourself to become inactive and lazy you would surely miss the many wonderful schools of teachings.

There are many lessons which the universe has to teach you about your very own self and that can only be done though your interaction with others. The dynamic flow between others is far more rewarding and it is also the true secret essence to amassing money and great wealth.

Did you get that secret? Did you hear it or did you fly pass it?

True money attraction requires that you be open to the magic right around the corner and it starts with the exchange of your talents and abilities to give and nurture the lives of others. You can start where you are at your job. You can begin to interact with the boss in a certain way and that way will bring you money beyond what you have previously experienced.

You do have the power to manipulate money as long as you understand the energy that goes with money.

Discover the advanced techniques to spinning money out of thin air using the law of attraction. Discover just how you can attract wealth exactly where you are.

Different Gambling Arenas For People At Different Income Levels

Everybody is trying to get more money, keep more of the money they have, and, at the very least, pile a little up for retirement. But lower income, middle income, and upper income groups have a different approach to multiply their money. Casino patrons visit in order to quickly turn a tiny amount of money into a large amount of money. People from every economic level visit casinos, for most people it is short-lived entertainment. When it comes to getting more serious about an ongoing way to make a little money into a lot of money, most people do their gambling in three other arenas.

You want the big money right now, so why wait? Buy a lottery ticket today and find out the result tonight. This is the first gambling arena that people frequent to try to end their money troubles. People earning under $100,000 are 2.5 times more likely to frequently buy lottery tickets as people that earn more than $100,000. No big surprise here, middle to low income earners find lottery tickets a cheap and easy way to hit big money on the way home from work. This is not a form of gambling that I would recommend as your chances of winning have been equated to being struck by lightning 25 times.

Only half of the American population has ever tried their hand at the next gambling arena: the stock market or mutual funds. You might have a retirement account with a couple mutual funds, or you could be trading in and out of stocks every few days. But this is where middle income earners go to gamble and try to get rich. The average stock portfolio is a whopping $34,300. Any stockbroker will tell you that if you are lucky and have 50 years, you may be able to own a portfolio worth a million dollars. When there is a sharp increase in the stock market, the amateurs rush in and try to make it a profession; but get financially hurt in the end. In the late 1990’s it was day-trading. I personally know successful short-term traders, but 97% of them quit after losing most/all of their trading account in a short amount of time. This is not a gambling arena that I’d recommend to build your wealth: whether short-term or long-term stock investing. (The high income earners have an extra flavor of this type of investment called a hedge fund, but these funds offer a few spectacular gains but more frequent financial implosions.)

People in the high income bracket have two gambling arenas that they employ to get richer: real estate and private placement memorandums. The beauty of investment real estate is that it can lower your taxes by taking a deduction for depreciation. This feature is not available to lottery tickets, slot machines, or mutual funds. In this gambling arena, there is land development, residential rentals, apartments, and commercial property of various types. The high income earners buy properties with a high monthly income, reduce their taxes with its depreciation, and hope for a large rise in the property value over time. But as I said before, when there is a price run-up, the amateurs rush in and ultimately get financially hurt. In 2002-2005, the rage caught on in preconstruction condominiums (the cheapest way to get into real estate). The term “flipping condos” became prevalent and masses of beginning investors have lost a lot of money because they weren’t educated about real estate investing. But professionals in the industry continue to earn money because they buy based upon monthly income, and speculative gains are just the extra icing for the investment. The second casino that high income earners use is PPM’s (private placement memorandums). These are investments that are illegal for people earning under $200,000, or have a net worth under $1 million. (The government only wants sophisticated investors who can afford to lose their money entering these unregulated investments.) These investments are normally created by small business owners that need more money to expand, so they are offering part of the ownership of their company with a higher than average rate of return. Conservative real estate offer the best odds of success for any of the gambling arenas; and then when you have built up enough money, you can begin with some conservative PPM’s.

Where do you want to focus your ‘getting richer’ effort? There is no risk free path to follow, but maybe this will help you decide: What is the probability that you will successfully pick the winning lottery numbers today? The joke you’ll hear is that “losing money on lottery tickets is a tax on the mathematically challenged.” What is the probability that you’ll buy the stock of a runaway company before the professionals run the price up? What is the probability that you can find a valuable real estate transaction? It is my opinion that educating yourself about real estate offers the best chance for sharply increasing your financial fortune.

[There is one more popular gambling arena available to people with internet/computer/technical skills, and that is joining a start-up company that is eventually taken public. The odds of success are only 7 times better than the lottery, about 1 in 6 million.]

Scams: How to identify and avoid – List of the most known ,including Ebay Scams

Telephone lottery scams: These include the Canadian lottery scam and the El Gordo Spanish lottery scam, which deceptively uses the name of a genuine lottery. People respond to an unsolicited mailing or telephone call telling them they are being entered into a prize draw. They then receive a telephone call congratulating them on winning a big prize in a national lottery – but before they can claim their winnings, they must send money to pay for taxes and processing fees. The prize doesn’t exist.

Prize draw, sweepstakes and foreign lottery mailings: many typical scams take the form of prize draws, lotteries or government payouts. Most appear to be notification of a prize in an overseas draw or lottery in return for administration or registration fees.

Premium rate telephone number scams: Notification by post of a win in a sweepstake or a holiday offer includes instructions to ring a premium rate 090 number to claim your prize.

Investment related scams: An unsolicited telephone call offering the opportunity to invest in shares, fine wine, gemstones or other soon-to-be rare commodities. These investments often carry very high risk and may be worth a lot less than you pay. The shares are not quoted on any stock exchange and you will not be able to sell them easily afterwards. ‘Solid’ valuable investments, such as gem stones, are often said to be stored in secretive Swiss bank vaults, so you can never see your investment.

Nigerian advance fee frauds: THE MOST KNOWN SCAM. An offer via letter, e-mail or fax to share a huge sum of money in return for using the recipient’s bank account to permit the transfer of the money out of the country. The perpetrators will either use the information given to empty their victim’s bank account; or convince him or her that money is needed up front for bribing officials. Pyramid schemes: offer a return on a financial investment based upon the number of new recruits to the scheme. Investors are misled about the likely returns as there are not enough people to support the scheme indefinitely – only the people who set up the scheme are able to make any money.

Matrix schemes: are promoted via web sites offering expensive hi-tech gadgets as free gifts in return for spending £20 or similar on a low-value product such as a mobile telephone signal booster. Consumers who buy the product join a waiting list to receive their free gift. The person at the top of the list gets their free gift only after a prescribed number – sometimes as high as 100 – of new members join up. In reality, the majority of those on the list will never receive the expensive item they expect.

Credit scams: another advance fee fraud, originating in Canada. Advertisements have appeared in local newspapers offering fast loans regardless of credit history. Consumers who respond are told their loans have been agreed but before the money can be released they must pay a fee to cover insurance. Once the advance fee is paid, the consumer never hears from the company again and the loan never appears.

Property investment schemes: would-be investors attend a free presentation and are persuaded to hand over thousands of pounds to sign up to a course promising to teach them how to make money dealing in property. Schemes may involve the opportunity to buy properties which have yet to be built at a discount. A variation is a buy-to-let scheme where companies offer to source, renovate and manage properties, claiming good returns from rental income. In practice, the properties are near-derelict and the tenants non-existent.

Work-at-home and business opportunity scams: often work by advertising paid work from home but which require money up-front to pay for materials; or by requiring investment in a business with little or no chance of success.

Ebay Scams/PaypalBank scams

1. You can receive an email from “your” bank or paypal asking you to log in in order to..(say verify something) the page you are redirected is actually a phishing page and all the information,including your account passwords will be stolen. DO NOT EVER trust any emails like this. If in doubt,call your bank or go directly to the website(eg. www.ebay.com) and inter your account details there.

2. EBay scams may involve people trying to buy goods from you with money order,where they pay you with fraudulent bill. You sent the goods,thinking your bank will clear this up,but it would not…. Always wait until the money are cleared by your bank,before sending stuff. Sometimes they use their own shipping company.

3. Ebay scam which is also popular involves stealing someone elsese account(by the means of #1,etc). Then they post an item for sale for a price you can’t resist. When you purchase it, they will ask you to pay,using money order or similar service. They can also set up a fake escrow service. Beware.

Use commone sense for every purchase. If it’s too good to be true- IT IS. No free cheese in this world other than for your pets 🙂

Los Angeles Dentist

I do not like dentists offices. Lets put it this way, I will not choose it over a stroll in the park, or even a wrestler’s den if you ask me. Be it squeamishness or plain fear, los angeles dentists have never been in my Fave 5 lists.

My daughter of course thinks otherwise. All of eleven years old, peer pressure and television factor has made sure that looks are more important that fear and pain, and she nonchalantly announced that she wants to visit the dentist for orthodontist treatment, no less. So off we went in search of a suitable los angeles cosmetic dentist.

Whether you look for a Encino cosmetic dentistry or a Van Nuys orthodontist, there is one thing in common – high prices. However, years of competition and a large number of doctors have contributed to a downward pressure, but the fact remains that there are a few dentists who are a league out of the ordinary. Nowadays the accent is on high quality and a few dentists are so busy that getting appoinments seem to be a lotto pick.

We finally decided on an Encino dentist focusing on orthodontic treatment. We have gone through our first round of visiting and talking to the doctor. My daughter is excited, actually I also have a grudging compliment. Who know, better late than never, I can get around visiting the doctor sometime. But not too soon, though…

To be continued….