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Many people dream of going to live and work in Australia. And many people live the dream. In the year ending on 30th June 2011, net overseas migration into Australia was calculated by the Australian government at about 170,000 people.
If the Republicans win the US elections held on 6th November 2012, then this could be the last ever Green Card Lottery. The Republicans plan legislation that would abolish it.
A United States Permanent Resident Card is better known as a 'green card'. Possessors of a green card can live and work in the US for the rest of their lives. After five years of permanent residence in the US, a green card holder can apply for US citizenship.
In the second of the US presidential debates, held yesterday, 16th October 2012 at Hofstra University, New York State, President Obama and the Republican challenger for the presidency, Mitt Romney, clashed on immigration in a bad tempered debate.
The first mention of immigration came when, in answer to a question about President Obama's record over the last four years, Mr Romney, the governor of New Hampshire, criticised the president for his failure to introduce comprehensive immigration reform, as he had promised to do during the last presidential campaign in 2008.
The Indian born peer, Lord Bilimoria, the founder of the Cobra Beer company, has criticised the UK government over its immigration policy, according to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, a Yorkshire newspaper.
Lord Bilimoria was speaking at a charity dinner in Bradford organised by Mohammed Aslam, the founder of the Aagrah Group. The Aagrah Group runs 15 restaurants and sells a range of Indian style sauces in Asda and Tesco.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has reported that it has made eight arrests in London as part of a major investigation of a suspected visa fraud ring.
UKBA investigators along with officers seconded from the Metropolitan Police carried out raids on five houses in Harrow, Brent, Southall, Hayes and Kilburn and four business premises in Harrow and Park Royal. Eight people were arrested. Two of the business addresses were the offices of immigration advisory firms.
In 2010, the UK's new Coalition government promised to cut immigration into the UK from around 260,000 a year to below 100,000 a year by 2015. To that end, it introduced a cap on the number of Tier 2 (General) visas that could be granted in any one year.