Lawful Permanent Resident
by paul on Feb.15, 2011, under Diary
|
|
The email from the atorney said “I am pleased to inform you that your … application was approved. Congratulations on becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).”. It’s been a very long wait, almost 10 years since we came to the USA, but worth it. No more worrying every time we want to go away on holiday whether we will be able to get back in to the country. Freedom to work wherever I want (not that I have any plans to move!). And the security of knowing that if anything happens to me, Donna won’t be kicked out of our new home. Now, five more years and we can apply for citizenship |
US Government Using Social Networks for Spying
by paul on Oct.21, 2010, under Computing
|
|
The Electronic Frontier Foundation warned this week that US government agencies are actively using social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace to spy on people. Agencies named include the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The EFF raised concerns that the breadth of the surveilance program was concerning, altough it did acknowledge that the DHS monitoring of social networks was appropriate, and that they were attempting to apply “Fair Information Practice Principles”. USCIS officers had apparently been instructed to “friend” citizenship petitioners and their beneficiaries on social networks in the hope that these users will (perhaps inadvertently) allow agents to monitor their activities for evidence of suspected fraud, including evidence that their relationships might not live up to the USCIS’ standard of a legitimate marriage. I have no objection to the general concept of law enforcement monitoring my activities in a public space – this is really no different from having police officiers walking down your street, but the ease with which the govementment can automatically monitor every public conversation on social networks is more than a little scary. I can’t wait for the day when Diaspora is mature enough to use, and I can take control back of my data. |
