For great family entertainment in North America (with a healthy dose of education), SeaWorld Orlando is hard to beat. Along with all the animal exhibits, SeaWorld also has a number of rides to keep children thoroughly entertained.

With whales, dolphins, sharks, walruses, penguins, polar bears and more, there are plenty of fascinating creatures to marvel at. Many of these animals also perform in SeaWorld’s numerous live shows. Dolphins combine with human acrobats to dazzle the crowds, and even the park’s killer whales are trained to entertain. Two sea lions also perform a comical show in the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium. Frequent special shows are announced, ensuring that there is always something new to see.

Once all of the animal attractions have been seen, SeaWorld’s roller coasters provide further entertainment. Kraken is the park’s showcase ride, a high-speed floorless roller coaster. Journey to Atlantis is a boat ride which also features roller coaster elements. For younger children, Shamu Express (a junior roller coaster) and various teacup rides are ideal. The 400-foot tall Sky Tower, meanwhile, provides some spectacular views of the park and its surrounding area.

If left with time to spare after visiting SeaWorld, both the Aquatica water park and Discovery Cove are located nearby. Both have similar themes but provide a unique experience. SeaWorld Orlando is open year round from 9.00am to 6.00pm daily (opening times can vary so check in advance). The park is located in Orlando, Florida, with the main entrance on Central Florida Parkway. Florida’s airport is served by most domestic and international airlines.

One of North America’s most iconic images, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is an incredible sculptural achievement. Carved into the granite mountainside, the heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln represent 150 years of United States history. Each face is about 60 feet tall and sculpted in great detail.

As part of the experience, visitors first walk through the Avenue of Flags, a walkway lined with the 56 flags of the states and territories of the USA. The avenue leads to the Grand View Terrace, from where a great view can be had of the Mount Rushmore carvings. Be sure to carry on along the Presidential Trail which offers some close-up viewpoints of the famous faces.

The experience does not end there, however. At the end of the trail is the Sculptor’s Studio. This is where Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, carried out his work. His original model can be seen here, allowing for comparisons between his initial vision and the finished work. In the Lincoln Borglum Museum, meanwhile, a short film about Mount Rushmore can be seen, as well as a collection of artwork and artefacts. If visiting during the summer, a lighting ceremony is held each night at 9.00pm, illuminating the presidential faces.

The memorial is located in western South Dakota, 23 miles south-west of Rapid City. Head for the town of Keystone on Highway 16, then take Highway 244 which leads to the memorial entrance. There is no entrance fee, and guided tours can be joined upon arrival at the site.

Picture courtesy of dean.franklin’s

If employment demand is suffering badly from the evil effects of global recession in the UK, the US, however seems to be experiencing twice the pain. Statistics, recently released, show that around 2,800 mass layoffs occurred during February, leaving almost 300,000 workers unemployed.

On average, each mass layoff resulted in around 50 workers losing their jobs. Reports also show that the manufacturing sector has been experiencing the most pain, with almost 1,300 layoffs, resulting in an estimated 153,000 unemployed workers. In the following month, layoffs increased even more, by roughly 500, increasing to over 200,000 unemployed. From December 2007, which is widely accepted as being the start of the recession and for 15 months after, to sometime in February 2009, layoff figures reached an estimated 30,000, resulting in around 3,000,000 workers becoming unemployed. The unemployment rate for the month of February 2009 was 8.1%, compared to the preceding month’s 7.6% and the previous year’s 4.8%.

February’s mass layoffs gave the western region of the country the top position for the highest number of unemployed, with 65, 792 layoffs. Next in the list was the mid-west region with 64,943 lay offs; third was the southern region with 55,542 layoffs and finally the northeast region with 32,131 layoffs.

On a more positive note, skilled professionals with special abilities are still in great demand and will be considered for visas to America, even in the midst of the recession.

American or US immigration – travelling into the United States of America – refers to the movement or migration of non-residents to the United States of America. Throughout most of United States’ history, US immigration has contributed to the cultural change and population growth of the country.

The social, political, and economic aspects of US immigration have been a source of controversy as regards religion, job trends and growth, ethnicity, settlement models, economic gains, effect on social movement, nationalities, moral vices and values, political biases, work patterns and habits, and heights of criminality. In 2006, legal US immigration was the highest in the world. The United States accepted a total of 37.5 million immigrants as permanent residents.

Whilst the influx of immigrants and new residents coming from different cultures creates challenges, the United States continually encourages this and the government is always energised by the immigrant population. In 1998, the then US president Bill Clinton, whilst delivering the commencement address from Portland University, expressed support to US immigration, which includes immigrants coming from Latin America and Asia. He stated that America has time and again drawn spirit and strength from wave upon wave of non-residents and that the influx of immigrants has constantly proved that they are the more industrious, adventurous, restless and innovative people.

On the flip side, illegal US immigration is always expensive, dangerous, and difficult, especially across the Mexico-United States border. International travel by jet has made legal US immigration easy, and the new and legal American citizens enjoy much from their new home in America.

If you want to gain entry into the Unites States of America for immigration purposes then you should do it the right way.  Applying for an immigration visa is a complicated procedure.  It involves a lot of paperwork and requirements.  The only way to be successful is to make certain you are diligent in sticking to all of the requests.  When applying to immigrate to the United States there are no short cuts for anyone.  Immigration applications could take a long time before you receive an answer.  Of course everyone wants a positive outcome, and for this reason you must not be taken in by immigration services offered by people pretending to know the immigration law of the US.  Some go so far as to pretend they are accredited representatives.

It is your right to make use of a legal representative when making an application with the USCIS.  But the representative must be from an organisation that is recognised.   If you use a representative in the United States that person must be accredited in order to gain access on your behalf from the USCIS.  If you use a representative for your application outside the borders of the United States that person must be recognised as a legal representative in that country.  Any other person is not allowed to represent you to the USCIS.  It is permissible for an applicant to get legal advice about immigration for a reduced fee if the applicant cannot afford to pay what is required.

Many students wish to go and study in the United States of America.  There are some specific regulations in this regard.  The subject of student visas falls under the Immigration and Nationality Act.  For those who wish to pursue an academic curriculum they will have to understand and apply for the US-F1 Academic Student Visa.  If you are a ‘non-immigrant’ then the F visa is for you.  This is the visa that is used for academic studies.  For those wanting to take part in language programmes then the F visa will also apply.  There are certain criteria that must be met in order for any foreign student to enter the country in order to study.

The first requirement is that a foreign student is properly enrolled in a programme that is for the purpose of academic or language training.  It must be at an institution that has been permitted to accept non-immigrant students.  This can only be done by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The foreign student must enrol in a course that is full time.  Part time students are not eligible.  The student is expected to have some proficiency in the English language.  If not, the student must be registered in a training programme to become proficient in English.  Having sufficient finances during the whole study period is a prerequisite.  While studying in the United States the foreign student must have a home abroad that he or she wants to keep.  In other words, the foreign student must have a home outside the United States that he or she plans to return to.

It may come as a surprise but the majority of foreign students studying in the US are comprised of Indian nationals. Statistics show that India takes the number one spot in terms of foreign students in the US. At the same time, India is actually the top country worldwide that sends out students to international grounds for studies.

In the year 2006, there were more than 123,000 Indian students who have studied outside of their home country. An estimate of 80,000 from that figure has all come to the United States to study in the top educational institutions recognized around the globe. During the 2000 to 2001 academic year, the number of Indian Students who have come to the US to study was estimated at 55,000. That is a 25,000 increase according to the US government.

In the year 2006, about 74 percent of the Indian students were studying Graduate courses while 16.6 percent of those were undergraduate students. The 9.6 percent were allotted to certain programs like English language training and other vocational or additional educational programs. Over $13 billion was raised and earned by the US economy from international students in the year 2006.

Previously, China was the leading source of international students to the US. In the year 2000, China topped the list of foreign students until Indian students came and exceeded this. This only goes to show that the population of India is also rapidly increasing in number. Statistics are looking at India’s working age population to increase and exceed that of China’s.

A popular activity for many Americans was to travel to Canada and indeed make the most of the good exchange rates. Now however, the days of shopping seem to be over as the Canadian dollar is similar if not rising over the US Dollar. These foreign exchange rates have brought a change to the way people travel nowadays.

The decline on Americans travelling to Canada is huge.