Category: ESTA News

On the 28^th of June, Airbnb, a home-sharing company, announced a global ban from hosting parties in accommodations.

Airbnb announced today that it will permanently ban disruptive parties and events around it, CNBC reported. ‘Party houses’, where overnight accommodations are reserved for large events, are also prohibited.

Airbnb introduced a provisional party ban after five people were killed in a shooting at an accommodation in 2019, but this time it is permanent.

The lodging rental platform expanded the ban on all parties worldwide in August 2020 following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Since then, the number of reports of partying has decreased by 44% compared to the previous year.

“The provisional ban has proven to be effective,” Airbnb said in a statement.

However, it is impossible to crack down on all users who rent remote accommodations and invite people to parties when the owner is not there.

Airbnb said users who violate the party ban will face sanctions ranging from account suspension to expulsion. In 2021, about 6,600 users were suspended for violating the party ban.

On Saturday, the American health authorities gave the green light to launch the anti-Covid vaccination for young children. All eyes are now on Europe.

More than 20 million children affected Last week, a team of scientists voted unanimously to implement an infant vaccination campaign. For this, the agreement of the authorities had to be given, it is now done.

Children aged 6 months to 5 years are therefore now allowed to receive Pfizer and Moderna injections in the United States. The doses are greatly reduced compared to the quantities administered to adults, going from 30 to 3mg for Pfizer and from 100 to 25mg for Moderna.

The Moderna vaccine will be administered in 2 doses, the Pfizer product in 3, spaced 3 and 8 weeks apart. This new decision extends vaccine eligibility to 20 million children across the country. Now all Americans 6 months of age or older are eligible for vaccination.

The United States becomes the first country to take such a step. “All children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated,” the CDC said. United States President Joe Biden welcomed the news, saying “a great relief for parents and families across America.” Already on Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American drug agency, had urgently validated this vaccination of toddlers. Now, with the agreement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination can begin. The first doses should be given to infants as early as this week.

The American company Pfizer published a press release responding to this new announcement. She explains that she wants to extend this system to other countries in the world. “The companies plan to submit applications for authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine in this age group to other regulators around the world, including the European Medicines Agency in early July.” the Pfizer report.

US police reported the shooting took place early Monday morning in the Harlem neighbourhood One person was killed and eight others injured Monday in a shooting in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York, United States.

New York police said a shooting occurred early in the morning, killing one man, and injuring eight others, six men and two women. According to the first elements of the investigation, the authorities asserted that the shooting targeted a group of people who were on the sidewalk after having finished attending a party, late Sunday evening, according to the American channel “ABC News”.

The same source indicated that the victim was a 21-year-old man who succumbed to his injuries on arrival at the hospital. In this context, New York police pointed out that the shooting took place on the sidelines of Father’s Day celebrations. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told a press conference that “Father’s Day coincided with the weekend when people were supposed to be able to have fun with their families.”

According to American media, a pistol was found near the accident, while the police have not been able to arrest any suspects, until now. On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School in Texas.

Ten days prior to this shooting, an armed white man stormed a Tops supermarket in Buffalo and resulted in the deaths of 10 people with most of the victims being African American. Authorities described the shooting in Buffalo as a “racially motivated hate crime.”

At least 255 shooting have occurred in 2022 in the US. Separately, President Joe Biden has called on Congress to change the nation’s gun buying age laws to save lives.

New York have since introduced two new legislations; they have raised the legal age of purchase for a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, and the now also require micro-stamping in new firearms, which could help investigators solve gun crimes.

Recent inflation and soaring gasoline prices are not only changing the daily life of American workers but are also raising the turnover rate.

An Enstart couple who commutes about 3,200km a month! They spend about $1,000 a month on oil. That’s more than double what it was last year. Soaring gas prices are preventing us from making plans for summer vacations. “We’re cutting down on what we eat. We need to cut down on summer vacation travel as well. It seems like we’re talking about money every day.”

Currently, the average oil price in the US is $4.60 a gallon, with some states more expensive than the minimum wage. More than 100 Google Maps contractors in Washington state have petitioned the company to allow them to continue working from home. Google Maps Employee: “The extra cost is too much. I get about $18 an hour, which is ridiculous. “If I can’t work from home, I’ll look for another job.”

According to a recent survey, 64% of American workers said they would find a new job if they had to work in the office. Soaring oil prices are raising the turnover rate of American workers.

The US government has decided to eliminate the need for testing for the new coronavirus, which has been required of all immigrants, and will be applied from the 12th.

A senior U.S. government official has announced that it will no longer be required to submit a negative certificate for all airmail immigrants within 24 hours before boarding the flight, starting this month.

The CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has decided. Before the summer tourist season, immigration restrictions in the United States will be greatly relaxed.

A senior U.S. government official said the CDC could continue to test the infection for the next three months and ask for a negative proof again if new variants emerge.

A flight attendant at a major US airline shares tip for airline passengers to avoid common mistakes when packing.

Flight attendants often make secret videos on TikTok – saying that many guests often “carry” heavy bags on the plane and can’t pick them up on their own. Generally, flight attendants are not obligated to assist, because if they are injured as a result, they do not receive compensation.

Most airlines have regulations on the weight of carry-on suitcases. To avoid wasting time and disturbing others, passengers should not pack too much and heavy luggage.

Many people often fly with a suitcase, a backpack and a wallet that holds a lot of things. According to the regulations of some airlines, airport staff or airline employees have the right to ask guests to pack all their belongings into two bags.

Most airlines allow one item to be stored in the overhead compartment, and one personal item under the seat in front. Although there is no charge for hand baggage, you should try to arrange the amount of luggage according to the regulations.

Books, headphones, cosmetics, phones, or other things you always need, don’t put them in your suitcase, even if it’s a carry-on, but should be placed in a small bag right at your fingertips during the flight.

Some passengers had to scramble to get things from their suitcases on the plane, affecting those around them. “You can delay the flight if you have to struggle to get those items, not to mention moving things from above can cause dangers like falling, dropping suitcases,” CiCi said.

According to The Points Guy, the change in altitude causes air to expand during the flight, which can cause toiletries or water bottles to leak in luggage.

To prevent this, when extracting liquid or liquid cosmetics, passengers should try to remove as much air from the bottle or bottle as possible. Containers or bottle sizes also need to be carefully selected and the type with screw cap is better than the cap and put in a zip bag.

When you fly, you can bring a frozen water bottle or an empty water bottle that you can refill when you enter the airport terminal, which provides drinking water from the tap free of charge.

Flight attendant CiCi said that when the weather is not favorable, flight attendants sometimes must sit still for the whole flight.

In case flight attendants cannot leave their seats to sell food, CiCi advises passengers to prepare snacks. In addition to fruit like apples and oranges, she always has a few bags of seeds in her luggage.

If you’re flying with just hand luggage, CiCi suggests wearing heavy items instead of packing them, especially on long trips.

On a recent flight to Italy, CiCi wore bulky rain boots, a sweater, and a jacket even though she came from the hot Florida state (USA).

“This saves a lot of space in your luggage, helping you pack more clothes for the trip,” CiCi revealed.

The quota for ‘non-agricultural sector short-term employment’ (H-2B) visas additionally issued by the federal government also ran out prematurely due to a surge in applicants.

According to the Federal Immigration Service (USCIS), the number of H-2B applications received on the 19th and 25th of last month exceeded 23,500 additional issuances, and 23,500 applicants were selected through a random computer lottery.

Accordingly, USCIS is issuing receipts to the winners, and the submitted documents and fees will be returned to the unsuccessful winners and to applicants received after the 25th of last month. As a result, this year’s H-2B quota reached 89,500 in total, including 66,000 regular annual quotas that were completely exhausted at the end of February.

As it is expected that more workers will be needed in this field this year, the Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have issued an additional 35,000 visas and received applications since the 19th of last month.

Among them, 23,500 additional quotas, which were exhausted early this time, were made for returning workers who had worked as H-2B at least once in the past three years. The remaining 11,500 are allocated only to nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Haiti, and will receive applications until September 15. However, in the case of nationals from these four countries, it is issued regardless of whether they have worked in H-2B.

The H-2B visa is a short-term non-agricultural work visa issued to workers in hotels, restaurants, and leisure sectors that are in high demand during the season.

The H-2B has the advantage of being relatively easy to get a job in almost all types of jobs and obtaining a visa, but it is cumbersome to apply for an extension every year. In addition, the disadvantage is that it is difficult to apply for permanent residency because the maximum extension period is three years, and you have to return to your home country.

The issue of permanent residency was announced in June 2022. There is still no progress in inviting family members, and in the case of unskilled workers who are ranked 3rd in employment immigration, the door has been set back by 3 years. We have summarized the questions and answers we received about the permanent residency gatekeeper.

– What is the name of permanent residence

If you are applying for permanent residency in the United States, the Immigration Service handles the application, and if you apply outside the United States, the State Department handles the procedures. Basically, during the fiscal year, 226,000 are allocated to family migrants and 140,000 to employment migrants. And, out of 140,000 employment immigrants, 40,000 each are assigned to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranks, and 10,000 cards are assigned to the 4th (religious immigration) and 5th (investment immigration) ranks.

The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. The State Department and the Immigration Service publish the issue of permanent residency every month to inform you of the status of the permanent residency process next month.

– What is a priority date and why is it important

The priority date is the date the immigration petition (I-130) is filed in the case of family immigration, the date the labor approval (LC) is received in the case of employment immigration, and the date the immigration petition (I- 140) is the date it was received. This priority date is like a waiting procedure to get a numbered ticket from the bank. This is because the priority date must be in your own order like the number table before you can proceed with the procedure.

– If you look at the name of the permanent residence card, there is a filing date and a final action date. How are they different?

The date of submission of documents is the date on which adjustment of status (I-485) or documents from the State Department (DS-260) can be submitted. On the other hand, the visa issuance date is the date on which you can obtain permanent residency in the United States or obtain an immigrant visa outside the United States. Therefore, even if the document submission date is open and documents are submitted to the Immigration and State Department, if the visa issuance date does not arrive, you will not be able to obtain a permanent resident card or immigrant visa.

– I think the doors of the Ministry of State and the Immigration Bureau are different.

First, after the State Department publication is announced, the date on which the Immigration Office can accept documents is determined. Therefore, when applying for permanent residency in Korea and the United States, you must check the door of the State Department and the Immigration Bureau, respectively. When applying for permanent residency in the United States, the date of filing of documents by the Immigration Office is important. This is because status adjustment (I-485) can be entered. You will be able to obtain a labor card and travel permit only after entering this status adjustment document.

– In the case of unskilled employment immigrants, the number of writers retreated a lot.

In June next month, the priority date for employment immigration unskilled workers will be pushed back by three years. In other words, even if the Labor Approval (LC) is passed, you cannot submit an adjustment of status (I-485). Therefore, cases in which LC is approved must submit documents for adjustment of status (I-485) to the immigration office by May 31st. And from October 1, the upper limit of the permanent residence quota by country will be abolished. It will be carried out gradually over nine years to minimize the impact, but benefits are given to Chinese and Indian nationals. This is not good news for Koreans. Next year, it is expected that the immigration process for Koreans will be delayed.

– There is no progress in family immigration, so the children are over the age of 21.

Due to the prolonged waiting period for permanent residence, the number of cases in which children cannot receive permanent residence with their parents is increasing. Each fiscal year, 226,000 are allocated for family immigrants, and there is no progress in fiscal year 2022. In particular, in the case of invitations of brothers and sisters of citizens, there has been no progress in the date of visa issuance for a long time, resulting in children over 21 years of age.

An additional 35,000 quotas of ‘non-agricultural sector temporary work visas’ (H-2B), which are experiencing a repeating quota shortage, will be issued due to a large number of non-professional immigrant workers such as Koreans.

On the 18th, the Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a plan to issue an additional 35,000 H-2Bs in the Federal Register and began implementation.

As a result, this year’s H-2B quota reached 101,000 in total, including 66,000 regular annual quotas that were completely exhausted at the end of February.

The industry expects that the additional issuance of the H-2B will alleviate the manpower shortage in hotels, restaurants, and leisure sectors, which are in high demand seasonally. DHS plans to issue 23,500 out of 35,000 quotas added this time to H-2B workers at least once in the past three years.

The permanent resident writer in the unskilled sector, ranked 3rd in employment immigration, is facing a situation where he has taken a step backward for three years. As a result, the immigrant applicants have a longer waiting period and difficulties in maintaining their status of residence.

According to the June 2022 Permanent Residency Issues released by the State Department last week, a new priority procedure date of May 8, 2019, has been set for the Final Action Date for unskilled workers with the third priority for employment immigration.

Considering that it was open in the previous month, it means that they have retreated for a whopping 3 years and 1 month at once in June. However, unlike the unskilled sector, the permanent residence approval decision date for skilled workers continued to be open. The priority date for prior acceptance of the 3rd priority for employment also remained open for both skilled and unskilled workers. In addition, employment 1st, 2nd, 4th (religious immigration), and 5th (investment immigration) were opened on both the date of determination of permanent residency and the date of prior application.

Even in June, family immigrants did not progress even a single day in all categories except for spouses of permanent residents and minor children (2A). It has been 9 months since most of the family immigrants have not made any progress at all.

The priority for unmarried children over the age of 21 of U.S. citizens was December 1, 2014, and the date of pre-registration was May 15, 2016. The date of determination of permanent resident status for second-order B, the adult unmarried child of a permanent resident, was frozen as of September 22, 2015, and the filing date was also September 22, 2016, the same as it was delivered.