USA ESTA Travel Pass News

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.

A ship carrying Haitians and others trying to smuggle into the United States capsized in the Caribbean, killing at least 11 people.

The U.S. Coast Guard said 11 people were killed and 38 rescued in a capsize off the coast of Puerto Rico on the 12th. Thirty-six of the survivors are Haitians and two are citizens of the Dominican Republic. The Coast Guard said it was not known how many people were on board, adding that “illegal immigration voyages” were suspected.

In recent years, the number of dangerous voyages of immigrants, such as Haiti, to the United States in the Caribbean continues to increase. A total of 310 Haitians and 354 Dominicans were caught trying to travel to the United States from nearby waters, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, during fiscal 2021, the Associated Press reported.

Compared to the previous year’s 22 Haiti and 313 Dominican Republic, the number of Haitians increased significantly. Since October of last year, when the 2022 fiscal year began, the number of Haitians arrested by March this year reached 571. As Haiti continues to suffer from severe economic difficulties and political and social chaos, the number of people traveling to the United States by land or sea has increased.

With the number of attempts to travel to the United States has increased, so has the number of related accidents. In January, when a ship carrying immigrants capsized off the coast of Florida due to bad weather, only one was rescued and 38 people went missing. On the 7th, a Haitian woman died in the sea between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press reported.

US President Joe Biden has expressed his support for Finland and Sweden’s request of membership to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“We warmly welcome and strongly support the historic applications of Finland and Sweden,” Biden said in a statement.

“The two countries have long been faithful partners of the United States,” Biden said in a statement.

Finland and Sweden have maintained a neutral line following a policy of military non-alignmentism for 74 years and maintained cooperative relations without joining NATO however have now decided to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Biden has consistently expressed his support for the two countries’ membership in NATO, through phone calls, etc.

President Biden is expected to reaffirm his strong support in a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Saulini Nistö at the White House on the 19th.

According to NATO regulations, membership in a new member country requires unanimous approval from the existing 30 member countries, but Turkey’s opposition is a factor.

Turkey has taken a negative stance against the two countries’ membership in NATO, citing Finland and Sweden’s support of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group that is carrying out a separatist movement within the country.

As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) re-spreads in the United States, the average daily number of new confirmed cases has again exceeded 100,000.

It increased by 61% compared to two weeks ago, and tripled compared to early April.

If you look at the curve of the increase in the number of confirmed cases, it is not as steep as it was during the Omicron Great Proliferation, but the slope is getting steeper. Regionally, the number of confirmed cases is increasing across the United States.

In particular, as more and more people are testing at home with home self-test kits, which are not caught in the official count, the actual number of confirmed cases is expected to be larger than these statistics compiled by state governments, the US media believe.

Although this is more modest, the number of inpatients is also on the rise. As of the 17th, the average daily number of inpatients was 22,642, up 27% from two weeks ago.

However, the number of deaths, a lagging indicator that follows the increase and decrease of confirmed cases and hospitalized patients, is still on the decline

The White House Corona 19 Response Team, which had stopped briefing for six weeks, resumed the briefing today as the number of confirmed cases and hospitalized patients increased again.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Wallensky said at a briefing that one in three Americans lives in areas where people should consider wearing masks indoors in public because of the high risk of COVID-19.

Director Wollensky said counties with a “moderate” or “high” risk of transmission of COVID-19 rose to 32 percent from 24 percent a week ago, saying that local government leaders and individuals are either implementing quarantine measures, such as wearing indoor masks and testing more frequently, or At the very least, it should be reviewed.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Assisi Jah, who gave an official briefing for the first time since the new appointment, was concerned that the number of COVID-19 infections across the country was rising significantly.

He also urged Congress to approve the coronavirus budget so that the federal government can purchase the vaccine and treatment that Americans will need this fall.

“Without additional resources, we will find ourselves in a situation where there is no treatment available even if people become infected in the fall or winter,” he warned.

The U.S. government is also expected to extend the public health emergency, which was originally due to expire on July 15. If it is lifted, the state government and medical institutions will be notified 60 days in advance, but the deadline passed without any action on the 16th.

Health experts say the biggest question is whether the surge in cases will lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, the New York Times reported.

Rochelle Wallensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on the same day that it is also considering expanding the qualifications for a second COVID-19 booster shot, that is, a fourth vaccine.

As the number of confirmed cases continues to increase, the target of the second booster shot recommendation for those who are currently over 50 may be expanded to those below the age of 50.