USA ESTA Travel Pass News

Starting April 1, when applying for an application form (I-129) for a professional work visa (H-1B), the fee for supporting documents is paid by a separate check.

The United States Immigration Services (USCIS) currently reviews each fee separately when an H-1B applicant files separate applications, such as an application to change immigration status (I-539) or an application for a work permit (I-765) during however On the 25th, it was announced that from April 1st you would have to pay a separate check for all of them separately.

Since USCIS is introducing an electronic processing system for all immigration benefits applications, USCIS explained the background is that if the fee for each application is added up and submitted as one check, processing becomes impossible.

Separate announcements have been made by Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, and Norwegian Cruise Line this week of their plans to remove mask mandates for passengers and staff traveling on board. These plans will come into action within the coming weeks.
Royal Caribbean announced their plans to remove the requirement of indoor masks for passengers who are fully vaccinated as of Friday. The announcement comes after Carnival Cruise Line’s introduced their new policy, which eliminates the need for face masks at most venues, going into effect on March 1st.
Oceania Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises have also made an announcement that they have joined the volunteer COVID-19 cruise line program and they will be removing facemask requirements for passengers beginning March 1st.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line’s announced their updated policies shortly after The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention released updated information for the volunteer opt-in COVID-19 program for cruise lines. According to the updated guidelines made by The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, cruise ships who opt into the program may lift mask mandates on board if 95% of their passengers and crew are fully vaccinated.

Both cruise lines plan to join the federal agency’s COVID-19 program.

In a Facebook post, last week the Royal Caribbean CEO and President Michael Bailey announced that 95% of its cruise ship crew and passengers over the age of 5 will be fully vaccinated in order to comply with the program and remove facemask mandates on board.

Carnival Cruise Line announced on Friday that it will also join the CDC program for cruise lines operating in the United States.

The number of people who immigrated to the United States from overseas last year was 245,000, down 48.7% from the previous year and the biggest decline in ten years according to US News & World Report citing data from the Federal Bureau of the Census.

The number of immigrants in the United States has grown steadily since it rose from 180,000 in 2010 to 795,000 in 2011. The number of people peaked at 1 million in 2016 and began to decline in 2017, but last year’s decline was particularly large following the COVID-19 pandemic.
States such as New York, California, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas are no exception which annually receive a record number of immigrants. Last year the decline in immigration in New York was 48% and in the rest of the states excluding New York it was 50%.

Declines in immigration were seen across all US states with Nevada and Arizona having the highest decline rates at 52%.
Wyoming and Idaho posted relatively small declines of 33% and 39% respectively.

The Census Bureau analyzed that travel restrictions by countries around the world in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis have played a major role in the rapid reversal of immigration trends in the United States.

Reasons for immigrating to the United States last year were related to work, family and school according to USAFacts, a government data analysis company.
Meanwhile, the number of refugees admitted by the federal government in fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 to September 2021) was 11,445.

The possibility of a rematch between the 46th President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is being discussed in the 2024 US presidential election however polls show supporters lack of support.
From the 10th to the 6th of January 2022 CNN broadcast a public opinion poll on the re-election of two former and current presidents in 2024 through the opinion polling agency SSRS in which 1,527 adults took part.

President Joe Biden has expressed his intention to run for re-election while former President Trump has also strongly hinted at re-election.
According to a poll 45% of Democratic supporters said they would like Biden to run again however 51% said they preferred another candidate.
Among Republican supporters and GOP supporters 50 percent said they wanted Trump renominated while 49 percent said they wanted another candidate.

CNN explained that this is different from the investigation conducted at the end of the first year of his first term in the past. For example, in a March 2010 poll about a year after former President Barack Obama’s first term 79% of Democratic-leaning voters said they would like Obama to be renominated as the Democratic nominee in the next presidential election.
In a March 2018 poll more than a year after taking office, Trump received responses from 77% of Republican-leaning voters who said they wanted to be renominated.
Among those who said they did not want to be re-nominated, President Biden was the most common “because I thought I couldn’t win” (35%), followed by “because I didn’t want to be president” (31% ). %) and “because I was old” (19). %). Biden, the oldest elected president in history, is now 79 years old.
Former President Trump responded: “Because he didn’t want to be president” (39%), “because he thought he couldn’t win” (22%), “need a new man” (9%) and “too much polarization and division” . (7) %) and so on.
Of the respondents who said two former and current presidents do not want to run for president again, only 12% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans said they had other candidates in mind.
CNN said that “a large majority of bipartisan are looking to find other alternatives,” but the fact that few have a specific alternative candidate in mind shows that the 2024 presidential election is still a long way off and has a lot of potential for change.

The Supreme Court ruled that the vaccination mandate was outside the scope of the Biden administration. However, the Supreme Court decided that mandatory vaccination measures for public health facilities could be maintained. The Biden administration said mandatory vaccinations would help respond to the pandemic. President Biden, whose approval ratings have recently declined, expressed disappointment, saying, “(This decision) does not accept the requirement of common sense to protect the lives of employees.” “I hope that business leaders can follow the example of many other companies to protect their employees, customers, and society by making vaccination mandatory,” he added. Former President Donald Trump hailed the Supreme Court’s ruling and said mandatory vaccines “would have further devastated the economy.” “We are proud that the Supreme Court did not back down,” Trump said in a statement. Under the Biden administration’s mandatory workplace vaccination measures, employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear a mask if they are not vaccinated, as well as undergo weekly diagnostic tests at their own expense. The measure targets private enterprises with 100 or more employees and covers 84 million workers. Employers force their employees to get vaccinated. Opposition groups, including Republican-backed states and businesses, raised legal questions as soon as the government announced details last November, saying the administration was using excessive power.

The Supreme Court judges, in a 6 to 3 opinion, said workplace safety rules for large businesses are too broad to be regulated by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA), the opposing party said. According to the majority of the Supreme Court, “Covid-19 can spread wherever people gather, such as at home, at school and at sporting events.” The Supreme Court said the Biden administration’s mandate to vaccinate was not a “routine exercise of power” by the federal government, but “gravely threatened the lives and health of vast numbers of employees.” However, the Supreme Court judges, 5 votes to 4, concluded that this would not be a problem if an executive order limiting the number of employees in public health facilities to 10 million people. The court said it was “correct” to impose conditions on recipients of public funds. Chief Justice John Roberts & Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who has been known for their conservative centrist tendencies joined the progressive camp. This decision was made because some rules were supposed to come into force this week. A public hearing at The Supreme Court was held on the 7th January 2022.

This decision can also be seen as the result of a trend in the Supreme Court in that most justices are appointed by the Republican President. Three progressive judges oppose the cancellation of the vaccination mandate, saying the decision “could prevent the federal government from effectively responding to a situation where the coronavirus poses an unprecedented threat to workers.” The decision was made in the context of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States. Due to the Omicron strain, he has the highest number of infections and the highest hospitalization rate ever recorded. The Biden administration estimates that mandatory vaccination at large businesses could reduce 6,500 deaths and 250,000 hospitalizations in six months. More than 60% of Americans have already been vaccinated. In addition to government regulations, some companies such as Google, Citibank, and IBM have begun preparing their own mandatory regulations. However, the National Federation for Self-Employment (NFIB), a lobbying group and major plaintiff challenging the government’s policy of mandatory workplace vaccines, said the new rules are more expensive and harder for small business owners to comply with. Employment, which led to a reduction in sales and profits, for fear that this will decrease. “The Supreme Court’s decision is good news for small businesses in the United States,” said Karen Haned, general counsel for the NFIB.

As US inflation picks up, it is more likely that the US central bank, the Federal Reserve System (FRS), could accelerate monetary tightening, such as raising its key interest rate earlier than initially expected. According to the November 24 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes released by the Federal Reserve on the 24th, many participants said: “If inflation continues to exceed the target, we should adjust the rate of asset purchases faster than currently expected. and prepare for an increase in the base rate. ” He hinted at such a possibility. The protocol emphasizes that “maintaining flexibility should be a principle when making appropriate policy adjustments (in relation to a gradual transition),” the protocol says.

Some participants noted that “a decrease in asset purchases of more than $15 billion per month might be justified, the Committee will have more room to adjust its target rate target range, especially in light of inflationary pressures.” Earlier, after the FOMC meeting, which took place on the 2nd and 3rd of this month, the Fed announced the start of a reduction in asset purchases, saying that the scale of the reduction could be adjusted accordingly. Judging by the minutes released today, it appears that the Fed is planning to accelerate the rate of decline in inflation if inflation persists. In particular, the minutes showed that there was a discussion in the FOMC that the rate hike should be accelerated if inflation continues. This contradicted what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a press conference at the time that “the decision to start rate cuts is not a direct signal for a rate hike. “Members of FOMC stressed the need for a “patient” approach to upcoming economic data, however said they “will not hesitate to take appropriate action to counter inflationary pressures that could harm long-term price stability and employment targets.”

Since the US CPI announced after the FOMC meeting in November more than doubled the Fed’s 2% target, the FOMC’s regular meeting on the 14-15th of next month will further discuss the rate of decline and timing of the next annual rate hike. Seems The October Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index, released by the US Department of Commerce on the same day, rose 5.0% over the same month last year, recording the largest increase in 31 years since November 1990. In addition, it significantly exceeded the growth rate of the previous month (4.4%), which indicates an exacerbation of the inflation trend. Excluding energy and food, the core PPI price index rose 4.1% y-o-y, also exceeding the growth rate in September (3.6%). The index, the Fed’s favorite inflation indicator, also rose the most in nearly 31 years.

Employment, another component of the Fed’s monetary policy objective, is also improving. According to the US Department of Labor, last week (November 14-20) the number of new jobless claims was 199,000, down 71,000 from the previous week. It was the lowest level in 52 years since the second week of November 1969, even when President Joe Biden issued a welcoming statement calling it “historic economic progress.” The outlook for sustained inflation is now expected to determine the Fed’s course of action. In the November minutes, the Fed predicted that inflation could decline over the next year. “While participants predict that significant inflationary pressures will last longer than previously estimated, they generally predicted that inflation could be significantly lower in 2022 as the supply-demand imbalance eases,” the minutes said.

The American department store chain Sears, which once dominated as “the world’s largest retailer,” is closing its last store in Illinois, where it is headquartered. According to Chicago media reports on the 12th, Sears plans to permanently close its last Illinois store at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Chicago’s northwest suburb, from the 14th. It has been three years since filing for bankruptcy protection in 2018, 125 years after its inception due to changing times.

This store was first opened in September 1971, 50 years ago, and was one of the largest stores in the United States (about 39,000 square meters). It was the closest store to the headquarters in neighboring Hoffman state and had a lot of symbolic significance. Transformco, the current owner of Sears Holdings, parent company of Sears, said: “Following the refurbishment and renovation of the building, we plan to introduce popular retailers that cater to the tastes of shopping center users. We are trying to maximize our sales. Sears currently focuses on the Sears.com and Sears Home Service franchise online shopping mall business that provides home appliance repair and maintenance services. Sears began operations in Chicago in 1893 as “the world’s first mail order supplier” and opened its first store in Chicago on the West Side in 1925.

In 1974, the tallest building in the world, Sears Tower (now Willis Tower, 108 stories, 442 m), was built in downtown Chicago and reached its heyday, operating 3,500 stores in the United States. However, in the 2000s, it faced financial difficulties due to the growth of a giant online mall, and in 2004 it was acquired by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert (ESL Investments) and eventually filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2018. of the year.

Lampert then founded Transformco and received a court-approved plan to revitalize the selective acquisition of 425 excellent Sears stores with personal money. At the time, some criticized that Lampert, who had served as Sears CEO since 2013, was in fact the axis of the Sears collapse and that he was only interested in real estate. Sears said in April 2019, according to CNN Business and others, that “Lampert stole billions of dollars in company assets, instigated bankruptcy, and monopolized Sears.” He also filed a lawsuit against Chicago NBC reported that there are currently about 30 Sears stores in the United States. As online shopping exploded in the wake of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic, upscale department store chain Nieman Marcus, mid-range department stores JC Penny and 200-year-old Road & Taylor filed for bankruptcy protection one after another. In the past year.

Health officials expressed concern that demand for the COVID-19 booster shot, which has been in effect since late September, is significantly lower than expected. According to the Los Angeles Times on the 5th, the California Department of Health is concerned that demand for COVID-19 booster shots will be significantly lower than expected ahead of the upcoming holiday season, leaving older adults with weakened immune systems and people with concomitant diseases. unprotected from the virus. Despite calls from the federal government for Pfizer to be vaccinated, the state health department said 230,000 doses of the vaccine were given to the elderly in early October, just 21% of the expected 1.1 million doses. Individuals with underlying medical conditions under the age of 65 received only 450,000 doses, which is only 17% of the expected 2.7 million doses. Low re-injection rates are observed throughout the state, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Central Valley. As of the end of October, it has been recorded that 27% of eligible seniors in Los Angeles County received boosters, compared with 20% in San Francisco. Only 1 in 10 (9%) of Los Angeles County nursing homes received the vaccine for their residents.

In the case of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, experts warn because it is known that the immune effect gradually begins to decline 6 months after vaccination and 2 months after the Janssen vaccine. “It’s been almost a year since the elderly were vaccinated,” said Nabina Bova, deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Health. Show, ”he said. In fact, according to a study report published in the journal Science on April 4, a study of the effectiveness of the vaccine on 800,000 veterans vaccinated in March and September, respectively, confirmed that the effectiveness of all vaccines decreased significantly within six months. Moderna’s vaccine efficacy dropped from 89% in March to 58% in September, Pfizer dropped from 87% to 45%, and Janssen’s vaccines dropped from 86% to 13%. “There are too many people who have not yet been vaccinated and re-vaccinated,” Dr. Race Bora of Fresno County said in a recent briefing and called for vaccinations.

Denver is known for many great things to do, including breweries, access to beautiful mountain ranges, and outdoor recreation. But one of the things Denver residents want to hide is the overwhelming number of rats crawling through the streets and backyards. Denver was infamous for being ranked ninth in the country out of 50 cities surveyed by Orkin, the leading pest control company in the United States, in the annual ranking of cities with the most rats in the United States. Okin ranks metropolitan areas across the United States based on the number of new rodent control measures implemented each year from September 15 of last year to September 15 of that year. The rating includes both household and commercial control cases. Over the past year there has been a dramatic increase in the number of rats in most U.S. cities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced restaurants to close and rodents, including rats, had to find new sources of food. “Malnourished rodents displayed unusual and aggressive behavior and are easy to spot when clearing new areas.” Since then, as food and drinking water supplies replenish as they slowly recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of rodents is on the rise again. In New York alone, the number of rodent complaints received in March 2021 increased by 80%.

The rat infestation prompted the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to warn that rats were once infested in homes, and they also issued guidelines to prevent entry, Okin said. The top five in the rat-rich cities rankings this year are unchanged from the 2020 rankings. Chicago retains the number one bad reputation in the country for seven consecutive years, followed by Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco at second and fifth, respectively. Baltimore finished sixth, Philadelphia seventh, Detroit eighth, Denver ninth and Cleveland tenth. Cleveland entered the top 10 for the first time this year, and Baltimore is up two spots from last year’s rankings. Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Houston, Cincinnati and Dallas ranked 11th and 20th in descending order. O’Kinn says rats can cause significant structural damage to buildings, as well as create many health risks. This is a dangerous animal that can pose a risk of injury, so the following methods have been introduced to get rid of the mice.

Strict food and waste handling: Small crumbs such as grains, cereals and food waste are popular food for rats. They should be stored in closed metal or glass containers to prevent rats from eating them. Do not create cluttered places: Chewable objects that look like cardboard are very attractive for rodents to use as nests. Be mindful to clean up and organize the cluttered and dirty areas of your home. Take care of landscaping as well: trees and tall grass around the house are ideal habitats for rodents. Branches located next to the house provide unhindered access for rodents to the attic of the upper floors of the building. Find and remove rodent marks inside and outside your home: Inspect and remove rodent droppings, burrows and rubbing marks from walls around your home frequently. The sooner traces of rodents are found, the better. Look for possible entry points (cracks, holes, etc.) To prevent rodents from entering your home, install seals around doorways, especially under doors.

The Biden administration is controversial because it is demanding $450,000 per person to be paid to undocumented immigrants caught trying to smuggle into the country. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 28th that the Biden administration’s social security budget includes $1 billion in payments to undocumented people. The WSJ said the payout could be $ 1 billion or more. Initially, undocumented families demanded $ 3.4 million per family. The policy of separating parents from undocumented children was introduced during the Obama administration. Then, under the Trump administration, the mainstream media focused on the issue and it sparked a nationwide controversy.

These undocumented immigrants sued the federal government in 2018 because their parents and children were torn apart after the Trump administration brutally suppressed them at the Mexican border in 2018. He demanded compensation, stating that the psychological trauma was great when his family was torn apart while being smuggled into the country. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a progressive group, is filing a lawsuit on behalf of undocumented families. More than 5,500 undocumented children were separated from their parents during the Trump administration, according to the ACLU. Republicans reacted immediately. Arkansas Senator Tom Carton said the robbery was “income from the psychological shock of being arrested.”