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Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has led the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has tested positive for COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on the 15th.

The National Institutes of Health issued a statement on the same day, saying Fauci, who tested positive for the rapid antigen test for COVID-19, said, “He is showing mild symptoms.”

This is the first time that Fauci, who also served as the White House’s chief medical adviser, has tested positive.

Earlier, Minister of Health and Welfare Xavier Bessera, the ministry responsible for responding to COVID-19, was recently infected twice in less than a month.

Fauci, 81, was completely vaccinated against COVID-19 and received two booster shots.

Although Fauci diagnosed that the United States had emerged from the pandemic in April, he continued to warn of the risk of a re-spreading of the coronavirus.

He said in late April that he did not attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time in three years after the coronavirus outbreak, criticizing the loosening of quarantine consciousness.

Director Fauci led the quarantine policy at the forefront of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States in 2020.

During the Donald Trump administration, when the White House tried to lift the coronavirus lockdown in consideration of the economic situation, Fauci opposed the proposal and even clashed with former President Trump.

Because of this, Fauci became the target of criticism from the hard-lined US, but when the Joe Biden administration took office, he served as President Biden’s chief medical adviser, leading the COVID-19 response.

The National Institutes of Health said Fauci had not had close contact with President Biden recently.

In addition, Director Fauci said that he received a prescription for Paxrobead, an edible treatment for COVID-19, and went into quarantine at his home, and will return to the office if he tests negative again.

He was scheduled to appear at a U.S. Senate hearing on the same day to report on the federal government’s response to the coronavirus and future plans, but has reportedly canceled the schedule.

Thousands of Latin American immigrants to the United States have started moving north at once from southern Mexico.

At around 6 am (local time) on the 6th (local time), Mexican media such as Millenio and AP and Reuters reported that immigrants from Latin America to the United States began walking in Tapachula, Chiapas, southern Mexico.

Many children were walking on the road in the pouring rain.

The migrants marched forward holding up signposts with phrases such as “We are immigrants, not criminals” and chanting “You can do it,” Mexican TV Asteca reported.

The number of immigrants is at least 6,000, Reuters said, and may be the largest US-bound caravan seen in recent years.

A ‘caravan’ refers to a procession of immigrants moving in large groups to the United States, mainly from Central America. Moving together to reduce the risks and costs associated with individual movements.

Many of those who departed from Tapachula are Venezuelans, and it is known that many are from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Cuba.

After entering Mexico through the land border from Guatemala, they waited in Tapachula to obtain a humanitarian visa to pass through Mexico.

The influx of immigrants delayed the work of the Mexican immigration office, so immigrants who were living near homelessness in Tapachula and waiting without a promise were unable to bear it any longer and started moving recklessly.

Their goal is to first travel to Tuxtla Gutierrez in the nearby state of Chiapas, then to Mexico City, the capital, and then to the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the US.

Either walk together along the road or get a passing vehicle and travel only by land.

However, it is not known how far they will go north.

Most of the caravans that started in the last two or three years had to be scattered because of the Mexican or Guatemalan authorities.

At the beginning of 2018, when caravans from Central America increased to the United States, immigrants passed through Mexico and Guatemala without difficulty, but Mexico and other countries began to actively block caravans under pressure from the former US government, Donald Trump.

This year, hundreds of caravans from Tapachula were also blocked by the military and police.

Although the number of caravans traveling to the United States has decreased, the number of people who pay money to smugglers to travel individually has continued to increase.

This large-scale caravan departure coincided with the opening of the Americas Summit in Los Angeles.

The host country, the United States, has predicted that the summit will focus on the issue of illegal immigration.

Tourism to Vietnam is increasing statistics show.  Figures taken from in January to May 2022 indicate that the number of international visitors to Vietnam has increased compared to the same period last year. Vietnam welcomes tourists from all over the world with the majority coming from Korea and the US.

According to travel and tourism companies, although the market is gradually moving, there are signs of recovery in the flow of international visitors to Vietnam after two positive months, especially since Vietnam lifted passenger requirements.

The National Administration of Tourism released figures showing that the 172,900 international visitors entering in May 2022, a 70.6% increase compared to April and 12.8 times higher than the same period last year. When Vietnam re-opened borders in March 2022 it welcomed about 41,700 visitors, in April, this number jumped to 101,400 and by the end of May, welcomed 172,900 visitors.

Statistics released also show that most visitors to Vietnam are nationals of Korea and the US. Korean visitors reached 28,600 arrivals, up 195.1% over the same period, while American visitors reached 23,100 arrivals, up 2,106.4 percent.

The number of visitors in Southeast Asia has also significantly grown thanks to the open border policy between countries. In the first 5 months of the year, visitors from Cambodia reached 10,300 arrivals, a very strong increase of 4,255%, Laos reached 6,800 arrivals, an increase of 76%.

The number of visitors from Singapore reached 17,321 arrivals, an increase of 44.7 times, in April alone reached 5,300 arrivals, an increase of nearly 10 times compared to the previous month, 6,300 arrivals in 4 months.

Meanwhile, with groups of American and European tourists, travel companies explain that many tourists have relatives living and working in Vietnam and they choose here to reunite after two years. Some tourists are experts coming to Southeast Asia to work, knowing Vietnam’s friendly open-door policy has chosen this as a tourist destination

Vietnam’s tourism industry aims to welcome 5 million international visitors in 2022.

There are many Korean practitioners who are interested in immigrating to the United States but are unsure where and how to begin the process.

The first barrier that graduates of medical schools abroad, such as Korea, must overcome is entering a training program at a hospital in the United States. This training is mandatory for anyone to obtain a medical license in the United States. The problem is that there are many hospitals that do not accept foreign medical students as residents at all.

Most importantly, you must pass the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 (Basic Medicine Test) and Step 2 (Clinical Medicine Knowledge Test). In addition, the results of the clinical practice test or OET (a type of English test) must be submitted to the ECFMG, which is in charge of the residency application for foreign medical students, to receive approval.

People who graduated from medical school abroad usually reside on a J-1 visa. You may be able to obtain a short-term professional work visa (H-1B) for residency. However, it is common for hospitals to issue J-1 visas to foreign residents. This J visa has a proviso that you must return to your home country and reside there for two years before changing to a work visa (H and L) or acquiring permanent residence.

The most common waiver used by foreign medical graduates is the Conrad 30 and federal waiver referral program. With the Conrad 30, each state can recommend a two-year home stay exemption for up to 30 residents with J-1 visas. The condition is to work as a clinician for three years in a place designated by the Federal Ministry of Health as a medically underdeveloped area.

Not only the state government, but also federal government agencies can recommend exemptions from the two-year home stay rule for J-1 visa holders who contract to work as clinicians for three years in medically underdeveloped areas. J-1 visa holders must obtain a recommendation from these agencies and submit an application for exemption from stay in their home country to the State Department, and then follow the procedure of requesting USCIS to change their status to H-1B.

It is through the Physician National Interest Waiver Program (The Physician NIW), which grants permanent residency if you work for 5 years in a medically underdeveloped area where there is a shortage of doctors. You must submit an employment contract stating that you will work full-time for five years as a clinician in a medically underserved area or veterans hospital designated by the Department of Health. In this case, a recommendation from the federal or state government is required.

Nominations must be obtained from the state or federal agencies, such as the Department of Veterans and Welfare. This is the same as the exemption from the J-1 two-year home country stay rule. If the recommendation letter of the recommending organization states that you can exempt J-1 from staying in your home country for the sake of national interest and apply for permanent residence through the national interest exemption procedure, you can apply for permanent residency exemption for J-1 home country stay and pseudo-national interest exemption with this one letter at the same time. can proceed.

If it is a medical institution in a place designated as a medically underdeveloped area, it can become a permanent residence sponsor without distinction. If a doctor pays an office and provides medical treatment in that area, he or she can proceed with his/her permanent residence even without a separate permanent residence sponsor.

A court has put the brakes on the Joe Biden administration’s attempts to repeal the previous administration’s COVID-19-related entry restrictions, which allowed the immediate deportation of illegal entrants from the border.

According to Reuters, Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western Federal Court of Louisiana decided on the 20th to maintain the so-called ’42’ (Title 42), saying, “Maintaining the provision is in the public interest.”

Article 42 is to deport illegal entrants who have crossed the land border as soon as they are caught and prevent them from giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. It was introduced by the former Donald Trump administration, which had advocated hardline measures against immigrants.

During the Trump administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented this policy, saying it should contain the spread of COVID-19 in densely-dense border facilities. According to the Associated Press, the number of illegal immigrants who did not get an opportunity to apply for asylum and were immediately deported under this provision after enforcement has reached 1.9 million so far, the Associated Press reported.

The Joe Biden administration, which has a relatively accommodative immigration policy, announced on the 23rd of this month that it would repeal this provision for reasons such as improving the human rights of immigrants. The CDC was also of the opinion that Article 42 was no longer necessary for the quarantine policy, saying that other prevention measures such as vaccines have increased. Medical professionals and the United Nations also welcomed the repeal of Article 42, saying that it could put the already vulnerable immigrants at greater risk.

However, the repeal of Article 42 was criticized not only by the conservative Republican Party, but also by some Democrats, who belong to President Biden, as encouraging a surge in the number of immigrants.

Twenty-two states, led by the Republican Attorney General, have even sued the Biden administration to keep the provision.

Judge Summerhays’ decision on that day is to the effect that the provision should be maintained until the final result of the lawsuit is out. Judge Summerhays was appointed by former President Trump. The Biden administration immediately announced an appeal.

The Immigration Service has decided to gradually expand the scope of expedited procedures to resolve backlogged cases. This is good news for applicants who have been waiting for results for a long time. Related matters have been summarized.

– The scope of express procedures has been expanded.

Expedited procedures will also be available for expatriate permanent residence (EB-1C) and national interest exemption (NIW) applications in fiscal year 2022. In other words, the immigration petition (I-140) can be expedited. Expatriates often apply for permanent residency right before returning to Korea. Because they want their children to continue their studies in the United States. This expedited procedure is of great help to expatriates. In addition, the National Interest Waiver (NIW) application for master’s and doctoral degree holders can expedite the expedited procedure. Many people these days apply for NIW. This is because it is possible to apply for permanent residence without a company sponsor. Even in Korea, there is a lot of interest in NIW so that their children can study in the United States. Most want to get a green card before their children go to college. You can file an immigration petition (I-140) within 45 days by paying an expedited fee of 2,500 to the Immigration Service.

– Is the examination easier if you go through the expedited procedure?

Using express does not increase the approval rate.

-The express service is said to be possible even for identity changes and labor card procedures.

It is expected that expedited procedures will be possible even when switching to student status (F&M) or exchange training status (J) within this year. In the meantime, it took more than a year for the procedure to change to student status, which greatly hindered my studies. For an additional $1,750 expedited fee, a decision is made within 30 days. In addition, expedited procedures will also be available for the probationary period (OPT) after graduation and when the spouse (J-2) with the exchange training status applies for a labor card. In this case, the express fee is $1,500 and is decided within 30 days. In this way, you can prevent the case where you find a job but must give up the job because your labor card is late.

– Is express service possible for other procedures?

In the future, expedited procedures will be possible even when the spouses applying for E, H, L, O, P, or R apply for status change or extension. An additional express fee of $1,750 is charged and a decision is made within 30 days. It also states that expedited services are also available when these spouses apply for a labor card, and if they pay $1,500, they will be processed within 30 days.

– Is the express procedure not applicable to investment immigration (EB-5)?

There is no discussion of express services in the investment immigration process, disappointing applicants. However, after May 15, you can apply for adjustment of status (I-485) during the examination of the investment immigration petition (I-526). Therefore, you can get your Labor Card (EAD) and travel permit before obtaining permanent residency. Although they do not have permanent residency, they can work legally in the United States and travel to Korea if necessary. However, there is no change in the case of applying for investment immigration in Korea. As before, the petition must be approved to obtain an immigrant visa at the US embassy. Therefore, you may consider applying for an investment immigration in the United States after getting a visa first.

-If the express procedure is expanded, will the general procedure be delayed?

The Immigration Service says that even if the scope of the express procedure is expanded, the general procedure will not be delayed any further. But it remains to be seen. You can apply for express service even in the middle of the procedure. Therefore, you can apply through the general procedure first and then switch to the express procedure while observing the situation.

This year, the number of Korean immigrants pending deportation trials nationwide has turned to a declining trend.

According to the status of federal immigration court deportation lawsuits released by the Syracuse University Judicial Information Center (TRAC) on the 21st, as of the end of March, there were 991 cases of deportation of Koreans pending in immigration courts across the United States. This is a decrease of 6.2% compared to 1,057 cases in the same period of the previous year.

Looking at the trend of the number of pending deportation lawsuits by Korean immigrants, after recording 677 cases in 2004, it peaked at 1,474 cases in 2009 and 1,718 cases in 2010, followed by 1,333 cases in 2012, 976 cases in 2013, 875 cases in 2014, and 819 cases in 2015. , 666 cases in 2016, etc., continued to decrease, and then returned to an increasing trend to 672 in 2017, and has continued to rise for 5 consecutive years.

After a 20.8% surge in 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis hit, it increased by an additional 3% last year. Accordingly, some have given rise to the interpretation that the immigration authorities’ crackdown on illegal immigrants has been continuously strengthened despite the COVID-19 crisis.

By each state, California had the highest number of Koreans pending deportation proceedings with 355, and New York had the second most with 152. It was followed by New Jersey with 107, Virginia with 84, Georgia with 64, Texas with 56, Illinois with 28, Washington with 25, and Pennsylvania with 18.

Looking at the Korean immigrants pending in deportation trials by charge, 844 people, or 85.1%, were simply violating the immigration law, such as violation of the residence limit. On the other hand, 78 Koreans, or 7.8%, were referred for criminal convictions such as violations of the criminal law. In addition, it was found that the average length of time that Koreans who were handed over to deportation trials were detained was 1,194 days.

The US embassy in Ukraine, which had been withdrawn due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reopened on the 18th in the capital Kiiu.

It has been more than three months since the embassy in Kiiu was closed on February 14, ten days before the Russian invasion, and personnel transferred to neighbouring Poland, Poland.

US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln announced in a statement that “Today we are officially resuming business at the embassy in Kiiwu.”

“A few days before Russian troops moved across Ukraine’s borders to wage a war on President Putin’s ill-choice, we lowered the Kiiu embassy flag,” Blincoln said. “We made it clear that this is not going to block our support and involvement for the Ukrainian people and government,” he said.

The US withdrew its embassy personnel from Kiiwu and worked in Poland.

Other European countries that withdrew from Kiiu are also reopening their embassies one after another.

The Korean embassy, ​​which had been serving as a diplomatic mission at the Chernivchi temporary office since last March, also resumed its work by returning to Kii earlier this month.

The Russian army attacked Kiiwu intensively at the beginning of the war and was eventually defeated.

“With our security support, the Ukrainian people are defending their country against Russia’s ruthless invasion, and the American flag is flying over the embassy once again,” Blincoln said.

“With this significant step, we have taken additional steps to strengthen the safety of our colleagues returning to Kiiwu,” he said.

Earlier on the 25th of last month, President Joe Biden appointed veteran diplomat Brigitte Brink, Slovak ambassador to Slovakia, as the vacant US ambassador to Ukraine.

It is estimated that there are 280,000 Korean permanent residents legally residing in the United States.

According to ‘Estimated Permanent Resident Statistics by Country of Origin’ released by the Federal Homeland Security Administration (DHS) on the 9th, the number of Korean immigrants holding permanent residence cards in the United States as of January 2021 was 280,000, maintaining the same level as the previous year.

This estimate of Korean permanent residents’ accounts for 2.1% of all 13.11 million permanent residents in the United States, the ninth largest by country of origin. The country with the largest number of permanent residents was Mexico with 3.01 million, followed by China with 820,000, the Dominican Republic with 560,000, India with 550,000, the Philippines with 540,000, and Cuba with 530,000.

According to the survey, 71.4% of the 280,000 Korean permanent residents, or 200,000, were found to be eligible for citizenship.

More than 2 out of 3 Korean permanent residents do not or delay acquiring citizenship even though they are eligible. For permanent residents to acquire citizenship, the status is granted after 5 years (3 years of spouse of a citizen) after receiving permanent residence.

Meanwhile, looking at the trend of Korean permanent residents, it recorded 301,000 in 2002, decreased to 270,000 in 2006, and slightly increased to 280,000 in 2007. However, it remained at the level of 270,000 for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010, and recovered to the level of 290,000 in 2012, and then decreased to 280,000 again from 2020.

High gas prices are causing some recreational vehicle (RV) owners to reconsider their summer vacation plans. Could lovers of long getaways turn to models with electric motors to reduce the bill and pollute less? Not now. This does not prevent some campers from pulling a trailer with their electric car.

Faced with a gas price of nearly $2 per litre, many campers will go less far than expected during their next vacation, reveals a survey by the Fédération québécoise de camping et de caravanning (FQCC). Nearly 17% of group members surveyed on the web will camp closer to home and about one in five campers thinks they will stay longer in the same place in order to limit their expenses.

But not all campers intend to change their summer plans, if the FQCC’s probe is to be believed. On the contrary. Some 20% of respondents will save money elsewhere to offset increased transport costs and 37% will not change their plans. After two summers when their movements were restricted by measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, campers are thirsty for freedom, judge Louise Gagnon, director of communications at the FQCC. “As they can start traveling again, people are not going to help it. Several campsites are already full for the summer. »

Sales director at Horizon Lussier, an RV dealer located in Marieville, Serge Maheux believes that large, motorized buyers are not concerned about the price of gasoline. “When you spend $200,000, $300,000 or $400,000 on a motorhome, I don’t think it has an impact,” he observes.

The fact remains that with the constant increase in prices at the pump, and an ecological conscience accentuated by the climate crisis, small recreational vehicles are gaining in popularity.

And why not turn to RVs with electric motors? Because even if there are some prototypes, we do not find any on the market yet. Technology does not allow products to be offered with sufficient autonomy, underlines Dominique Nadeau, president of Safari Condo, a Quebec company that fits RVs in commercial vehicles.

Even if GM announces the arrival of trucks with greater autonomy, up to 640 km, it will still be necessary to find where to place the water and propane tanks if the batteries already occupy the entire underside of the vehicle. “There are studies to be done to see how we can adapt the products,” says Ms. Nadeau. For now, we have no concrete plans. »

However, Safari Condo, which also manufactures trailers, has been offering one designed to be towed by an electric vehicle for two years already. The A2124 is the result of a collaboration with Redmond Hayes, a retiree who bought a Tesla Model X in 2017 with the intention of traveling around North America while camping. Dissatisfied with the performance of his car with his F1743 retractable roof trailer, and after tinkering with a plastic part to try to improve it, Mr. Hayes was invited to work with the Safari Condo team.

The loss of autonomy is not so much related to the weight you pull, but really to the aerodynamics of the whole.