#Home Office Application Fees

[lexlawuk]

UK Visit Visa Refusals: Implications and Next Steps for Success

Where the Home Office refuses your visitor visa application, you will receive a letter or email outlining the grounds for the decision. Refusals mean missed opportunities; whether you intended a family visit, a business trip, a quiet getaway, or a chance to tick off your bucket list. At DJF Solicitors, we provide expert guidance on your refusal and strong legal representations to ensure a…

[thetyger]

ok i finally found an apartment i love enough to apply to...assuming they accept my application i will be moving next year aaaaaaaaa

[mousedetective]

Homeless Disabled/Mostly Queer Family Needs Help...In The Home Stretch Now!

PAYPAL | AMAZON WISHLIST | KOFI | GOFUNDME

VENMO: @penaltywaltz | CASHAPP: $afteriwake23 | ZELLE: DM me for email address

3/21/24

So things have taken a slight turn for the worse, and while the shelter staff is amazing and our caseworker is doing everything she can for us, we just need to get out of a toxic environment and get into housing as soon as we can. The low-income housing fell through (we don't make enough money for a three-person household, even though we could cover the rent), so tomorrow I'm going through the list I got from the Oceanside housing office and calling everyone. I did talk to a lovely person at a complex in Fallbrook about a place we could afford but she said check every week because there may be an opening if a military family has to leave on short notice.

A friend of mine is going to cover most of the last of the loans for us (around $1500) on the 27th or so so we'll have more money to put toward moving costs if a place opens up. I know I have one $140 loan payment, one $125 loan payment and my mom has a $210 payment we need covered, plus we owe the cable company $163 for equipment we have in storage and can't get to until we get housing.

I'm setting a goal for $1000; anything else will go for apartment application fees and food once my food stamps run out (we get three meals a day but Lena is gone from, like, 6 AM to 9 PM and misses them so I send her to Starbucks with food).

$1000/$1200

[aeternallis]

one of the things most frustrating to think about as someone who did go through the immigration system in the US is the fact that there seems to be a genuine belief by a significant portion of the populace in this country that the immigration system is a simple, straightforward process, when it most certainly is not.

for one thing, the applications to gain some form of legal status themselves are confusing af to actually read through. most of the applications uses legal, albeit confusing language and can be upwards of about 15-20 pages worth of documents you gotta spend time to actually pour through.

for example, currently the i-485 form (application for green card) sits at about 24 pages, and requires a couple of hours to fill out. for most immigrants who know little to no english, either they would have to sit with an english-speaking paralegal to help them, or one of their relatives who knows english would need to be the one to help them out.

the i-130 form (application for alien relatives) is about 12 pages, and just as hella confusing to go through.

the i-589 (application for asylum) and i-765 (application for worker's permit) aren't too bad in comparison, at about 7-8 pages, but even so, the legal language is still a hassle to try and understand.

oh, and did i mention that every one of these forms cost money to file and submit to uscis for processing? this is not counting the typical immigration lawyer's fees immigrants have to fork up in order to get some decent representation, most immigrants still need to make a living one way or another, or how else are they to provide for their families and give their children a better future? (and ya know, afford the fees to try and actually go through the process of gaining legal status here???)

not only that, answering any of the questions wrong on any of these forms could be enough for uscis to reject the filing or outright deny it. and no, ofc there's no refunds on the application fees.

for a country that has a horrendous literacy crisis, i would so love to see the rest of y'all try to take a gander at these forms and see if you don't lose your goddamn mind.

have i mentioned how fucking terrifying it is when uscis officers grill you during the interview process???? because yes, there is an interview component to most of these forms. as if their questions are literally designed for you to fail???!!

this is just a few aspect of the immigration process that's so broken right now, it might as well be a 10k puzzle piece scattered in a room.

the strenuous waiting time between processing of applications, the anxiety of the elections every goddamn year because politicians cannot fucking make up their minds with how immigration ought to be tackled in this country, all the while immigrants also have to deal with the stress of everyday life and whatever challenges that brings.

uscis is still working through a backlog of applications from decades ago, and some people in this country really have the goddamn audacity to think, "they have to get here legally and go through the process that way"???!

a fucking luxury (ignorant af though, mind you) for some of y'all to say, indeed, especially if all it took back then for your family to get here was through ellis fucking island.

my aunt petitioned my dad with the i-589 form over 38 years ago when he was still living in the philippines, and mind you, the visa number from that filing was only granted and mailed to my dad's old house last year in december 2024, when we went home to visit relatives for the holidays and long after he's already become a US citizen.

i'm not asking for people to change their minds about immigration or that this country ought to let everyone in, i knowwwwww the system is broken and terrible.

but what i am asking is for people to educate themselves and to be open-minded, to not dismiss the struggles of immigrants, because those who think that the immigration process in this country is easy are hella ignorant and will never understand the sort of anxiety illegal immigrants go through, for the sake of trying to provide a better future for their children

[carnivalls]

hi everyone, long time no see! coming back to tumblr with a pitch that one friend rated 12/10, another 15/10, and no one less than a 10 (that i will be mentioning for the purposes of this post).

so basically me and my girlfriend are in our final year as university undergrads, and are fighting for our lives for stuff to put on our cvs / master applications that falls in line with our degree programs and interests (english literature for both). as much as i'd like it to, 'spending well over 80 hours mapping out dnd sessions' for some reason doesn't tend to appeal to employers or admissions offices.

this is where VULTURE CULTURE comes in.

we've laid out the principal tenets on the 'about' page, but a tldr for whoever is interested:

At Vulture Culture, we aim to take the works of people they may not necessarily feel the best about, works that may not otherwise see the light of day, and give them a ‘home.’ We believe that there’s no such thing as a story not worth telling. By not charging submission fees (be so for real) and keeping our guidelines few, we also hope to erode some of the traditional barriers in publishing, and create a more accessible space for all.

in other words, GIVE US YOUR LEFTOVERS.

we are a literary magazine that will accept anything that exists in the mid range of what you love and hate. have you ever wanted to be published but where do you even start? here. are you unsure what to do with that old work that's been sitting in your drafts forever (it's good enough to post, but not good enough to be picked up by anyone of significance)? hi.

our first issue theme is NEW BODIES, and we are just as curious as you to find out what that means. deadline is march 1st, 2024.

come help us be employable or whatever. also in return you get to clear up some draft space and see your name in print. together, love wins 🏆

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Hangover 5

Warnings: dubcon, noncon, other possible triggers. Proceed with caution.

Please leave any and all feedback! 💚💚💚💚💚💚

Part of The Club AU

You help Will fold his laundry. You refuse to do all of it but he’s brought enough that you feel bad letting him do it by himself. Besides, it’s a good opportunity to chat. A better one to distract yourself. 

Despite the time passed, a whole night, and your best efforts, you can’t shake your drive with Officer Storm. It’s impossible to forget the cold air and your nakedness. The humiliation lingers and has you restless. As you tuck away the last pair of socks in Will’s bag, you wince as he says, “mom?” 

“Yeah, what’s up?” You step back. 

“You okay? You been quiet.” 

“Oh, yeah, yeah, just tired,” you muster a smile, “work has been a bit much, you know?” 

“Right, yeah,” you see the flicker of guilt in his eyes, “mom...” 

You laugh, but not meanly, “how much do you need, honey?” 

“I’m sorry--” 

“Don’t be,” you wave off his apology. He shouldn’t be sorry. You know he’s only asking you because his father said no. You’re bum ex can’t be arsed to pay any tuition, so why would he cover any other expenses. “I’m sure I can figure something out.” 

“Yeah, you know, I wouldn’t ask unless... unless I really needed it. There’s this internship. It’s like kinda a grant but there’s an application fee so...” 

“It’s good,” you pat his bones chest, “Will, it’s money. If you happy and healthy, I’m happy.” 

He smiles offers a one-armed hug. For a boy his age, that’s a big gesture. You accept it but can’t help making it two-armed. You squeeze him tighter than you mean too and he wheezes as you cling to him. 

“Mom! I was just home two week ago.” 

“I know, honey, I just... missed you,” you stay as you are. He sighs and wraps you up. You rock him, closing your eyes against the sudden swell of heat behind them. “I love you so much.” 

“Mom, I know,” confusion laces his voice, “Mom,” he rubs your back, “I love you too.” 

You sniffle and dip your head down, hiding as you draw away from him. You roll your eyes back against your tears. You hold onto that feeling, of your son’s hug, it’s enough to chase away that heavy weight in your hips where Officer Storm had held you. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He scoffs. 

“Yeah, I... menopause,” you laugh off but it’s not as breezy as you intend. “Old ladies and their hormones.” 

“Right,” a shade of skepticism lingers in his voice. 

The doorbell rings suddenly and you both jump, laughing at the fright. You shake your head and tramp down the hall to answer it. Will hovers in the doorway but doesn’t follow.  

You open the door and nearly shriek. It’s him. Officer Storm. He smirks and his eyes twinkle. He winks and tilts his head pompously, reciting your name. 

You gulp, “sir?” 

“Mom? Is that a cop?” Will comes down towards you. 

“Ah, don’t worry about it, son,” Storm says, “I’m just doing my good deed for the day.” He flicks up a card between his thick fingers, “this was turned in down at the station. A king samaritan found it on the pavement.” 

You fight a tremour as it rises, “thank you, officer.” 

“Not at all, ma’am,” he holds it out between his index and middle fingers. 

You take it and look at it. It’s your ID. Or maybe it’s a trick. 

“Everything okay?” Storm asks. 

You flinch and nod, “of course. I appreciate you bringing this by.” 

“That’s what I do,” he winks. “You have a good day.” 

He nods and backs up. His eyes rove up and down before he turns and struts away. He has the type of swagger men who don’t last more than a minute have. You shudder and shut the door. 

“Nice of him,” Will says. 

“Sure,” you agree as you twist the lock into place. 

You turn back and walk to the kitchen. As you grab your purse, you can barely get it undone. You remember picking it up from the car seat, the bite of frost in the air, the noise of the police scanner. Your wallet falls out of your grasp as you pull it through the zipper. 

“Mom,” Will says, “you’re shaking.” 

“I’m fine,” you insist sharply, “I just... I didn’t sleep well. I need a coffee.” 

He stares at you, concerned tautening his jaw. You look back at him and nearly whimper. He isn’t much younger than that officer. A decade at most between them. Could he be like that? Officer Johnny is someone’s son too and he did that to you, someone’s mother. 

“Want me to make you one?” Will sounds afraid. 

“Please, sweetie, yes,” you bend to retrieve your wallet, your lower back twanging with the effort. You fall to your knees and whine, “shit.” 

“Mom!” Will grabs onto your arm, “what is it?” 

“My back,” you snivel, “ow, shoot. “ 

You can’t stand. It hurts too much. Your hips lock as you stay on your knees. You peer down at the floor. You can only see the cold ground lit by yellow headlights. You back seizes up again. 

“Mom, please, get up,” Will begs. 

“I-- I can’t, honey, you’re going to have to help me.” 

“What happened--” 

“Work,” you grit out, “please,” you reach to grab his forearm and manage to drag a leg out and plant your foot, “just put me on the couch.” 

You latch on and he grunts as he helps you up. Any man, even one as slim as him, is stronger than you. You lean on him heavily and waddle stiffly, moaning with each step, and nearly collapse onto the couch. He lifts your legs onto the cushions as you whimper. 

Will steps back and stands straight. He looks at you with worry woven between his brows, “mom...” 

“Hon, I’m fine. Just some advil... and coffee, please, if you don’t mind.” 

“I... I can’t stay past tonight. I have a midterm.” 

“I know, honey, don’t worry about that. I’ll be fine,” you assure him through your teeth, struggling to shift into a position that doesn’t hurt. “Really, I just need to sleep it off.” 

He frowns. You hold back a similar expression though you know you must look miserable already. You hate that he’s worried. He shouldn’t be. You're his mother, you’re supposed to worry about him. It’s just another flare up, it’s okay. 

Just like Officer Storm, it’ll go away. 

[weeeeeekly]

the inheritance – hybrid!ot5 txt x human gn!reader

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

blurb !!! Your grandmother left behind her home to you in her will. As a recent college grad, you take on the responsibilities – you never expected to find 5 hybrids living in your new home

info !!! gender neutral pronouns for reader, no reader body shape mention, no use of y/n, non-idol au, hybrid au, strangers to lovers, ot5 txt x reader, kinda a/b/o, inspired by the monster’s bride webtoon, ppulbatu, & txt lore (please do not ask me about it bcuz I don’t know anyyyythingg)

WARNINGS !!! SFW but MDNI 18+ blog, swearing, not proofread just pure free flowing thought, wouldn’t recommend reading if you were close to your grandmother, she passed away, & are still grieving

wc 1.2k

author’s note !!! if you don’t like it – don’t read it!

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CHAPTER TWO

You’re sitting on the couch as you stare up at the 5 men. Well, 5 men with animal ears and tails: a 6-foot tall man brown hair and floppy white dog ears on top of his head (the one that slept next to you), a man with black hair and white fox ears that were too big for him (a new face), another man with black hair and smaller white dog ears on top of his head (part of the pair sleeping on the top bunk), a shorter man with brown hair and gray cat ears (the other half of the pair), and the 6-foot tall man with blonde hair with golden dog ears on top of his head (the one that tackled you).

Now that the adrenaline had worn off and the fear slowly dissipated from your body, you realize that the situation at hand was unusual.

Every fiber in your being was screaming at you to get the fuck away from this house and them once your brain put the pieces together that they were hybrids.

If owning an exotic pet was illegal then one can imagine how much more illegal it would be to own an exotic hybrid. You didn’t even know that hybrid species expanded past the usual pets like dogs, cats, and bunnies. You didn’t even know anyone that owned hybrid due to how expensive it is to even place an application let alone pay the fees to own one. The news would sometimes showcase when a celebrity got one and the gossip channels would give updates on them, usually not-so-happy endings for the hybrid pets that were either abandoned or worse.

You always believed, and still do, that the system of owning hybrids was out-of-this-world. Either buying, which made you uncomfortable, or adopting. Most hybrid facility didn’t even have to follow a code of conduct due to the nature of human and animal parts, so there were many loopholes in the laws and legality.

One of the legalities being that no one could own a hybrid without properly processed paperwork, up-to-date wellness checkups, and a license.

“Is this some kind of elaborate Halloween prank? I don’t have time for this.” You glance to your phone that shows the time and you were going to be very late to work if you didn’t leave in the next 5 minutes. “I really don’t have time for this.”

You walk back to your room to get your stuff ready, realizing that you won’t be able to do your usual morning routine and will ultimately have a bad day. All 5 of them start talking over each other with only a few shared words that you picked up on “run away” and “scared”.

Once you’re ready, you walk back downstairs to the front door and turn back to them.

“I’m going to work. I’ll be back by 6 PM. Please stay inside and don’t do anything crazy.”

One of the tall ones speaks up, “Okay.”

You shoot them a smile and walk out, locking the door.

Your entire day goes by too slowly for your liking. This was your usual shift 9 to 5 at the local post office, but it felt like it was your first day despite working this job for over a year. You kept mixing up the mail while sorting — almost giving your coworker the wrong mail for their delivery run. Embarrassingly, you accidentally stamped a few letters upside down when you were thinking over the events that happened earlier today.

On your lunch break, you call your friend for a favor.

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

Getting back to your grandmother’s house, you’re not expecting the one of the strangers to bring you into a hug as soon as you open the door.

“You’re back.”

You awkwardly pat the back of the guy, “Uh, yeah I said that I would be back.”

Trying to get out from the hug, the boy just hugs you tighter so you sigh and shuffle forward. When you reach the kitchen, the other 4 shocked faces look back at you.

“Can someone please get him off me?”

Before you finish your sentence the two tall members pull him away.

“Beomgyu, stop it.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

The tall brunette glares at the guy as the tall blonde smiles at you apologetically. You smile back as you sidestep around the others to open a bag of your favorite chips.

“Can you guys help me bring my stuff in?”

The guys don’t let you touch any of your stuff saying “it’s heavy and this is the least they can do”. You don’t argue since you were dreading to bring items from the rental trailer to upstairs. You just tell them where to put it in your room as you sit on your sleeping bag and continue eating chips. They finish helping you setting up the basics in your room in under 2 hours.

“Do you guys want to order in and then have a proper conversation?”

They all agree as you begin listing off places to order takeout from settling on a local pizzeria that made your favorite pizza.

After the pizzas had been eaten and their situation had been explained, they sit on your bed as you pace in front of them.

“Okay, all of 5 of you were from the same facility and while you were being transported to a new facility the truck flipped over during a thunderstorm and you guys escaped. Then you found this house that was abandoned and made this your home. Is that right?”

A chorus of “yeah”s are your response as you frown.

“How did you guys survive all this time?”

“We, um, stole out of necessity.”

“Only twice a month at night.”

“For how long?”

“2 years…”

You shut your eyes and sigh as you get your phone out, texting one of your best friends for a huge favor as the group look nervously at each other.

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

After making some arrangements, you turn back to your new… roommates to explain, “Tomorrow afternoon, a trusted friend is coming by to give you all a wellness checkup. Make sure everyone’s okay.”

They nod as you force yourself to calm down as they could probably sense your elevated blood pressure and heartbeat. You grit your teeth into a smile as you realize that they look like models lounging on your bed.

“I don’t want this to be a bad memory and I trust new people too much, but would it be okay if I took a picture of you guys?”

They agree and look like models as you take a picture on your phone. A real smile spreads across your face as you look at the result.

“Oh!” You smack your forehead, “Almost forgot to introduce myself.”

You tell them your name as they reciprocate. You make sure to make direct eye contact as they go one-by-one to match their name to their face.

“It’s nice to meet you guys, properly, I’m going to go to bed soon so.”

You hope they pick up on the hint that you want to be left alone and Taheyun picks up on it as his eyebrow raises.

“We should go back downstairs.”

The group file out of the room as you mouth him a “thank you” and go to the bathroom to change. But when you come back, a fox and maltese are curled up on your bed.

“I’ll let it slide only for tonight.”

masterlist | previous | next

author’s note thank you for all the love on this series!! i was not expecting that.

i will edit when i’m back on a computer. apologies, but still just writing on my phone.

[carriehobbs]

tags by @agentnatesewell

alina wanted to go to medical school and become a doctor! i picture her having been in her 4th year of a premed program when the plagiarism incident with bobby happened. we don't know enough about what really happened with the plagiarism incident, or its repercussions (was the plagiarism ever discovered by the university? if it was, who was punished for it, bobby or alina? was this kind of incident severe enough to go on her academic record in some way? would it have been enough to prevent her from being admitted to graduate schools?), to use it as a basis for any of alina's return to wayhaven, so i tend to base her return more on the dissolution of her relationship with bobby.

at least for alina, i picture her relationship with bobby having been a long-term one. i picture them having been together for multiple years, sharing mutual friends, living together even. i think alina genuinely used to be in love with him (or, at least, with the attention he gave her), but that feeling gradually slipped away over time (i certainly don't picture bobby being the sort of person to invest his time and energy in maintaining his relationships, and i don't see alina as having been the kind of person to expect more from a partner). there's a sort of stability in a long-term relationship - a consistency or a dependability. and bobby possessed a kind of reliable unreliability that alina could anticipate as she became accustomed to the monotony of their daily lives together. they weren't unhappy, but they weren't happy either. and, before the plagiarism incident, alina likely would have stayed with him forever: nothing was bad enough to make her feel like she had to leave, and secretly she was afraid that, if she left bobby, no one else would ever want her.

so when bobby plagiarized her work, it was a massive betrayal. alina broke off their relationship and left and, in one fell swoop, lost her partner, all of her friends, and her home. she went back to wayhaven because she had nowhere else to go and she stayed in her childhood home until she was together enough to find her own apartment. but in the wake of that kind of emotional devastation, you're not thinking about grad school applications or tuition fees. all of her academic goals suddenly became subordinated to the more immediate goals of "find housing" and "remember to stop crying long enough to get out of bed and eat".

it was in this emotionally low state that she ended up deciding to join the police force. for years her plans had been to get out of wayhaven, become a doctor, and build this life together with bobby, and now she had none of these things. she had to start from the bottom and build a new plan for her life. i think it makes sense for someone like alina, who had always loved wayhaven as much as she wanted to get away from it and who had always privately desperately wanted a connection to rook, that, at this point in her life, she would latch on to the idea that she could follow in her father's footsteps and find meaning in a life in wayhaven, doing the kind of work he did. if she wanted to become a doctor to use her scientific interests to help people, then maybe she could help people in a different way as an officer while following her father's path (and, just maybe, she could use the excuse that there was no one else with any medical or scientific expertise in wayhaven to poach verda's position before he came along to fill it). from there, it was a simple case of having remade her life in wayhaven and having started to work to pay her expenses, which pushed that dream of grad school farther and farther away until it stopped feeling feasible. tale as old as time

[kenyatta]

NOT LONG AFTER she started, Uber deactivated Barbosa’s account out of the blue. So she switched to renting one on Lyft from the same guy. Now she drove as “Shakira.” When the Lyft app prompted Barbosa to confirm her identity by scanning her license, she texted the guy she was renting from: What now? He sent back a photo of Shakira’s ID. Oh. She was real. He paid Shakira a fee each week. Driving without a license, under the table on a tourist visa, loaded Barbosa with stress. One night, Barbosa picked up a passenger at 2 am and he tried to kiss her. She had to fight him off and left him one star on the app; she didn’t want to risk calling the cops. Another time, she was pulled over for having her lights off. Barbosa froze as the officer strode up to her window, worried she might get her car towed and end up in jail, or even—who knows?—deported. She showed the cop her Brazilian driver’s license, and said she’d left her American one at home. He let her go. In WhatsApp groups, and while waiting for riders at Logan Airport, Barbosa chatted up other Brazilian drivers also renting accounts. They traded tips about driving without papers, the nuances of the fuzzy don’t-ask-don’t-tell status quo in a country that hasn’t passed comprehensive immigration reforms in more than three decades. Far from an ICE officer on every corner, she heard, if you kept your head down, didn’t drink and drive or pick fights, you could manage. [...] One of her customers left their wallet in her car. She followed the woman’s convoluted instructions to return it, driving to two far-flung locations over two hours. Miffed, at one point Barbosa opened the wallet. She looked at the woman’s license, blonde with blue eyes. Barbosa snapped a picture. She thought the woman might tip her or at least say “thank you” for having wasted two hours, unpaid, to do her a favor. Instead, the woman was rude and short, giving Barbosa the push she’d been looking for. “I said, yeah, now I’m going to use this.” Over the next few weeks, she would click through the driver onboarding process on both Uber and Lyft, reading over the steps to create her own account, mulling the risk. Finally, lying in bed on Christmas night, the first one she’d spent without her family, it was time: She opened her phone and scrolled to the blonde woman’s license. Barbosa uploaded the license to the Uber app. She used the woman’s name but her own insurance and registration. She entered her own iCloud email and phone number and set her own picture—brown hair, brown eyes—on the driver profile. She made up a Social Security number, submitted the application, and went to sleep. The next day, Uber approved the account. Like that, Barbosa was in business for herself.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bagley

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 14, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 15, 2024

The July report for consumer prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which came out today, showed that prices rose less than 3% in the previous twelve months. Core inflation has fallen to its lowest rate since April 2021. For well over a year, wages have grown faster than inflation.

President Joe Biden cheered the news but added in a statement, “Prices are still too high. Large corporations are sitting on record profits and not doing enough to lower prices. That’s why we are taking on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices. We’re cutting red tape to build more homes while taking on corporate landlords that unfairly increase rent. And we’re taking on price gouging and junk fees to lower everyday costs from groceries to air travel.” 

When a reporter asked Biden if the U.S. has beaten inflation, Biden answered: “Yes, Yes, Yes. I told you we were going to have a soft landing…. My policies are working. Start writing that way.” 

Just yesterday, the administration announced $100 million worth of investments in new housing in the form of grants to state and local governments to spur the production of new housing. Kriston Capps of Bloomberg reports that “more housing units are under construction now than at any point in half a century—some 60,000 multifamily units were completed in June alone—and rents are stabilizing in some areas as a result.” 

Single-family home construction is slower, and with Senate Republicans having blocked a $78 billion tax deal that would support housing tax credits that promote the construction of housing, the White House is finding other ways to spur housing construction. 

On Monday the White House continued its attempt to protect the interests of consumers after years in which they lost ground. Continuing to combat junk fees, it proposed rules to fight back against “all the ways that corporations—through excessive paperwork, hold times, and general aggravation—add unnecessary headaches and hassles to people’s days and degrade their quality of life.” 

Companies deliberately design processes to be burdensome in order to deter people from getting a refund or a rebate, or canceling a membership or a subscription. Those frustrations waste money and time, the administration said, and after listing some of its own proposals for making it easier to navigate ending subscriptions or activating insurance coverage, it invited Americans to submit their own on a public portal. 

In a speech on Friday in North Carolina, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to take on the issue of price gouging by large corporations. Researchers for U.K. think tanks Institute for Public Policy Research and Common Wealth found in late 2023 that profiteering, or “greedflation,” “significantly” boosted prices, leading to increases of 30% or more in corporate profits. “Excessive profits were even larger in the US, where many important sections of the economy are dominated by a few powerful companies,” wrote Phillip Inman of The Guardian. 

Responding to today’s news that inflation is coming down, the stock market ticked up in expectation that the Fed will now be more likely to cut interest rates in September. 

The White House took notice today of the fact that applications for small businesses continue to boom across the country, with 19 million new business applications since Vice President Harris and President Biden took office, an annual growth rate 90% higher than prepandemic averages. The White House also noted that congressional Republicans are trying to cut the Small Business Administration and to cut taxes for big corporations.

Politico greeted today’s economic news with a headline saying, “Inflation is easing. Now, Harris has an even bigger problem with the economy.” And the New York Times reported that in a speech in North Carolina, “Harris Is Set to Lay Out an Economic Message Light on Details,” adding that she is expected to tweak Biden administration themes “in a bid to turn the Democratic economic agenda into an asset.”

The United States economy under Biden and Harris has been the strongest in the world, and now that inflation seems to be under control as well, Harris needs to turn that record “into an asset”? Political journalist James Fallows wrote: “Now they are all just trolling us.”

The Biden-Harris administration has changed the orientation of the United States government from relying on markets to order society and protecting the interests of wealthy Americans in the expectation that they would invest in the economy more efficiently than they could if the government interfered by protecting workers and consumers. Biden and Harris, along with the cabinet officers and staff of the executive branch, revived an older ideology calling for the government to promote the interests of the American people as a whole. This means regulating business and providing government services and oversight to make sure no interest can run the table. 

What the two different worldviews look like was on display earlier this month, when Republicans and a few Democrats in the Senate killed a bipartisan expansion of the child tax credit, a tax break for parents with dependent children. A hike in that credit during the pandemic cut child poverty dramatically, only for that rate to bounce back when the pandemic relief expired and dropped five million U.S. children back into poverty in 2022. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted that the change “underscores the fact that the number of children living in poverty is a policy choice.”

On January 31, 2024, the House passed an expansion of the child tax credit that was smaller than the one in place during the pandemic, and Republican vice presidential hopeful Ohio senator J.D. Vance, who has been criticized for comments about “childless cat ladies,” seemed to support the measure when he said, “If you’re raising children in this country, we should make it easier, not harder. And unfortunately it’s way too expensive and way too difficult.” He then falsely accused Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris of calling for ending the child tax credit (she has actually called for expanding it).  

But Vance missed the vote, and before it, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told colleagues that passing the bill would “give Harris a win before the election.” According to Chabeli Carranzana of The 19th, Tillis “printed out fake checks made out to ‘millions of American voters’ with the memo: ‘Don’t forget to vote for Kamala!’”  

The two different worldviews were also on display Monday night when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump complimented X owner Elon Musk for firing workers who threatened to strike. The right to strike is protected under federal labor law, and the Biden-Harris administration has stood firmly for workers’ rights. 

On Tuesday the United Auto Workers union filed charges against Trump and Musk with the National Labor Relations Board for threatening and intimidating workers. “When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean,” said UAW president Shawn Fain. 

Tonight, Trump gave a speech in Asheville, North Carolina, that was supposed to be about the economy. Before he could appear, Trump had to pay the city $82,247.60 in advance, with city officials apparently concerned about the candidate’s habit of skipping out on costs associated with his rallies. Once on stage, he tossed economic issues overboard and concentrated on personal attacks on Biden and Harris, along with stream-of-consciousness musings on tampons and socialism. Apparently speaking of his campaign aides, he said: They wanted to do a speech on the economy. They say it’s the most important subject. I’m not sure it is.”

The era of unfettered markets and the concentration of wealth may be coming to an end. In late July, the finance leaders of the Group of 20 (G20), a forum of the world’s major economies, agreed to cooperate on fair taxation of  "ultra-high-net-worth individuals,” although they did not agree as to whichinternational body should lead. 

But yesterday, Joe Perticone of The Bulwark noted that MAGA Republicans appear to have figured out a way to use the struggle over the nation’s economic ideology to elect Trump. 

The House recessed in late July having failed to pass a single one of the 12 appropriations bills the government needs to stay in operation because, although the appropriations bills are traditionally kept “clean” of anything extraneous, extremist members of the House Freedom Caucus insist on making extreme cuts and adding their culture war items to the bills. Congress doesn’t reconvene until early September, and the new fiscal year starts on October 1, leaving the House very little time to pass the necessary bills.

Yesterday, members of the House Freedom Caucus called for Republicans to return to Washington, D.C., to pass the bills “to cut spending and advance our policy priorities.” If they can’t pass the bills—and they failed all spring—the extremists want a short-term fix just into “President Trump’s second term.” But they also want the fix to include the SAVE Act, “as called for by President Trump—to prevent noncitizens from voting [and] to preserve free and fair elections in light of the millions of illegal aliens imported by the Biden-Harris administration over the last four years.” 

It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. As Perticone notes, Trump’s own 2017 commission to find evidence that undocumented immigrants voted in 2016 disbanded without finding any, and another audit, led by Georgia Republicans before the 2022 midterms, found not a single successful attempt of noncitizens to vote in the previous five years. 

Perticone reports that the measure is designed to suppress legitimate Democratic voting and, if Trump still loses, by claiming that Trump lost, again, because the election was stolen by illegal voters.

Trump continues to insist that Biden’s replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket was a “coup,” partly because he wants to face off against Biden, rather than Harris. But he also is priming his supporters to believe that those Americans who want the government to work for them rather than the very wealthy are illegitimate.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[findingmypeace]

I remember you did ketamine nasal spray a long time ago. You had to try it in a psychiatrist office the first time and then you were able to take it home and use it on your own. Is this different? I’ve heard of several applications of the medication with different goals. Best of luck with it!

Yes, this one will be different. The nasal spray I was using was an early form of spravato that I was able to take home and use as a kind of prn. I did feel better after using it but I think a lot of it might have been a placebo effect.

The one I will be taking now is in pill form. It’s through a company called Journey Clinical. You do a few assessments with them, one with an intake person, and then with a few therapist’s you’ve been “matched” with. You pick the therapist you feel is the best fit. Then they send you the ketamine. That’s where I’m at right now. I’ve picked a therapist and received the ketamine. The next step will be to set up a ‘prep’ session. I’m waiting to hear back from the therapist I chose for a time when she is available for that session. After that we set up the first session with the ketamine. I take the ketamine and after the effects have worn off we will have a therapy session. I’m doing all of this virtually but I will need someone to be with me during the 1st session. Prior to this whole insurance thing that person was going to be my therapist. I still want it to be her.

I did pay for the ketamine and the intake out of pocket. You get enough ketamine for two sessions but the therapist fees are separate. She does take my new insurance so I won’t need to pay her anything. However, if I want more than two sessions I will have to pay out of pocket for more ketamine.

I am anxious about trying it and I’ve heard SO much about the benefits. If it helps, then I want to do it.

[lexlawuk]

How to Apply for a Skilled Worker Visa: Guide for Employers and Applicants

The Skilled Worker Visa is one of the primary immigration routes for skilled employment in the UK, introduced as part of the UK’s points-based immigration system in December 2020. It replaced the former Tier 2 (General) visa and allows skilled professionals to work in specific roles across sectors, provided they meet the necessary requirements. This route is open to both EU and non-EU citizens…

[applythaivisas]

Tourist Visa in Thailand

Thailand’s Tourist Visa is designed for foreign nationals planning short-term visits for leisure, sightseeing, or visiting family. This visa allows for an extended stay, providing travelers the flexibility to explore Thailand's rich culture, stunning landscapes, and bustling cities. Managed by the Thai Immigration Bureau and Thai embassies or consulates worldwide, the process and requirements for obtaining a Tourist Visa vary depending on nationality and intended duration of stay.

1. Types of Tourist Visas

1.1 Single-Entry Tourist Visa

Purpose: For travelers who plan to enter Thailand once.

Duration: Permits a stay of up to 60 days.

Extension: Can be extended for an additional 30 days at a local immigration office.

1.2 Multiple-Entry Tourist Visa

Purpose: For frequent travelers who plan to enter and exit Thailand multiple times within a specified period.

Duration: Valid for 6 months, with each entry allowing a stay of up to 60 days.

Extension: Each stay can also be extended by 30 days.

1.3 Visa Exemption

Purpose: For travelers from eligible countries under Thailand’s Visa Exemption Program.

Duration: Allows a stay of 30 days without a visa (or 45 days temporarily during specific periods).

Extension: Can be extended for 30 days at an immigration office.

2. Application Process

2.1 Requirements for a Tourist Visa

Applicants must prepare the following:

Passport: Valid for at least 6 months from the intended date of entry.

Completed Visa Application Form: Available at Thai embassies or consulates.

Passport-Sized Photos: Usually 4x6 cm, taken within the last six months.

Proof of Financial Stability:

For a single traveler: 20,000 THB.

For a family: 40,000 THB (bank statements, cash, or financial guarantees).

Confirmed Travel Itinerary: Flight tickets showing entry and exit dates.

Accommodation Details: Hotel bookings or address of a residence in Thailand.

Visa Fee: Typically ranges between 1,000 and 5,000 THB, depending on the visa type.

2.2 Submission

Submit the application at a Thai embassy or consulate in the applicant’s home country or region.

Processing time is typically 3–5 business days.

3. Visa Extensions and Overstay Rules

3.1 Extending a Tourist Visa

Apply at a local immigration office.

Fee: 1,900 THB.

Extension duration: 30 days for eligible visa types.

3.2 Overstay Penalties

Overstaying a visa results in fines of 500 THB per day, up to a maximum of 20,000 THB.

Prolonged overstays can result in bans from re-entering Thailand.

4. Special Considerations for Tourist Visas

Travel Insurance:

Some embassies may require proof of travel insurance covering COVID-19 and medical expenses.

Visa Runs:

Travelers on Visa Exemption often exit and re-enter Thailand to reset their 30-day stay. This practice, while common, is increasingly scrutinized by immigration officers.

COVID-19 Policies:

Additional health-related documents, such as vaccination certificates or negative test results, may be required depending on current regulations.

5. Benefits of a Tourist Visa

Flexibility:

Options for single or multiple entries suit a variety of travel plans.

Extended Stay:

Extensions allow up to 90 days on a single trip, ideal for in-depth exploration.

Ease of Access:

Straightforward application process available worldwide.

Conclusion

Thailand’s Tourist Visa provides a straightforward and flexible option for travelers seeking to experience the country's vibrant culture, scenic beauty, and welcoming atmosphere. Whether for short trips or extended stays, understanding the types of visas, requirements, and application process ensures a hassle-free travel experience. Consulting with Thai embassies or legal professionals is recommended for specific or complex cases.

[stackslip]

The European Union is set to generate millions of euros more from the high rejection rates of visa applications by African visitors with a new increase in non-refundable fees.

Citizens of the 26 member states within Europe’s Schengen area have unhindered borderless access within the area, while most travelers from elsewhere require visas. A 12.5% price hike that takes effect on June 11 increases the cost of a short-term (90 days) visa application to €90.

But while the price hike applies equally to all non-EU residents who require a Schengen visa, it raises the prospect of the bloc making disproportionately more money from its rejection rates for applicants from Africa, analysts say.

Of the €130 million the EU earned in 2023 from rejected visa applications, about 42% of that was from applicants living in Africa, even though the continent accounts for 24% of Schengen visa applications, according to London-based research firm LAGO Collective. Prospective visitors who apply from Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria receive rejection rates of between 40% and 50%, LAGO estimated, based on data from the European Commission’s migration and home affairs office.

“We found a relationship between the GDP of countries and rejection rates for short-term visas,” Marta Foresti, LAGO’s founder, told Semafor Africa. A similar rejection trend in 2024 with the new price would deepen long-standing inequality of outcomes between consumers paying for the same service from high and low-income countries, Foresti said.

While these encourage dangerous attempts to reach Europe across seas and deserts, most African migration is via “regular channels,” the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington DC notes.

Yet Africans applying to visit Europe for short-term stays, such as business engagements or conferences, continue to face a stumbling block.

Average rejection rates for African applicants are generally 10 percentage points higher than the global average, Mehari Taddele Maru, a researcher at the EU-owned European University Institute in Italy, found. Seven of the top ten countries with the highest rejection rates for Schengen visa applications in 2022 were in Africa.

The EU’s more expensive visa and its potentially disproportionate impact on Africans comes as the bloc takes a tougher stance on migration.

New rules approved by the EU Commission in April impose a higher standard for screening non-EU nationals at borders, including the collection of biometric data, and health and security checks. Border fences set up by member states within the Schengen area have become longer in the last decade, stretching from 315 km to 2,048 km as of 2022.

Higher visa prices could be another type of fence, which when combined with high rejection rates, will continue to enrich European consulates at the expense of residents of low income countries who nevertheless have legitimate reasons to be in Europe.

Africa’s high rejection rate is sometimes explained as a consequence of visitors overstaying their visas. But “there is no evidence to suggest that a higher rejection rate leads to a decrease in irregular migration or visa overstays,” Maru argues. In essence, an unexplained bias against Africans is at play.

The costs of rejection to African entrepreneurs, career professionals, artists and other seekers of the EU’s short-term visa calls for a reform of the approval process, Foresti told me. Consulates with high unequal outcomes should review their decision-making to ensure “systematic discrimination” against some countries isn’t an underlying cause.

And should some EU members enforce high rejection for short-term visas to dissuade overstays by residents of particular African countries, more paths to legal migration should be considered, she argued.

[handeaux]

Byron H. Robb’s Pertinacious Gall Got Him Evicted From Cincinnati And Honored In Texas

In the long and sordid roster of Queen City scalawags, Byron H. Robb holds a prominent place. He was delightfully incorrigible, congenitally incapable of telling the truth and absolutely unrepentant when exposed.

Robb fabricated so consistently that it is often difficult to separate any facts from the overwhelming flood of mendacity in his wake. It appears that he was born around 1836 in or near Parkman, Ohio, a tiny hamlet east of Cleveland and northwest of Youngstown. His parents named him Harvey, but he found that name uninspiring and relegated it to a middle initial. He began calling himself Byron, after the British poet.

At the age of 19, Robb launched a lifelong career as a bamboozler, selling a concoction guaranteed to produce luscious curls when applied to the scalp. At least one unfortunate customer went totally bald when she saturated her hair with the stuff. He got into the oil business by purchasing a dry well, then pouring oil stolen from nearby tanks into it. He then fobbed the now “productive” rig onto some credulous farmer. During the Civil War, Robb raised a cavalry company he dubbed the “Geauga Rangers” and offered it for service, claiming the rank of lieutenant on the basis of his own fabricated experience as a Texas Ranger. The United States Army wasn’t that desperate.

Among Robb’s myriad victims was Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Mrs. Stowe ordered some “mammoth gourd seeds” from Robb to plant at her winter home in Florida. Robb claimed these seeds yielded gigantic gourds that could be used as washtubs. When her first shipment failed to sprout, Mrs. Stowe ordered another, and sent a letter inquiring what she had done wrong!

At various times, Robb popped up in St. Louis, New Orleans and a number of other locales, usually one step ahead of the law. When the constabulary sniffed too close to his fraudulent enterprises, Robb would “rent” another man’s name and resume business under that appellation until the coast was clear. During the 1860s, Robb paid a gardener named William Chappell $25 annually so he could advertise yet another hair tonic under the “Chappell’s Hyperion” brand.

It was reported that Robb dumped his first wife by encouraging her interest in another man. Robb sent her to Indiana to secure a divorce while he romanced an employee who would become the second Mrs. Robb.

Around 1875, Robb rented a house in Bellevue, Kentucky, establishing his business offices in Cincinnati. Entries in the city directories for the next half-dozen years indicate the constant churn of his schemes. At first, he listed himself as a “general agent,” which covered a multitude of sins. Next, he became the proprietor of the Monitor Manufacturing Company, then manager of the Monitor Lamp & Glass Works, and then President of the American and European Secret Service Company, then manager of the Electro Magnetic Hair and Flesh Brush Company.

Interestingly, at least two of these companies had some basis in actual inventions patented by Robb. In 1877, Robb was awarded a patent for a device that extinguished a kerosene lamp if it was knocked over. In 1879 and 1880, he earned patents for “galvanic” hairbrushes. Unfortunately, Robb preferred fraud to manufacturing. People who ordered his lamps often got nothing at all, while customers of his galvanic brushes received nothing but a cheap comb with a bit of copper wire wrapped around it.

It was his “Secret Service” company that achieved the pinnacle of Robb’s infamy. The American and European Secret Service Company placed hundreds of advertisements throughout the United States, offering to enlist any correspondent as a bona-fide detective, complete with a frameable certificate and a shiny new badge for the low, low price of only $3.60. After paying this fee, applicants were advised to keep their day jobs in order to remain undercover until an assignment came up. Young men throughout the country signed up in abundance – many of them career criminals who believed that an appointment as a detective offered a credible alibi. There are reports of bushels of mail arriving every day at Robb’s Fifth Street office, half containing money orders for $3.60 and half containing dunning letters from newspapers that were never paid for running Robb’s advertisements.

Eventually the postal inspectors caught up with Robb and he was subpoenaed to court. Robb procured the cream of the Cincinnati bar for his defense, including Stanley Matthews, later appointed to the United States Supreme Court, and George Hoadly, later elected governor of Ohio. His lawyers reviewed the evidence collected by the Post Office and informed Robb that he was undoubtedly going to lose the case. His best option was to plead guilty and throw himself on the mercy of the court.

Robb responded by firing his crack legal team. He then sent telegrams to a dozen or so of his “detectives,” directing them to take the next train westward, to proceed to some remote location and to apprehend a red-headed, one-eyed man missing one finger and walking with a limp. The young operatives, delighted to finally be on assignment, followed orders and reported back that no such man could be found. Robb thanked them for their diligence, paid their salary and expenses and told his proteges to await their next assignment.

In court, Robb produced several of these young men as witnesses. They testified under oath that they had applied to the Secret Service Company, paid the initiation fee, received their badge and certificate, and had received an assignment from Robb and had been paid for it. The Post Office case crumbled. No matter they could prove nothing in court, the United States Postmaster announced in 1880 that nine Cincinnati companies controlled by Robb were prohibited from using the postal service in any manner.

Byron H. Robb responded to this temporary setback with his usual flair. First, he went to court and had his name legally changed to Byron H. Van Raub, claiming it was the ancestral version of the family surname. Then he relocated to Texas and acquired some property he claimed was the famous Don Carlos Ranch, which it was not, and then got into the Shetland Pony business, and then the cowboy school business, and then the bloodhound dog business, and then the Buff Leghorn egg business and then the milch goat business. And he had the nearest Bexar County railroad whistle stop renamed Van Raub, after himself.

Every time Robb, or Van Raub, embarked on some new scam, newspapers around the country published scathing exposés of his extensive rap sheet. Newspaper owners were delighted to attack him because the one constant in Robb’s career was his reluctance to pay for advertising. Still, there was always someone willing to believe his folderol. One newspaper, reporting that Van Raub was seeking young men willing to become cowboys (and willing to send him $5.00 for particulars – sound familiar?) claimed he was a retired Prussian cavalry officer who insisted on stern discipline. When Robb died in 1913, the obituaries included some highly unlikely embellishments such as selling Shetland ponies to European nobility.

Amazingly, Robb’s bullshit endures to this very day. Out where Van Raub, Texas, once existed – by the 1920s, his namesake was nothing more than a ghost town – there is an official historic marker that reads in part:

“This community, named after Byron Van Raub, an English gentlemen rancher, was established along the route of the Kerrville Branch. It is said that this successful gentleman rancher developed the first dude ranch in Texas as a means to train fellow Englishman in the rigors of creating successful Texas ranching operations.”

The shifty little shyster from rural Ohio got himself memorialized as an English gentleman, capping a positively breathtaking life of unrelenting chutzpah.

[missyeon]

rania’s story; thank you for reaching out to me 🤍

→ from her gofundme;

“My name is Rania Muhanna, I'm 35 years old, a graphic designer and digital artist. My family consists of 23 people, nine children and fourteen others including grandparents. We are now living in tents unable to comprehend the magnitude of pain and suffering. Our home, which we worked hard to buy over the past years during the devastating war in Gaza City, was demolished. My father also lost his workshop, which was the livelihood source for our family.

Personally, Israeli artillery targeted my office as a freelance designer, causing me to lose all my equipment and office space. We were forced to leave our homes amidst the sound of bullets and rockets, seeking refuge at the Red Crescent Hospital for nearly a month, enduring attacks and battles around the hospital.

After the occupation targeted many children and advanced its vehicles in front of the hospital gate, we left through a terrifying and frightening path. We stopped for hours of interrogation, losing all our remaining personal belongings. We left with no money or clothes except what we were wearing, no blankets or food, and none of the basic necessities of life. We lost everything and are striving to build a new future as a productive family capable of continuing and rising from the ashes of war.

Through this campaign, we aim to raise funds to help us leave Gaza Strip and start a new life in a better and safer place.

The cost of evacuating one adult is 7500 euro while the child fee is 5000 euros. There are also some transaction fees for GoFundMe, not to mention the basic living expenses for a family of 24 person in Egypt.

Please help me raise the application fees and travel costs for 24 people. To facilitate the evacuation of my family to Egypt, I am setting up this campaign on GoFundMe to raise 171,843 euros. Here is the breakdown of the funds:

A total of 157,000 euros must be allocated to cover expenses related to obtaining exit permits from Gaza, as well as crossing fees in Rafah on the border between Egypt and Gaza.

An estimated 10,000 euros will be sufficient to cover the basic needs of my family in Egypt for five months, including housing, food, and other necessities (equivalent to 2,000 euros per month).

A total of 4,843 euros will be used to cover GoFundMe transaction fees (2.9% plus $0.30 per donation).

Any donation, no matter how small, will make a huge difference in the safety of my family. We will use the funds collected transparently and efficiently to ensure that every dollar goes towards keeping them safe.

Thank you for your support, and I am grateful for any assistance you can provide during this difficult time.

→ rania’s gofundme;

🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸 — [ @raniamuhanna ]