E-Paper
Who is Pei-Yun Chung? Taiwanese ‘student visa holder’ faces deportation after dining and dashing at top NYC restaurants
Pei-Yun Chung, a 34-year-old food influencer, faces deportation allegedly after dining and dashing at multiple New York City restaurants.
Pei-Yun Chung has made a notorious name for herself allegedly after leaving without paying at various restaurants in New York City, prompting owners to alert one another about the Taiwan-born woman deceiving them. Numerous media outlets in the United States are now reporting that the 34-year-old influencer may soon be facing deportation.
The aspiring food influencer, who has been hopping from one restaurant to another, has been arrested multiple times, said NYPD, as per the New York Post. Just last week, she was arraigned on charges of theft of services. Before that, she was taken into custody for dining and dashing at establishments in Williamsburg. After her most recent arrest over the weekend, she was placed on supervised release.
Pei-Yun Ching has not shown any remorse despite being held accountable for her inability to pay. The Taiwan-born person shared pictures from her visit to the Israeli restaurant 12 Chairs on Instagram a few days after she departed without paying her bill at Sea Thai and the Michelin-starred restaurant Misi. Chung also failed to pay for her services at their facility, the management told the NY Post.
Pei-Yun Ching's dining at top NYC restaurants
On October 27, she placed an order for food totaling $188 and suggested compensating with social media promotion rather than cash. John Winterman, one of the owners of Francie, informed The New York Post, “She wanted to trade pictures and a blog post for the meal… I said we would have to agree on that beforehand, which we didn’t, so the bill needed to be paid.” Later, on November 7, Chung attempted to dine again but declined to pay her bill of $83.83.
Who is Pei Chung? All on Taiwanese NYC influencer
Pei Chung, 34, lives in Brooklyn. According to the New York Post, she is of Taiwanese heritage and shares content related to a luxury lifestyle with her approximately 14,000 followers on Instagram. Her LinkedIn profile suggests that she previously served as a user experience consultant for JP Morgan Chase & Co, accumulating six years of experience in the fields of technology, finance, and e-commerce.
Chung possesses a master’s degree in Information Experience Design (IXD), which she obtained from Pratt Institute in New York. During her studies, she was awarded a full merit-based scholarship in 2019. Additionally, she identifies as a former child prodigy, having begun playing the violin at the age of three and receiving training in classical piano and royal ballet from ages five to ten.
What is Pei-Yun Chung's immigration status?
Nearly a year ago, Pei-Yun Chung used her LinkedIn account to announce “Pei-Yun (Lu) Chung’s EB-1A Visa Petition,” referencing “extraordinary ability in Sciences, Arts, Designs.”
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services' official website states that a person is eligible for the Employment-Based first-preference visa if they are an alien of extraordinary ability, an outstanding professor or researcher, or a specific multinational executive or manager.
According to law enforcement officials, she overstayed her student visa, and the Department of Corrections website has issued an immigration warrant. She arrived in the US from Taiwan in 2019 on a student visa, according to the NY Post. She apparently received a scholarship to attend the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn till 2021 because of this qualification.
Following her court appearance on Wednesday, Chung is expected to be the subject of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement hearing, as per immigration lawyer Gadi Zohar.
“The criminal charges are likely what prompted the [Immigration] warrant. [Immigration officers will] probably take her from Rikers to the immigration detention center,” the attorney informed the NY news outlet.
