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Korea, U.S. to launch working group to address visa system this week

Published: 28 Sep. 2025, 14:40

More than 300 Korean workers arrive at Incheon International Airport in this photo taken on Sept. 12 after a weeklong detention by U.S. immigration authorities in Georgia. [KIM KYOUNG-ROK]

Korea and the United States will launch a working group this week to improve the visa system for Korean workers after the detention and release of more than 300 Koreans in a recent U.S. immigration raid, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

The two nations will hold the inaugural meeting of the working group in Washington on Tuesday (local time), the sources said, weeks after the Georgia raid on Korean workers.

In early September, more than 300 Korean workers at a factory construction site in Georgia were detained for a week over unclear violations of visa rules. They were released after diplomatic negotiations.

Seoul's foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department will lead the working group, the sources said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Commerce Department are also believed to be taking part in the group.

The two nations are widely expected to discuss how to improve the U.S. visa system for Korean workers at a time when Korean firms have been carrying out large manufacturing projects in the United States.

Many of those who were detained in the Georgia raid had arrived in the U.S. on a B1 visa, issued for business purposes, such as attending meetings or signing contracts, or under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) visa waiver program for short-term stays.

Korea and the United States are likely to discuss whether to flexibly apply the B1 visa. If the scope of business purposes under a B1 visa is clarified, the United States could swiftly address Korean business people's difficulties without the need to change the current visa system.

The possibility of setting up a separate visa desk at the Korean Embassy in the United States could be handled for Koreans making U.S. investments, according to the sources.

Yonhap