South Korea and the United States on Friday officially launched a visa support desk at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to help Korean companies investing in America with smoother entry procedures, the foreign ministry said.
The rollout of the Korean Investment and Travel (KIT) Desk comes as Seoul and Washington work to clarify visa rules for Korean investors and their skilled employees, after the shocking detention and release of more than 300 Korean workers in an immigration sweep in Georgia exposed ambiguities in the U.S. work visa system.
The KIT Desk will allow subcontractors of major South Korean companies investing in America to apply for work visas for their employees through the prime contractors, including Samsung, SK, LG and Hanwha, a measure expected to expedite the visa issuance process.
Subcontracted workers previously had to apply for work visas on their own, and that has often resulted in delays or denials of entry into the U.S.
As for the case of B1 business visas, an annotation specifying the purpose of their U.S. visit and other details, like the name of the projects involved and the location of their workplace, will be attached to the ones issued to South Korean workers.
