South Korea, US to launch working group to address visa system this week

Seoul, Sep 28 (IANS) South 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 South Koreans in a recent US immigration raid, diplomatic sources said on 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 South Korean workers.

In early September, more than 300 South 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, Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul's foreign ministry and the US State Department will lead the working group, the sources said. The US 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 US visa system for South Korean workers at a time when Korean firms have been carrying out large manufacturing projects in the US.

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

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

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

--IANS

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