Work/Investment

FAQ

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, provides several categories of nonimmigrant visas (NIVs) for people who wish to work temporarily in the U.S. Please click on the questions below to learn more.

• What is a petition?
  
  
• Do I need to visit the U.S. Embassy to apply for my petition-based work visa?
  
  
• What about my family members?
  
  
• What about school for my children?
  
  
• How long is visa processing?
  
  
• How can I contact the Embassy about my E, H, L, O, P, Q or R visa?
  
  
• What is the CIS Premium Processing Program?
  
  
• How can I apply for a TN/TD visa?
  
  
• Please click here for a list of all visa classifications.
  

Skilled workers (H), intra-company transferees (L), persons of extraordinary ability (O), and professional entertainers, performers, athletes (P), Religious Workers (R) and international cultural exchange visitors (Q) NIV applicants first require an approved petition from a U.S. sponsor in the U.S. Petitions are the responsibility of the DHS, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and determine whether or not an applicant meets the basic qualifications for a particular visa. Please contact your sponsor if you have questions about your petition. Consular officers have no role in the petition process.

Please visit the CIS websites for information on filing petition: http://www.uscis.gov/

Do I need to apply for my petition-based work visa in person?

All applicants for visas and their family members are required to schedule an interview through Visa Information Web Services at www.us-visaservices.com and bring all their application materials with them at the time of their interview.

You are required to be finger scanned at the time of your interview. Children 13 years old and younger are not required to be finger scanned and are not required to be present at the time of interview.

An applicant must be physically present in Korea while his/her visa application is pending at the U.S. Embassy Seoul. Please do not send your application and supporting documents to us in advance.

Please bring the following with you to your interview:

• A passport valid for travel to the United States with any plastic/leather cases removed. (Note: A passport with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States is required for certain countries, unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions.  Korean and certain other country passports are exempt from this requirement.)
  
  Please obtain a new passport prior to your interview if:
  
• the biographic page of your passport is separating from the remainder of your passport, or
• your passport is otherwise torn, damaged or mutilated.
  
• A completed and signed Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-156) with photo (See "photo requirements" ) for each applicant.  All applicants are required to use the Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF). You must type the information required into the appropriate spaces on the DS-156 then print the completed DS-156.  
  
  
• Form DS-157, Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application, is required to be submitted with Form DS-156 by all male nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants between the age of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality or place of application.
  
  
• A receipt from Shinhan Bank for the visa processing fee. The fee may be paid at any of the bank's branches in Korea. There is a branch only a short walk from the Embassy; here is a map. A receipt showing payment of the visa application fee for each applicant, including each child listed in a parent's passport who is also applying for a U.S. visa, is needed.
  
  
• A copy of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Notice of Action (I-797) showing petition (I-129) approval.
  
  
  Even if your petition has been approved, if the request for a change of status or extension was denied, please bring your denial letter from CIS.
  
   
  
  
  
• A copy of I-129 with supporting documents (except for Blanket L-1 visa applicant).
  
  
• An employment letter or Job offer letter from your U.S. employer confirming your employment. The letter must be dated within one month of your visa interview date.
  
  
  
• A copy of your most recent W-2 form or pay slips, if you have been working in the U.S.
  
  
• Korean income tax document, if you have been working in Korea (mandatory for initial L visa applications).
  
  
• Entry/Exit record from Korean Immigration for all applicants. (See "How to Obtain a Certificate of Entry/Exit Record" Please note that your most recent entry into Korea is not required.)



• Proof of principal applicant's current H, L, O, P, or R status in the U.S., if you are a spouse or child applying without the principal application.
  
  
• Notice of Appearance (G-28) if represented by a lawyer.
  
  
• Please submit the following documents to prove family relationship. Each certificate must be issued within one month of the application date.
1. The former Family Census Register/Jejeok Deung-Bon (one copy for the entire family)
2. Certificate of Family Relationship (one copy for the entire family)
3. Basic Certificate for each person
4. Marital Status for each person
5. Adoption Certificate for each children
   
   
• All non-English documents must be translated into English.
  
  
• A courier receipt from an Embassy-approved courier company (Ilyang: 1588-0002; Hanjin:1588-0011) within Korea.
  Courier service receipt will be needed to return your passport to you after the visa issuance.  Each passport has a separate courier service form attached.  Courier forms are available at the Embassy.

What about school for my children?

Children who hold derivative E, H, L, O, P, R NIVs may attend shool in the U.S. without restriction. A child who attends school in the U.S. while in derivative status must depart the U.S. at the conclusion of the principal applicant's legal stay. A child wishing to return to the U.S. to study legally must qualify for the appropriate visa at the U.S. Embassy. A change of status in the U.S. is not a new visa and does not assure that an applicant is eligible for any visa. There is no NIV that permits a parent to stay indefinitely in the U.S. to care for a minor child who is either a U.S citizen or holds a student (F1) NIV.

Children wishing to study in the U.S. must hold the proper visa. U.S. law forbids study at a public elementary school (grades 1-8) using an F1 NIV. Study at a public secondary school (grades 9-12) with an F1 NIV is limited to one year, and full reimbursement for the total cost of the education must be confirmed ahead of time. Enrolling a child in public school while in visitor (B1/B2) NIV status can result in the child's visa revocation and permanent visa ineligibility for the child's parents.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please go to USA VISA Information Services at http://www.us-visaservices.com. USA VISA Information Services is available 24 hours a day, and can be accessed from both inside and outside of Korea.

For nonimmigrant visa (NIV) inquiries (excluding E, H, L, O, P, Q, R visa inquiries), please e-mail us at : seoulniv@state.gov. For E, H, L, O, P, Q, R visa inquiries, please e-mail us at : seoulgoldteam@state.gov.

The applicant, not the U.S. Government, assumes full responsibility for all documents and materials submitted in connection with any consular or visa matter, and for qualifying for the required visa or travel document in time to meet the applicant's needs.

This is an official U.S. Government source of information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents.

Updated February 27, 2009