Work/Investment
Petition-based (H/L/O/P/Q/R)
Applicants for NIVs as temporary workers (H1B/H2A/H2B/H3), intra-company transferees (L), persons of extraordinary ability (O), professional entertainers and athletes (P) Int'l Cultural Exchange Visitors (Q), and Religious Worker (R), first require a CIS-approved petition from a U.S. sponsor in the U.S. Please contact your sponsor if you have questions about your petition. Consular officers of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) at U.S. Embassy Seoul have no role in, or access to, the petition process.
CIS will send you or your attorney and your sponsor a Notice of Action (I-797) when it approves your petition. You may apply for an H, L, O, P, Q, R visa only after CIS approves your petition. Neither consular officers nor DOS have any information about your petition.
Note: Religious Worker (R) visa - Religious workers who seek to enter the United States temporarily to perform services must have a petition-based R visa. The new regulations require all employers sponsoring nonimmigrant religious workers to file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, on behalf of each religious worker for whom R1 nonimmigrant visa classification is sought. Thus, the U.S. Embassy will no longer issue an R1 nonimmigrant visa unless the visa applicant is the beneficiary of an approved I-129 Petition for R1 classification filed by the employer. For further information regarding R visa processing, please refer to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).
- How to Apply
- What is Needed to Apply?
- Processing Time
- TN/TD visa
- Entertainer Information
- Expedited Appointment Request