This article is by Lee Jae-lim and read by an artificial voice.



Korea may seek higher quotas for H-2B foreign worker visas to the United States as it moves forward with its $350 billion investment pledge, with experts projecting that the scale of these projects will bring greater influx of Korean workers to the U.S. in the coming years.

The current annual cap stands at 85,000 for H-1B specialist visas and 66,000 for H-2B nonagricultural worker visas. But the urgency of limited U.S. visa issuance was put into sharper focus by the recent Georgia immigration raid, where 310 Korean workers were detained - an incident that sparked outrage in Korea.

Although broader trade negotiations remain stalled for now, what is certain is that Korea's massive investment commitments will require a steady pipeline of Korean labor entering the U.S.

"The U.S. Department of Justice has issued tens of thousands of additional H-2B visas in recent years," said Jung Man-suk, a U.S.-licensed attorney at Daeyang Immigration Law Group, during a seminar hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Amcham) in Western Seoul on Monday. "This shows that if the U.S. government is willing, there is room to expand the H-2B quota."

Shorter-term measures could involve Korean firms requesting more flexible administrative guidance for temporary visa approvals, especially for workers providing technical support to large-scale projects like semiconductor or battery plants. Companies, experts advise, should also diversify their visa strategies by tailoring programs to specific roles: H-2B visas for short-term labor, L visas for managers and key personnel, E-2 visas for investment-based core staff and J visas for training or education purposes.

"I've seen cases where companies send all their employees under a single visa program," Jung noted. "That's not a good idea. Taking a tailored, spread-out approach makes visa processing far smoother."

Korean firms must also account for structural differences in U.S. employment rules. In Korea, major construction and manufacturing projects typically operate under a contractor - subcontractor model. But U.S. immigration law ties visas directly to an employer - employee relationship, creating barriers for subcontracted workers seeking visas. "One way around this is for Korean firms to register subcontractor employees directly under their U.S. entities," Jung said, "so they qualify as employers under visa requirements."

To further address labor needs, Korean companies have proposed the creation of a Korea-specific E-4 visa that would allow an additional 15,000 workers annually. The idea has been included in the Partner with Korea Act, introduced in July by Rep. Young Kim, Republican of California. However, progress has been slow, and many predict it could take years for the measure to advance, as it remains low on the Trump administration's list of priorities.