SEOUL (Reuters) -The U.S. and South Korea are working closely to advance their trade and investment partnership including by processing appropriate visas for qualified South Korean workers, the U.S. State Department said.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stressed the “critical role” of skilled workers of foreign companies investing in the U.S. at the first working group meeting on new visas for South Korean companies, the State Department said in a statement.
The meeting between senior State Department and South Korean foreign ministry officials aimed at improving U.S. visa programmes for South Korean businesses was held in Washington on Tuesday.
Landau said the United States was committed to encouraging investment by companies from South Korea as one of the leading foreign investors in the U.S., the statement said.
The talks were set up in the aftermath of a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor car battery facility under construction in the U.S. state of Georgia in September where hundreds of South Korean workers were arrested.
The arrests, which stunned the South Korean government and public, highlighted the lack of access to the right class of U.S. visas for specialised South Korean workers needed at investment sites.
(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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