Tag: visa waiver

This is a good idea to not only discourage travel to North Korea, but also put a process in place to detect a intelligence collection threat that could be coming to the U.S.:

Any South Korean who visited North Korea after March 2011 will no longer be able to visit the United States visa-free, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The U.S. government said it is putting new restrictions on its Visa Waiver Program, or VWP, for citizens of 38 countries including South Korea who have visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia or North Korea. 

Under the VWP, South Korean citizens are eligible to visit the United States visa-free for up to 90 days as long as they register through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization at least three days in advance. 

This is no longer an option for South Koreans – or citizens of the other 37 countries – who have visited the North. While they will be allowed to visit the U.S., they will have to obtain a visa from a U.S. consular office.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Anyone want to take any guesses on what business 85 South Koreans were being flown into Atlanta to do?:

Eighty-five South Korean travelers were ordered to fly back after they were denied entry into the United States earlier this week, foreign ministry here said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the South Korean Consulate General in Atlanta was notified on Monday that 85 South Korean passport holders were refused U.S. entry at Atlanta International Airport in Georgia on Sunday and were ordered to leave the country.

The travelers arrived at the airport via two separate flights. All of them tried to enter the U.S. through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a travel document under the South Korea-U.S. visa waiver program.

ESTA permits citizens of South Korea to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa, but U.S. authorities found that they tried to enter the country for other purposes, according to the foreign ministry. The ministry, however, refused to give the details of their visiting purposes, citing privacy reasons.

“The South Korean Consulate General in Atlanta contacted the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to find out why our citizens were denied entry and were ordered to leave,” an official with the foreign ministry said. “We’ve checked whether the travelers received translation services and other amenities in the process.”  [Yonhap]