Work/Investment

Petition-based (H/L/O/P/Q)

Applicants for NIVs as temporary workers (H1B/H2A/H2B/H3), intra-company transferees (L), persons of extraordinary ability (O), professional entertainers and athletes (P), and Int'l Cultural Exchange Visitors (Q), 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 visa only after CIS approves your petition. Neither consular officers nor DOS have any information about your petition.

• How to Apply
• What is Needed to Apply?
• Processing Time
• Entertainer Information
• Expedited Appointment Request

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 visa inquiries), please e-mail us at : seoulniv@state.gov. For E, H, L, O, P, Q 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 July 31, 2008