Press Releases 2008

U.S. Visa Applicants Encouraged to Apply Early
June 12, 2009

The Embassy would like to remind members of the public planning to visit, study or work in the United States to apply for their visas well in advance.  During the height of the busy summer travel season, it may take as long as 4-6 weeks for nonimmigrant visa appointments to be available.  The demand for student visas continues to grow from year to year, and we will continue to give priority for appointments to students needing to travel to the United States in time to start classes.

U.S. visa appointments can be booked online at https://www.us-visaservices.com/korea/securedefault.htm (Korean and English service available). 

As always, appointments are not required for those needing to travel due to a genuine emergency such as a death or critical illness of an immediate relative.  Please see http://korean.seoul.usembassy.gov/emergency.html for further information.  Applicants wishing to request expedited appointments due to other unforeseeable urgent situations may send a detailed fax to (02) 725-6843 or e-mail to seoulniv@state.gov, and our staff will do their best to respond promptly.