The recent mass detention of Koreans by U.S. immigration authorities has thrust the need to improve America’s visa issuance system into the spotlight. This is because the long-standing practice of tacitly allowing employment on visas that prohibit work has now come under scrutiny.

The Korean government plans to actively press Washington for system improvements, including the creation of a special employment visa for Koreans. Observers say that the current moment, when Korean investment in the U.S. is expanding, may be the right time to push such demands through.

On September 4 (local time), U.S. immigration authorities arrested some 300 Koreans at the construction site of a joint battery plant by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia. It was later revealed that the detainees had entered the U.S. under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) or on B-1 business visas. While ESTA allows a 90-day stay without a visa, it does not permit employment. B-1 visas allow for activities such as attending meetings, negotiating contracts, or short-term training, but not for providing labor at construction sites. Nonetheless, such practices have long been carried out in reality. This stems in part from the difficulty of obtaining H-1B visas, which allow for professional employment in the U.S. Issuance takes several months, is capped at 85,000 annually, and is determined by lottery.

The Korean government intends to open discussions with Washington on improving the visa system. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who departs for the U.S. on September 8, is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials to address both the release of detained Koreans and broader visa issues. Cho is expected to propose securing a dedicated quota of H-1B visas for Koreans or establishing a new E-4 professional employment visa category exclusively for Korean nationals.

The U.S. has provided special allocations of professional visas to other countries in the past. Canada and Mexico have unlimited quotas, Singapore receives 5,400 visas annually, Chile 1,400, and Australia 10,500. Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and Chile secured these quotas through their respective free trade agreements (FTAs) with the U.S. signed between 1994 and 2003. Australia is the only country to have obtained such a quota through U.S. legislation in 2005.

The Korean government sees current Korea-U.S. relations as favorable for pushing visa system reform. Seoul has pledged US$500 billion (about 700 trillion won) in U.S. investment through tariff negotiations and summits with Washington, giving grounds to argue that a smooth labor supply is essential for fulfilling that promise. Speaking at an emergency session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 8th, Cho said, “To realize Korean investment in the U.S., resolving visa issues is a prerequisite. We will stress this point to the U.S. side and pursue concrete discussions.”

Seoul also views remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump positively. On the 7th in New York, Trump said, “If you don’t have people in this country right now that know about batteries, maybe we should help them along and let some people come in and train our people to do complex things, whether it’s battery manufacturing or computer manufacturing or building ships,” hinting at potential system reforms. The Korean government is also encouraged by the trust built between President Lee Jae-myung and Trump during their first summit last month. Analysts note that Australia’s success in securing a special quota was largely due to the close personal ties between the two countries’ leaders at the time, which prompted strong cooperation from the U.S. administration in passing the legislation.

Still, unlike in the past, the growing anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S. casts doubt on whether Washington will accept Korea’s demands. Since 2012, Seoul has pushed for the passage of the “Korea Partner Act,” which would allow the issuance of up to 15,000 work visas exclusively to Koreans each year, but has made little progress. A related bill was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this July.