After the raid on the Georgia battery plant, the future of US-Korea visa diplomacy
On September 4, 2025, hundreds of federal agents raided the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. This operation, involving a joint task force of ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, and the Georgia State Police, was the largest immigration enforcement action ever conducted at a single site in the history of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Four hundred seventy-five people were arrested, with over 300 of them being Korean nationals. The rest were from Mexico (23), China (10), Japan (3), and Indonesia (1). The $4.3 billion battery plant, under construction within the $7.6 billion Hyundai Metaplant complex, became the scene of the raid overnight.
The testimonies of the arrested Korean workers were shocking. They were not read their Miranda rights during the arrest, were handcuffed at the wrists, ankles, and waist, and had their mobile phones confiscated. Some ICE agents reportedly taunted them, referencing North Korea and “Rocket Man.” The incident escalated into a diplomatic dispute between South Korea and the United States, and the South Korean government dispatched a charter plane to repatriate some of the workers. The CEO of Hyundai stated that the factory's operations would be delayed by two to three months. The factory was scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2026, but the schedule was inevitably disrupted due to the absence of key technical personnel. Approximately 50 engineers re-entered the United States by mid-November, and over 100 regained their B-1 visas, but a significant number of Korean workers have expressed their intention not to return to the U.S. The experience in the detention facilities has left them with trauma.
After this incident, the contradiction between South Korea's investment in the U.S. and visa policies has come to the forefront. South Korea has pledged over $350 billion in investments to the United States. The gap between the promise to build factories and the reality of not guaranteeing visas for the people who will build those factories has now become an agenda item at the presidential level for both countries. On one hand, attracting hundreds of billions of dollars in investment; on the other hand, arresting and deporting the workforce that will realize that investment – this is a snapshot of current US-South Korea relations.
◆ From Georgia to Seoul — Enforcement Changes Diplomacy
“Current immigration rules are incompatible with the demand for skilled labor in major industrial projects.” – President Lee Jae-myung, meeting with a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation (April 2026)
The repercussions of the Georgia crackdown have gone beyond simple immigration violations. The South Korean government has directly intervened to protect its citizens, and this incident has become a test for the US-South Korea alliance. Of the 317 South Koreans arrested, approximately 50 engineers re-entered the United States by November 15th, and over 100 had their B-1 business visas reinstated. However, a significant number have expressed their intention not to return to the US. Voices of concern have emerged within the South Korean battery industry, questioning whether US investments should be put on hold.
In April 2026, President Lee Jae-myung met with a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation visiting Seoul and directly requested visa system reforms. The message was blunt: if they expected Korean companies to continue building factories in the United States, there needed to be appropriate visa regulations for dispatched workers. The President formally requested congressional support for the Partner with Korea Act, directly linking South Korea's $350 billion investment to visa stability. The U.S. senators responded, “We will review it closely.”.
The backdrop to the request is scale. Korean corporate investment commitments to the US now exceed $350 billion. Hyundai, LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung, among others, are investing or have committed to investing in battery plants, semiconductor fabs, and shipbuilding facilities. On March 12, 2026, the National Assembly of South Korea passed a bipartisan special law to manage these $350 billion investments. Investment into the US is being treated as a matter of national importance within South Korea itself. Hyundai Motor has expanded its total US investment to $26 billion, SK Group is building large-scale battery plants in Georgia and Kentucky, and LG Energy Solution has signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP batteries to Tesla. These investments play a crucial role in the US electric vehicle supply chain and energy transition strategy.
However, there is a significant gap between the scale of investment and the reality of visas. Specialized technicians dispatched from Korea are essential for the construction and initial operation of battery and semiconductor plants. These individuals often enter on B-1 business visas or short-term stay permits, but their actual work on-site frequently exceeds the scope permitted by their visas. Georgia's crackdown directly confronted this gray area. B-1 visas are limited to short-term business activities such as attending meetings or negotiating contracts, and productive labor on-site is generally not permitted. Whether work such as installing equipment and conducting trial runs at a factory construction site constitutes “short-term business” or “productive labor” is not clearly defined by current law. The result of dispatching hundreds of technicians, while aware of this gray area, was the largest single-site crackdown in history.
The Korean battery industry's reaction was immediate. Concerns were raised about whether U.S. investments should be put on hold, and Korean industry officials warned that the schedules for multiple U.S. projects, valued at 140 trillion won (approximately $101 billion), could be disrupted. The lesson learned in Georgia is that while the physical aspects of investment (factories, equipment, materials) proceed as planned, the entire operation can grind to a halt if the human aspect (dispatch of technicians, visas, residency) cannot keep up. On-site guidance from technicians trained at Korean headquarters is essential for battery cell manufacturing and semiconductor fab operation. American personnel who can replace them cannot be trained in the short term. If technology transfer is delayed due to visa issues, factories may be built but unable to operate. This is not a loss for Korean companies alone. It directly disrupts the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain and energy security.
◆ Partner with Korea Act — What's Changing
“South Korea is the second-largest country for E-2 investor visas issued in the U.S.” — U.S. Department of State FY2024 Visa Statistics
The Partner with Korea Act (H.R. 4687) is a bill that establishes a new visa category for individuals with South Korean nationality. The core of the bill is to create the E-4 nonimmigrant visa, allowing up to 15,000 South Korean professionals to perform services in specialty occupations in the United States each fiscal year. The bill draws inspiration from the structure of the E-3 visa, which is exclusively granted to Australians, and aims to strengthen economic ties between the two countries based on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
The bill's sponsor is Representative Young Kim (California), and Senators Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma) and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) are participating on a bipartisan basis in the Senate. Although this bill has been reintroduced in every Congress since it was first introduced in the 113th Congress in November 2013, it has not yet passed. While the bill has not cleared Congress in over a decade, the situation is different now with the specific catalyst of the Georgia case. Separately, a bill to add South Korea to the E-3 visa program (H.R. 5534) has also been submitted to the 119th Congress.
The prospects for passage are uncertain. However, there are differences from past congresses. A specific incident, the "Georgia crackdown," has occurred, the South Korean government is directly involved at the presidential level, and the scale of investment, $350 billion, provides political motivation for US lawmakers. For lawmakers in states where South Korean companies have built factories, such as Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, this bill is a matter that directly affects local jobs and tax revenue. South Korean companies' factories in the US create jobs not only through direct employment but also in local construction, logistics, and service industries. If this investment is hampered by visa issues, it will not only be South Korean companies that suffer.
South Korea is already second in the world for E-2 investor visas issued within the United States. As of FY2024, 6,778 visas were issued, making it the second highest after Japan. This signifies a considerable scale of South Korean participation in businesses and investments within the U.S., and the practical logic of the bill is to add professional visas on top of the existing E-2 framework.
If the bill passes, what changes will occur? Currently, for Korean professionals to work in the U.S., they must go through the H-1B (high lottery competition), L-1 (only domestic transfers within the same company), or E-2 (requires significant investment) visas. If the E-4 visa is newly established, Korean professionals will be able to get jobs in specialized fields within an annual quota of 15,000 without going through a lottery. Direct beneficiaries include battery and semiconductor engineers, IT specialists, and project managers. For Korean technicians currently in the gray area of the B-1 visa, a legal and clear alternative will emerge. This also serves as a systemic measure to fundamentally prevent the recurrence of incidents like the one in Georgia.
What Korean Business Owners and Professionals Should Prepare
“A single visa issue can shake a multi-billion dollar project.”
If the Partner with Korea Act passes, 15,000 new employment pathways will open annually for Korean professionals. However, the bill's passage is not guaranteed and the timing is uncertain. There are things to prepare within the current framework.
Korean business owners holding an E-2 investor visa—which applies to thousands of Koreans operating nail salons, laundromats, restaurants, convenience stores, and more in New York and New Jersey—must verify that their visa conditions precisely align with their actual business activities. During renewal reviews, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) examines the business's legitimacy, the maintenance of investment capital, and job creation performance. Renewals can be denied if the business exists only on paper or if the investment scale has been reduced.
If a technician is dispatched to the U.S. on a B-1 visa, they must pre-emptively confirm the boundaries of activities permitted by the visa. While attending meetings, negotiating contracts, and providing short-term technical advice are allowed, on-site work such as equipment installation or commissioning falls under the purview of H-1B or L-1 visas. This distinction was precisely the issue in the Georgia case. It is essential to review the suitability of the work content and visa type with an immigration lawyer before dispatch. Especially in fields like batteries and semiconductors, which involve highly technical on-site work, one must accurately recognize the limitations of the B-1 visa and have alternative plans in place. H-1B is suitable for specialized professionals but carries the uncertainty of an annual lottery, and L-1 is limited to transfers within the same company. The advantages and disadvantages of each visa, as well as the time required, must be considered from the initial stages of dispatch planning.
Korean companies planning to invest in the United States must include immigration law compliance as part of their investment plans. The Georgia incident proved that even if the physical construction of a factory goes smoothly, a single employee's visa issue can delay the entire project for months. Even the CEO of Hyundai stated through media reports that he learned about the crackdown. This means that while building a $7.6 billion factory, management did not properly grasp the visa status of hundreds of employees sent there. This is not just a problem for Hyundai. The same lesson applies to Korean entrepreneurs operating small E-2 businesses, not just large corporations. A single employee's immigration status issue can put the entire business at risk.
This story is not just about large corporations in faraway lands; it also affects Korean-American small business owners in New York and New Jersey—those operating nail salons, laundromats, restaurants, and grocery stores. Failure to verify employees' work authorization documents, overlooking expired Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), or improperly completing Form I-9 can lead to workplace raids, regardless of business size. With the number of ICE worksite audit notices issued increasing more than tenfold compared to 2024, small businesses cannot assume they are exempt from audits. The Form I-9 penalty regulations discussed in Column 2 (ranging from $288 to $2,861 per violation, and up to $28,619 per employee for knowing employment) apply to Korean-owned businesses without exception.
The distance between $350 billion in investment and handcuffs is closer than you think. A single visa can determine the schedule of a multi-billion dollar project, and a raid on one factory can become an agenda item between the leaders of two countries. While it's worth keeping an eye on the legislative progress of the Partner with Korea Act, it's risky to plan contingent on the bill's passage. A realistic strategy is to maximize the use of legal channels within the current legal framework, while being prepared to respond quickly if new legislation is enacted. For Korean business owners and professionals, immigration law is no longer a secondary aspect of their business. It has become an era where it must be treated as a key variable at every stage of investment, employment, dispatch, and residency. As handcuffs in Georgia change the direction of $350 billion, immigration law must be placed in the main body of the business plan, not in the appendix.
Disclaimer: This column is for general information purposes only and is not legal advice for your specific case. You should always consult with an attorney who specializes in immigration law for your individual case.
Law Offices of Jin Dong Cho
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