[US Investment Firm 'Visa' Challenge]② Calls for Visa Expansion in the US... Companies Say "This Year Is the Golden Time"

Expansion of Professional Visas 'Korean Companion Act'
Pending in US Congress for 11 Years
Risks Increase if Trump Is Elected

There are considerable voices within the United States calling for the expansion of the H-1B (specialty occupation work visa). The U.S. Congress has been continuously introducing the 'Partner with Korea Act,' but it has been pending for 11 years. This bill includes a provision to issue 15,000 E-4 visas annually, which have similar effects to the H-1B visa.

Rep. Young Kim (Republican·California) delivered a greeting at the Korean American Day commemorative reception hosted by the Korean American Grassroots Council (KAGC) on January 11 (local time) at the Longworth Building, a congressional office building in Washington D.C. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the semiconductor industry, KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency), and the Korea International Trade Association on the 4th, the Partner with Korea Act, introduced by U.S. House Representatives Young Kim (Republican, California), Gerry Connolly (Democrat, Virginia), and U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (Democrat, Hawaii) and Markwayne Mullin (Republican, Oklahoma), has struggled to pass through Congress.

The bill includes provisions to issue up to 15,000 E-4 visas annually exclusively for Korean nationals with specialized education and skills in IT, engineering, mathematics, physics, medicine, and other fields. Workers holding E-4 or H-1B visas gain legal authorization to work in the U.S., similar to those with L1 intracompany transferee visas. Major semiconductor and secondary battery affiliates, including the top four conglomerates, issue L1 visas to their U.S.-dispatched workers, but small and medium-sized partner companies do not.

Until 2022, the bill had a high chance of passing. It had bipartisan agreement in both chambers of Congress and was scheduled to be included in the August 2022 'CHIPS and Science Act,' which allocated $52.7 billion (about 70 trillion KRW) in subsidies for overseas companies entering the U.S. However, the Biden administration, mindful of anti-immigration sentiment, ultimately withdrew the provision to increase foreign worker visas.

Many large corporations, including KOTRA and the Korea International Trade Association, view this year as the golden opportunity for the bill's passage. The U.S. Congress changes sessions every two years, and if the current session ends, the bill must be reintroduced. There is no guarantee it will pass in the 119th session (2025?2026) after the U.S. presidential election next year.

Especially recently, the U.S. has been strengthening its anti-immigration policies, and if former President Donald Trump is elected, there is a possibility of renegotiating free trade agreements (FTAs), which could create various trade risks. Corporations and economic organizations argue that unlike five U.S. FTA partner countries?Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Chile, and Australia?Korea has not been granted a professional visa quota, which forms the basis for passing the 'Korean Visa Act.' However, negotiation strategies may need to be completely revised. The Trump administration issued an executive order in 2020 to suspend H-1B and intracompany transferee visa issuance and review activities for six months.

Corporations and economic organizations are regularly meeting with Representative Young Kim, who introduced the Partner with Korea Act, as well as Senators Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas), Bill Hagerty (Republican, Tennessee), Alex Padilla (Democrat, California), and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to convey Korea's position.

A Korea International Trade Association official said, "Both the U.S. government and Congress are likely to continue applying very conservative and strict standards to foreign professional workforce visa policies for the foreseeable future, which is concerning."