[US Investment Firm 'Visa' Challenge]⑤ "Gave US Professional Visa, Then Switched to Local Company".. H-1B Expansion Dilemma

Expansion of H-1B Quota for Koreans
Could Become a Pathway to Employment in US Companies
Encouraging Key Talent to Stay in Korea

"There are quite a few cases where employees whose U.S. professional visa (H-1B) validity period (6 years) has expired move to American companies. In fact, the H-1B visa can become a pathway to employment at U.S. companies."

Although the government and economic organizations such as the Korea International Trade Association are requesting the U.S. government to increase the H-1B visa quota for Koreans, concerns are emerging that this could accelerate brain drain. With the expansion of U.S. investments by advanced companies in semiconductors, secondary batteries, and other fields, partner companies also have many tasks to carry out locally, but simply expanding the application of H-1B visas is not the ultimate solution. There is also advice that alternatives should be prepared from now on to reduce the risk of domestic talent moving overseas.

Possibility of Local Attrition Cannot Be Ruled Out if U.S. Visas Increase

A senior executive of a mid-sized domestic semiconductor materials company, whom we met on the 29th, is deeply concerned about visa issues for employees working in the U.S. Currently, this company has 10 employees who have been issued H-1B visas. Since it cannot be ruled out that they may choose to move to U.S. companies once their visas expire, the executive said, "Professionals who obtained degrees from U.S. universities and received H-1B visas are unlikely to stay with the company once their visa period ends," adding, "Even if talents move to U.S. companies, we cannot restrict their freedom of job choice, so even if they 'run away,' there is practically no solution from the employer's perspective."

Such concerns are not unfounded. Some employees of this company, whose H-1B visas were about to expire, have previously moved from SK Hynix to U.S. companies locally.

Especially, the fact that the U.S. has recently been actively promoting advanced manufacturing is also a burden. Glass substrates are gaining attention in semiconductor processes, but there is a severe shortage of personnel who can handle them. Naturally, Korean semiconductor talents could become targets for recruitment. An industry insider said, "There is a movement to switch from plastic substrates to glass substrates to improve the efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors," adding, "This means the demand for talents residing locally in the U.S. is increasing." A senior executive of a large corporation said, "Even if the H-1B visa is expanded, more people will move to American companies like GM or Ford."

Mismatch Occurs Despite Technical Support Purpose... Expansion Is Not the Only Solution

It is also pointed out that non-STEM professionals such as those in accounting and finance are requesting H-1B visa issuance. Since the main purpose of expanding visas is technical support for advanced factories, if there is a high demand from humanities fields, a mismatch of personnel may occur. An industry insider said, "When Korean subsidiaries in the U.S. hire local Koreans, there are often more applicants from humanities fields than from STEM fields."

For this reason, industry insiders and experts believe that expanding H-1B visas alone is not the solution. From the company's perspective, to retain talent, they have no choice but to increase welfare such as offering exceptional incentives and improving living conditions, but the burden is considerable.

An industry insider said, "For essential talents, companies must be prepared to offer more than twice the salary compared to design houses or fabless (design-specialized companies) in Silicon Valley, and the realistic solution is to encourage core R&D talents to stay in Korea."

Professor Kang In-su of the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women's University said, "We should not believe that the H-1B visa will solve everything," but added, "Visa demands are inevitable for our companies operating locally." He continued, "It is necessary to clearly state that the allocation of Korean H-1B visas is essential for U.S. advanced companies to have a certain level of high-end personnel on site, secure the visa quota, and then consider measures to prevent talent outflow."