A specialized visa desk for South Korean companies investing in the United States officially opened Friday at the U.S. embassy in Seoul, aiming to streamline B-1 visa issuance and improve the stability of entry for Korean corporate workers following September’s detention incident in Georgia.

Through the new Korean Investment and Travel(KIT) Desk, major conglomerates—including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG and Hanwha—as well as their partner firms can apply for business visas in a single batch, replacing the previous system that required each company to file separately.

B-1 visas issued through the desk will include special annotations detailing a worker’s authorized status under Washington's regulations and specifying which company, facility and project they are assigned to—a measure applied only to Seoul and intended to reduce problems during entry checks or immigration enforcement.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jin-a visited the embassy on Friday to review the program’s launch with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Kevin Kim, with Seoul calling the initiative an early achievement of the bilateral visa working group formed after the Georgia case.

The embassy said the desk reflects Washington’s commitment to supporting Korean investment as part of U.S. reindustrialization efforts. It confirmed that previously detained workers would face no disadvantages upon reentering the U.S., with their existing visas remaining valid and ESTA travelers eligible for immediate B-1 approval.

South Korea will also expand cooperation with customs offices in cities heavily frequented by Korean business travelers—including Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta—while continuing long-term efforts to secure a Korea-specific visa category, a change that would require U.S. congressional approval.