The nation's largest lobbying group for conglomerates wants the United States to ease its visa regulations for South Korean nationals.

The Federation of Korean Industries said Sunday that it is seeking to put in place a business visa referral program to speed up the visa issuance process.

A federation official pointed out that the American Chamber of Commerce operates a visa referral program for its members, but that non-member companies or businesspeople can't benefit from it.

The official said the federation plans to meet with U.S. Embassy officials this month to discuss ways of widening the program to enable visa applicants to be interviewed three to five days after initially applying.

Currently, a visa applicant must wait an average of 25 days after submitting the application to get a business visa interview. The entire transaction, from application to visa issuance, can take anywhere from one to two months.

The official said the plan is being pursued in line with a growing number of complaints over the delays endemic to the process.

The long waits are being blamed on new a U.S. visa policy that requires a face-to-face interview for all visa applicants due to security concerns in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.