Traveling to the United States or investing in the country’s booming industries just got a whole lot trickier for many foreign nationals, especially South Koreans and other business travelers. A series of recent moves by U.S. immigration authorities and the Trump administration has upended visa processes, leading to delays, confusion, and mounting frustration among companies and would-be visitors alike.
On September 4, 2025, U.S. immigration officials conducted a dramatic raid at the construction site of the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, detaining about 300 South Korean nationals. According to China Daily Global, this $6.3 billion factory project was expected to create 8,500 jobs in the region, but experts now warn that the crackdown could significantly delay construction as technical staff return to South Korea and work on the site stalls. The ripple effects of the raid are already being felt: Hyundai has advised its employees to postpone business trips to the United States, while LG Energy Solution has suspended most U.S. business travel and told staff already abroad to either return home immediately or stay put in their accommodations.
The message from Washington has been equally unambiguous. On September 7, 2025, President Donald Trump declared, "All foreign companies should respect U.S. immigration laws and hire and train U.S. workers." This stance, coupled with a string of new visa rules, is sending shockwaves through international business circles. South Korea, which has pledged $350 billion in U.S. investments as part of a recent tariff deal, finds itself in a bind. The Federation of Korean Industries reported last month that South Korean companies plan to invest about $150 billion in the U.S., but these plans now face significant headwinds.
For South Korean companies, much of the challenge comes down to visas. Firms rely heavily on the H-1B visa program for foreign specialists, but only 85,000 of these visas are issued worldwide each year through a notoriously competitive lottery. Seoul has been pressing Washington to create up to 15,000 E-4 visas for highly skilled professionals, but progress has been elusive. As Yang Jun-sok, an economics professor at the Catholic University of Korea, told China Daily Global, "South Korean people have been exasperated with what is perceived as bullying by the U.S. to force investment in the U.S. And with the Hyundai incident, more people are likely to think that dealing with the U.S. is 'damned if you do, and damned if you don't.'"
Park Chong-hoon, head of research at Standard Chartered Bank in Seoul, believes the South Korean government’s immediate priority should be to negotiate with the U.S. for easier visa access for its specialists. "At the GDP level, U.S. labor is going to be at least 2.5 times more expensive than South Korean workers," Park pointed out, emphasizing that local employees often lack the on-site experience and technical knowledge needed for these complex projects. Although the crackdown is not expected to derail existing investment commitments, Park warned that the pace of implementation will depend heavily on future U.S. actions.
Others are even more blunt. Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University, described the incident as "humiliating" in an interview with Yonhap and urged companies to reassess their U.S. strategies, citing the shortage of skilled workers, high labor costs, and powerful unions as ongoing challenges.
But it’s not just investors and technical experts who are feeling the squeeze. Over the weekend, the U.S. State Department announced a new rule requiring nonimmigrant visa applicants—including tourists, business travelers, students, and temporary workers—to schedule interviews at their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate. As reported by The New York Times, applicants must now demonstrate that they reside in the country where they submit their application. The State Department warned that those who apply elsewhere "might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa."
This new requirement comes on the heels of a growing trend: many travelers had been seeking short-term visas in other countries to sidestep long interview waitlists at home, a backlog made even worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The State Department has designated alternative locations for residents of 17 countries without routine visa services—Haitians, for example, must travel to Nassau in the Bahamas, while Syrians must apply in Amman, Jordan. But the changes come with caveats: fees paid for interviews scheduled outside applicants' home countries will not be refunded, and these applicants should expect significantly longer wait times for appointments.
Existing nonimmigrant visa appointments, the State Department says, will generally not be canceled. The new guidance does not apply to diplomats, government officials, or anyone traveling on special visas affiliated with foreign governments. Travelers for the United Nations are also exempt from the changes.
For many, the wait for a U.S. visa was already grueling. At some U.S. consulates, the average wait time for a visa interview is more than a year—17.5 months in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and 22.5 months in Hermosillo, Mexico, according to the State Department’s global visa wait times. In Guadalajara, the wait is over 11 months; in Bogotá, Colombia, it’s about 13 months. These delays are expected to worsen under the new rules.
The latest move is just one part of a broader immigration crackdown. Last month, the Trump administration began requiring some business and tourist visa applicants to post bonds of up to $15,000, a measure designed to deter overstays. Over the summer, the U.S. also introduced a "visa integrity fee" of at least $250 for international visitors, adding to the already substantial cost of securing a visa.
The impact of these changes is already being felt in the travel sector. International travel to the United States declined by about 3 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, according to government data cited by The New York Times. The travel research firm Tourism Economics forecast in July that the full-year decline could reach 8 percent. These numbers are particularly concerning with major events on the horizon, such as the 2026 men's World Cup, which is expected to draw record attendance and surpass the 1994 U.S. edition. The prospect of longer visa wait times is raising alarms among event organizers and international fans alike.
For South Korean companies and other foreign investors, the combination of stricter visa rules, higher costs, and uncertainty about future policy is forcing a reassessment of the U.S. business landscape. As experts warn, the success of high-profile projects like the Hyundai-LG battery plant—and the broader flow of foreign capital into the United States—may hinge on how these immigration challenges are addressed in the months ahead.
As the U.S. tightens its borders and ramps up scrutiny of foreign workers and visitors, both economic and diplomatic fallout seem all but certain. For now, companies and travelers are left waiting—sometimes for months on end—wondering when, or if, the doors will open again.
