Im guessing this is the case or else the SK sources would be calling out that these workers were following visa rules?
Its right there in the link the parent gave. As in they had a visa and ice acknowledged no violation of the terms of that visa in very plain english.
I have stamps from the US border that literally say B1/B2 on them.
If anything is undermining anyone's credibility here, it is not the article doing that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_visa
There's also a picture of such a visa.
A B-1 / B-2 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows foreign nationals to travel to the United States temporarily for business (B-1), tourism (B-2), or a mix of both (B1/B2). https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/b-1-b-2-visi...
B1 Visa Subcategories and Special Cases
While the B-1 visa generally restricts employment and formal education, there are some exceptions under specific circumstances. These exceptions aren’t separate visa categories but annotations considered by the U.S. consular officers during the visitor visa application process.
Here’s a closer look at these special B-1 subcategories:
B-1 after-sales service visa: Companies selling equipment to the U.S. can leverage this visa to send assemblers for on-site service orders. Think of it as temporary technical support. These assemblers can perform tasks like installation, maintenance, and training, but the assembly work must be done by U.S. personnel.
B-1 in place of H-1B visa (temporary project visa): Some professionals might be eligible for a B-1 visa for temporary projects in specific scenarios. This option can be viable when an H-1B visa, typically used for specialty occupations, might be challenging to obtain.
B-1 instead of H-3 visa (short-term training): Under certain conditions, the B-1 category can be used for brief in-house training sessions or further employee education. It allows for skills development without needing a dedicated H-3 visa designed for trainee positions.
IMPORTANT! These B1 business visa exceptions have strict requirements. Working with an immigration service provider or lawyer is highly recommended to determine if a particular B-1 visa category fits your situation.
https://www.immigrationdirect.com/guides/b1-b2-visitor-visa/
From statements made and queries in law enforcement databases, [redacted] has not violated his visa; however, the Atlanta Field Office Director has mandated [redacted] be presented as a Voluntary Departure. [Redacted] has accepted voluntary departure despite not violating his B1/B2 visa requirements.”
You seem to try to make a bigger distinction between B1 and B2 than the US government does.
I don't really remember, it's been 10y since I last had to fill out a DS-160, but I don't think so.
You probably will get asked about the purpose of your _first visit_ in the interview though.
Even setting that all aside, B1/B2 are _obviously_ very often combined together.
"I'm going for a conference, and then I'm going to do some sightseeing on the weekend" is something that, under some very strict and specific reading of the law, would require a B1/B2 visa for example.
If you want to be extremely strict in reading the law, you can't really attend a conference on a B1, and sightseeing would require a B2.
I don't trust the government and if they are in fact violating the law than I hope that there is recourse, I would bet however that there is a clause somewhere that says that they can rescind status if they like.
However The Guardian's evidence is a couple quotes from a leaked document, not a scan of the leaked document.
We do however learn the worker was from SFA: https://www.kedglobal.com/korean-smes/newsView/ked2022050900...
So probably not doing construction work as some of the claims and only arrived in June so not close to the start term of the B1/B2 6 mo allowed duration.
Nobody can, because it doesn’t exist. The E-4 visa mentioned in the article is a proposed new classification that a bill pending in Congress would, if enacted, create just for Korean workers, similar to the existing E-3 classification for Australians.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1101
8 USC §1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) has H-1B, 8 USC §1101(a)(15)(E)(iii) has E-3, and so on.
A treaty is not self-executing under US law unless it is both ratified by 2/3 of the Senate pursuant to the Treaty Clause of the Constitution and also contains language expressing that it will be self-executing upon ratification, in which case it has the same domestic legal effect as an Act of Congress. See Medellín v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (2008), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medell%C3%ADn_v._Texas for a recent SCOTUS precedent about this.
Many agreements which are treated internationally as treaties, including most US free trade agreements, are not considered as such for purposes of US constitutional law; many others are not self-executing even when they are ratified through the Treaty Clause procedure. These only have effect in US domestic law when implemented by implementing legislation passed by Congress, or to whatever extent the executive branch handles implementation through regulations, policies, or similar which it already has the authority to promulgate without new legislation.
For instance, here is a category listed by the government explicitly for "Engineer(s) install, service or repair commercial or industrial equipment or machinery sold by a non-U.S. company to a U.S. buyer".
Now if someone travels to the US to meet with a team here but also checks email / slack, or write some code together, is that work and in violation of the scope of the visa? If so, what's the alternative? Can't get any actual work visa since those require employment and being paid in the US.
It's also very noteworthy that these people are still being imprisoned in the US on Donald Trump's orders - Trump having personally prevented the repatriation of the Koreans to Korea today. There is absolutely no reason to believe that we have the full story, or that the Korean government, or the Korean's individual friends/families/represetnatives feel free to speak freely as America seemingly holds their citizens hostage. To say that lack of further public disputes is proof that there is not more to dispute seems false to me.
Can’t see past the paywall but what did he do? Prevent the charter flight from landing?
> South Korean officials originally hoped the Korean Air plane would leave Atlanta as early as Wednesday afternoon local time, shortly after it arrived from Seoul. But the foreign ministry said its departure was likely to be delayed “due to circumstances on the U.S. side,” and a spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport later said that the charter flight had been canceled.
> At a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun learned that Trump had ordered the suspension of the repatriation process in order to discuss with South Korea whether its detained nationals — all of them skilled workers who were helping to set up an electric vehicle battery plant — should remain in the U.S. to continue their work rather than being sent home.
We can debate the validity of the government's claim, I have seen an article which says that the workers were on B1/B2 Visa which has strict requirements for what is allowed from what I have read but also says the government in it's internal report also stated no crime was committed.
Which countries just repatriate those they accuse of crimes rather than prosecute?
Holding people in custody in order to negotiate a business deal is the definition of hostage taking.
IIRC, US embassies in eligible countries are usually very picky about issuing B-1 visas. They assume ESTA works in most cases, so you need a strong reason to apply for B-1.
The question being asked by the parent is if they stepped outside the boundaries of that visa waiver.
No one asked about visas. I didn't think that was an issue since I really was there for a week for a business conference, but maybe it was? After all, technically it was a "Tourist" visa.
In the end though, SFDC keeps almost all of its technical talent in the US. If the government really got annoying, they probably would have stuck to the local talent and forgotten about the rest of us.
Technically there are lots of restrictions and actual commercial visas are sometimes required, like you've been to sanctioned countries in the past, or if you're engaging in businesses locally like purchasing materials to export for resale(not even B-1 allows that?), but it's all kind of arbitrary.
>At least one of the Korean workers swept up in a huge immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor factory site in Georgia last week was living and working legally in the US, according to an internal federal government document obtained by the Guardian.
>Officials then “mandated” that he agree to be removed from the US despite not having violated his visa.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/10/hyundai-fact...
I did some research on B1/B2 Visa's it looks like the work allowed is rather restricted. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45207369
When the media so blatantly cherry-pick what they choose to report and what they turn a blind eye to, can such a misinformed society really be called a democracy?
Its not misinformation vs the governments word. Its misinformation vs populist pseudo-fascist misinformation.
If the government is telling you or us that these workers did not have valid visas, that probably means that at least some definitely did have valid visas.
Can you show us the proof?
> Most of the people had come on the wrong visa
Can you show us the proof?
> knowingly
Can you show us the proof?
You're very sure about it without all the details being known and people possibly still wanting to get out safely, without causing further conflicts by speaking out. I've done enough travel / border chats that if I ended up in their situation, I'd be keen to shut up and get out as soon as possible, regardless of my legal status.
This is not caused by Trump; its latent attitude being surfaced.
You have to ignore just about every other part of the story to arrive at this breathless conclusion.
Let’s remember that for this project alone Hyundai invested more money than 99% of us will ever see into this country, and more sum labor hours than any of our individual lives. That’s not what disrespect looks like.
Maybe their visas were not in order so ok enforce that. But not by having their engineers perp walked on live television.
As a side note, if we are going to judge the Hyundai engineers then we must also believe that Elon Musk should have been deported due to his well known early career visa violations. or be damned as hypocrites.
Look around you. Is this really the US you want to be living in? Are you really so pathetic as to be proud of this?
What kind of people do we want to be? Do we really want to be cruel cunts and wave around a "well it's technically legal!!1!" flag? Is that who YOU want to be? Is that how the US should treat allies which invest billions into our economy?
So...arresting crims in the US (but not SK) and locking up psychos who dismember young Americans is (for you) 'domestic terrorism', because you're ... fine with rampant crime and bloodshed against Americans? But "terrified" of Americans feeling safe, and society being peaceful? Huh, okay. Are you South Korean and lacking empathy?
Or are you in fact MS-13 or TDA? Or ... I know this dates me a bit, Al-Qaieda or Daesh? If not, maybe apply today. You're already making them proud. Good on you, you've found your purpose!