S Koreans detained, deported at Georgia Hyundai plant say companies back home warned about visas

South Koreans employed at a Hyundai EV plant in Georgia that federal immigration agents raided last week say companies in their home country were previously warned about using questionable U.S. visas for them.

Many said they were sent to the U.S. on questionable immigration documents despite their misgivings and warnings about stricter U.S. immigration enforcement, workers, government and company officials, and immigration lawyers told Reuters.

Because South Korean companies have struggled for years to obtain short-term work visas for specialists needed in their high-tech plants in the U.S., they relied on a looser interpretation of visa rules under previous administrations.

In the raid Thursday, more than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people detained by U.S. federal authorities.

Many of those arrested were skilled workers, sent to the U.S. to install equipment at the near-complete factory on a visa waiver program, or B-1 business traveler visas, which largely do not allow work.

"It's extremely difficult to get an H-1B visa, which is needed for the battery engineers. That's why some people got B-1 visas or [Electronic System for Travel Authorization]," said Park Tae-sung, vice chairman of Korea Battery Industry Association.

LG Energy Solution is working with Hyundai to build the Georgia factory, and said that 47 of its employees were arrested in the raid, while also warning the rest of its workers in the U.S. to leave or shelter at home.

"LG Energy Solution has been actively working to resolve visa issues" for its employees and subcontractors, including holding visa briefing sessions through law firms to "prevent legal issues," LGES said in a statement regarding its employees' visas.

It does not appear that any Hyundai employee was detained, as most of those caught in the raid were employees of subcontractors, rather than direct employees, according to LGES and Hyundai.

Hyundai said in a statement regarding alleged immigration violations by subcontractors at the site that it has "zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law" and would investigate the employment practices of suppliers and their subcontractors.

Two people told Reuters that LGES officials were aware of the long-standing visa issues, and some of the companies' employees and contractors were hesitant to travel to the U.S. for fear of being denied entry.

The workers detained by federal authorities at the Hyundai plant are set to be released and sent back to South Korea.

In July, Foreign Ministry official Kim Dong-min said that a lack of proper work visas for contractors forced them to turn to the ESTA to travel to the U.S. quickly, causing some to be denied entry.

South Korea's foreign minister left for Washington, D.C., on Monday, with a goal of getting visa reforms.