Officials from the US and the ROK will meet on Oct. 29th ~ 30th to work out the technical aspects of the ROK joining the Visa Waiver Program.
The ROK will present its latest regarding the introduction of electronic passports (a requirement if a ROK citizen is to enter the US without a visa) while the US side will present its electronic travel permit system. Both sides will also discuss how both will exchange information needed to determine whether the person entering the respective countries has a criminal record or not.
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Why not just grant green cards at the Embassy in Seoul for free…?
There will be 100 new massage parlors opening in LA in 2008 alone.
‘There will be 100 new massage parlors opening in LA in 2008 alone.’ expat
good news for you and yours, no?
I have a queation re: the chaebol head-honchos (like Chung Mong-koo, and the Hanhwa guy that kidnapped and tortured bouncers from a bar) that recieved suspended sentences… does having a criminal record affect their travel?
Sounds like a real money maker for kyopo pimps.
More “happy endings” for So-Cal and less for Melbourne and Vancouver. A more equitable distribution of Korean hookers around the Anglosphere will be the biggest outcome.
Sorry Canucks/Oz, but you’re gonna have to pay 10-20$ more per shot.
It would be really interesting, in 18-20 years, to see how this affect the number of conscriptions for the Korean military.. Will thousands of women fly to the USA to have their kids?
Anyone know the current system (if one exists) that the US uses to keep pregnant women from flying in and delivering their baby into US citizenship? I know Hong Kong denies entry to mainland Chinese women trying to “visit” HK too close to delivery… just wondering if the US has any such countermeasures.
Not to my knowledge…
Actually, they don’t, and have been forbidden to do so by Beijing. Mainland wimin come to HK, have a baby and leave without paying the bill. And some even come back for their second baby — to the same hospital, and without paying the second bill either. Needless to say, this riles HKers mucho, and the joke of a gubmint they have here have tried to do something about it. Don’t you dare, said the ChiComs…
There was a piece, some months ago in Korea about Korean wimin entering the US preggers on a tourist visa and having babies in the US, then returning to Korea. The PoV of the channel was more “this is unfair for other Koreans who couldn’t do it” rather than “this is illegal”. And US Immigration officials interviewed said they couldn’t do anything about it.
None; in fact the permissiveness in this connection is a holdover from the early 19th century, when the US was anxious to increase the population through immigration
There goes the neighborhood.
all downsides aside, a lot of people who legitimately go back and forth between the two countries or have relatives in the States are really looking forward to this.
more hookers in the States is a really good thing, too, unless you are stupid or a feminist.
in the longer picture, more intermingling for Korea and the States is probably better than casting dirty (or envious) glances from afar. i’d even gamble that the relationship between the two countries will grow stronger and be better with visa waivers.