By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter


Six U.S. Congressmen Thursday submitted a bill aimed at allowing South Koreans to travel to the United States without obtaining a visa, according to reports Friday.

The bill claims South Korea should be included in the visa waver program under which citizens from 27 countries are currently exempted from having to obtain a visa before visiting the U.S.

Three Asian countries including Japan, Singapore and Brunei will benefit from the program, which allows travelers to stay up to 90 days in the U.S. without a visa.

The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Moran (Democrat-Virginia), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) and Thaddeus McCotter (Republican, Michigan).

``Economically, militarily and politically, the U.S. and South Korea share a vision of freedom and democracy that has made our nations solid friends and allies,’’ Rep. Moran said in a statement released to the press.

He cited the fact that South Korea has dispatched the third largest contingent to Iraq, and is the 11th largest economy in the world and seventh biggest trading partner of the U.S.

South Korea’s 3,260-strong deployment is the third largest in the war-torn country after the United States with 150,000 soldiers and Britain with 8,500.

The slow visa-issuing process has long been a source of frustration for South Koreans planning short-term U.S. trips, with applicants often having to wait some two months.

``In recognition of this friendship and the fact that the South Korean government has taken aggressive steps to comply with post-Sept. 11 security requirements to combat visa fraud, the time has come to welcome them into our visa waiver program,’’ he said.

The percentage of those applicants who were rejected by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, one of the major requirements to be included in the visa waiver program, stood at around 3.3 percent in 2004, according to the embassy. The U.S. government requires the rate to be brought below 3 percent.

Applicants aged 55 or older and newlywed couples who wish to make their honeymoon trip to Hawaii have been subject to a more simplified visa application process since Sept. 15.

In April, the U.S. Embassy announced it has enhanced facilities and hired new administrative staff in an effort to speed up the visa application process for South Koreans, targeting to process about 400,000 cases this year and more than 500,000 in 2006. The figures compare with 350,000 applicants last year.

More than 626,000 Koreans visit the U.S. each year, spending around $1 billion in 2004, according to a U.S. Commerce Department tally.

things@koreatimes.co.kr