In a significant enforcement action, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a raid at a formally under-construction electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility, co-owned by Hyundai, located west of Savannah, Georgia. The operation resulted in the detention of approximately 475 individuals, predominantly South Korean nationals, who are alleged to have been working or residing in the United States unlawfully.
Scope and Implications of the Enforcement
This operation is purportedly the most extensive Homeland Security enforcement effort ever conducted at a single site The raid underscores ongoing tensions between the United States and South Korea, notably amid the strategic significance of the Hyundai facility as a cornerstone of U.S.-South Korea trade relations and the broader context of U.S. manufacturing policy.
The detained workers were primarily engaged in activities critical to the installation, construction, and commissioning of the EV battery plant. Many are understood to be highly specialized engineers and installation technicians, brought from overseas to execute tasks that require substantial technical expertise and experience not readily available domestically—roles historically authorized under the B-1 Business Visitor Visa program.
Diplomatic and Legal Developments
On the subsequent Sunday, Republic of Korea officials announced that an agreement had been reached with U.S. authorities for the immediate repatriation of the affected nationals. South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun, deployed a diplomatic mission to Washington to facilitate the swift return of the workers via charter flight.
Official Statements and Policy Context
President Donald Trump characterized the individuals as having entered the United States “illegally,” emphasizing a policy stance that advocates for increased domestic workforce development and the training of U.S. citizens in high-tech manufacturing sectors, including battery and computer production.
Legal experts, including immigration attorney Charles Kuck, have clarified that many of the detained individuals are engineers and equipment installers engaged in work that falls within the scope of the B-1 Business Visitor Visa. Kuck stated, “Many of the South Koreans detained at the Hyundai factory in Georgia are professionals brought in for highly specialized work, including engineering and installation, which is authorized under the B-1 visa program. They intended to be in the U.S. for only a few weeks, typically no longer than 75 days, to perform their tasks.” He further emphasized that, “the activities they were engaged in—such as equipment installation and technical supervision—are explicitly permissible under current visa categories, and such work is essential for the rapid deployment and operation of these complex facilities.”
Legal and Regulatory Framework
The B-1 visa, a nonimmigrant visa, permits foreign nationals from approved countries—such as South Korea, a member of the Visa Waiver Program utilizing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)—to engage in within-the-scope activities related to business visits, including supervision of construction or installation work, provided such activities are contractually stipulated and performed within a defined temporal period. Such activity, however, explicitly excludes actual construction or manufacturing, which would typically necessitate employment-based visas such as the H-1B or employment authorization.
Our firm does cases of this sort but we often will look at the E-2 TDY as well, since this is a more secure type of visa. Basically, we need to be careful that the activities performed under the B-1 Business visitor visa are aligned with the intent of the visa and our guess is after this raid, the US embassies abroad will take a much stricter approach in issuing these types of visas for this work in the United States. It is therefore, incumbent upon companies to seek alternative solutions.
Activities pertaining to equipment installation and technical oversight are explicitly covered under the B-1 visa, including supervisorial duties linked to international construction projects. Moreover, the visa waiver provisions available to citizens of 41 countries—including South Korea—further facilitate legal short-term visits under ESTA, provided the purpose aligns with authorized activities. However, we lack details as to the nature of the activities being performed at the factory and there may indeed have been some abuse of the visa, although we don’t know the details.
Conclusion
The recent enforcement operation underscores the ongoing scrutiny of visa compliance within the context of international corporate operations in the United States. While the enforcement actions have elicited diplomatic considerations, legal compliance remains paramount, emphasizing the importance for multinational entities to ensure their expatriate staffing adheres to U.S. immigration statutes.