The U.S. Embassy in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Embassy in Seoul said Wednesday that it will suspend all routine visa interviews this week in line with a State Department measure to respond to the new coronavirus outbreaks.
The measure, set to take effect on Thursday, will not affect the visa waiver program for Korean citizens or services for U.S. citizens, the embassy said.
“The U.S. Embassy to the Republic of Korea will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 19, 2020,” the embassy said in a press release.
The State Department is suspending routine visa services in all countries with a level 2, 3 or 4 travel advisory, the embassy said.
An official from Seoul’s foreign ministry said South Korean citizens will still be able to visit the U.S. under the visa waiver program, while those who require a visa can still request an emergency interview.
“The U.S. embassy had explained in advance that the move is part of social distancing that requires U.S. missions in all countries affected by a level 2 travel advisory or higher to temporarily suspend their visa service from March 19,” the ministry official said.
Last month, the department raised its travel advisory for Daegu, South Korea’s southeastern city hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, to Level 4 on a four-tier scale, urging Americans not to travel there.
The rest of the country remains under Level 3, which means “reconsider travel.”
The embassy said that it will resume routine visa services “as soon as possible,” although it is unable to provide a specific date of the resumption.
On Wednesday, South Korea reported 93 new infections in its daily tally, bringing the total to 8,413 with the death toll at 84.
(Yonhap)
