Fingerprinting Required for U.S. Visas Starting August

Starting August, electronic fingerprinting is required for acquiring a U.S. visa, Bernard Alter, the U.S. general consul to Seoul, Jeffrey Tunis, non-immigration visa manager, said in a conference at the embassy with local journalist.

The biometric fingerprinting won’t be applied to those who already have valid visas.

However, they will have their fingerprints taken when they renew their visas.

The new process affects travelers and business and investment visitors and students from all but 27 countries which the U.S. offers visa exemption status

.

Concerning no-visa status, the U.S. grants it to the countries with less than a 3 percent turndown rate of visa applications in two years’ time. Korea’s rejection rate stands at 5 percent. There is no other political reason for Korea’s failure of acquiring the status, the diplomats added.

The U.S. embassy can currently handle only 65 percent of visa interviews scheduled for a day. It will handle 90 percent in August, when it increase interview suites by three, the officials said.

“As many as 25 percent of the people who applied for visas over the phone do not just show up for their interviews,” Alter said. “No show deteriorates the backlog.”

Young-Sik Kim spear@donga.com