USCIS Seoul Field Office Korea
Director
Walter Haith, Field Office Director
Service Area
The Seoul Field Office has jurisdiction over immigration benefits for Korea and Japan.
Street Address
United States Embassy
Third Floor, Window #3
32 Sejong-ro, Chongro-gu
Seoul, Korea
Office Location
The USCIS Seoul Field Office is located in downtown Seoul, near City Hall, directly across from the Sejong Cultural Center, and adjacent to the Korea Telecom and Kyobo Life Insurance Buildings. Visitors are requested to use the public entrance access.
Hours of Operation
The office is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM and from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. The office is closed on both Korean and American holidays.
Visiting the office in person
Appointments:
Appointments are necessary and have priority over walk-ins. Walk-in appointments for I-130 petitions are allowed only for emergency reasons.
Walk-ins - General Inquiries:
General Inquiries are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Email inquiries are preferred and USCIS Seoul can be contacted at CIS-Seoul.Inquiries@dhs.gov
Paying Fees
Payment may be made with Won or U.S. dollars, and postal money orders. Proper identification, a local address, or a telephone number may be requested for money orders. Certified checks are not accepted. The Embassy cashier will not accept personal checks.
Services at the USCIS Seoul Office
Form I-130
Petitions for Alien Relatives (For Spouses, known as CR-1 or IR-1 cases)
U.S. citizens that reside locally may file an Immediate Relative Immigrant Petition at the USCIS Seoul Field Office. However, they must first schedule an appointment to file the petition at 02-397-4548. The USCIS Seoul Office does not accept applications by mail.
There are three types of petitions that are commonly filed at the Seoul USCIS Office:
1) Petitions for spouses and children of U.S. citizens;
2) Petitions for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents in the U.S. military; and
3) Petitions for parents of U.S. citizens.
Additional information about Petitions for Alien Relatives may be reviewed by visiting the following pages on our website:
- U.S. Family Immigration [link]
- CR-1 spouse visas [link]
- Additional information on Overseas filing of Petitions for Alien Relatives, sometimes mistakenly referred to as “Direct Consular Filing” or “DCF”, may be viewed by clicking here [link to article on overseas filing].
NOTE: Overseas USCIS offices do not accept or adjudicate I-129F petitions for Fiancées.
If you have questions regarding filing of Immediate Relative Petitions with USCIS Seoul, please forward your inquiry to one of our U.S. licensed attorneys at wfwlaw@aol.com
Form I-601
Waiver Applications
Waiver applications are filed with the U.S. Consulate where the visa was denied. The Consulate then forwards the application to the USCIS Seoul Field Office for adjudication. Once USCIS adjudicates the waiver and issues a final decision, the decision letter will be issued to the applicant, the applicant’s attorney of record and the Consular Section where the visa was denied.
Additional information about legal grounds of inadmissibility (reasons for visa denials) may be reviewed by visiting our page on I-601 waiver applications [link] or by reading our article on legal grounds of inadmissibility and I-601 waiver applications [link to article]
If you have been denied a visa or if you have questions regarding filing of I-601 Waiver Applications in Korea, please forward your inquiry to one of our U.S. licensed attorneys at wfwlaw@aol.com
Form I-407
Relinquishment of Legal Permanent Resident Status (Giving up your green card)
The abandonment of lawful permanent resident status is irrevocable. If an individual who relinquishes their lawful permanent resident status (their “green card”) wishes to obtain lawful permanent resident status again in the future, they must qualify again for such status by filing a new petition in a category in which they qualify. One should give careful thought to abandoning lawful permanent resident status.
That being said, there are perfectly sound reasons for relinquishing one’s green card. If a legal permanent resident has been out of the United States for a prolonged period of time, without a Re-Entry Permit, they may have already lost their legal permanent resident status, essentially by operation of law. In such instances and, where the green card holder wishes only to visit the U.S. infrequently and for brief periods of time, it is often advisable to relinquish the green card with an I-407 filing preparatory to filing an application for a B1/B2 visitor visa.
We again caution you that your green card should not be relinquished without very careful consideration and, if you are at all in doubt about your status or intentions, you should obtain a legal opinion to inform your decision making. If you are considering giving up your green card and wish a legal opinion on your status and options, please forward your inquiry to one of our U.S. licensed attorneys at wfwlaw@aol.com
Forms I-600 & I-600A
Form I-600 and I-600A may be filed locally by U.S. Citizen petitioners that reside in the USCIS Seoul Office area of jurisdiction.
The Department of State has an extremely helpful and well organized information resource relating to intercountry adoptions which can be viewed at: http://adoption.state.gov/
Form N-400
U.S. immigration offices overseas do not accept or adjudicate Naturalization applications.
EXCEPTION: Certain Active Duty Military members, Spouses of Active Duty Military, and Children of Active Duty Military can be naturalized overseas. However, the applications should be filed with the Nebraska Service Center. For additional information about Naturalization rules applicable to Active Duty Military members, Spouses of Active Duty Military, and Children of Active Duty Military please forward your inquiry to one of our U.S. licensed Immigration attorneys at wfwlaw@aol.com
Form I-131 Parole
The Seoul Field Office does not issue Humanitarian Paroles. Individuals must apply for Humanitarian parole by submitting their applications to:
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: Chief, International Operations Division
(Humanitarian Parole)
20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 3300
Washington, DC 20529-2100
Form I-131 Re-entry
The Seoul Field Office does not issue or extend Re-Entry Permits.
Re-Entry Permits (Form I-131) must be filed while the applicant is physically present in the United States. Re-Entry Permits may not be filed overseas.
Form I-590
The Seoul USCIS office is unable to receive refugee resettlement applications directly. These should be filed at the Refugee Resettlement Section (RRS) of the U.S. Consulate. They are also unable to check the status of any pending refugee resettlement application.
Transportation Boarding Letters
Transportation Letters are issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You may e-mail CBP at CBP-U.S.Embassy@dhs.gov