Like anything in law, it depends on the details, context, case law, and possibly future litigation.

CPB's Q&A on permissible B-1 visa activities (PDF): https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/B-1%20perm...

"If the contract of sale specifically requires the seller to provide these services or training, and you possess specialized knowledge essential to the seller's contractual obligation to perform the services or training it may be permissible for you to perform these services. In addition, the machinery or equipment must have been manufactured at a location outside of the United States and you may not receive compensation from a U.S. source."

Given how vague the reporting has been, we don't know basic facts like what the workers were doing, what the agents saw, what types of visas they were on, etc.

This PBS article quotes a local labor union leader who claims "unions that are part of her council believe Korean workers have been pouring cement, erecting steel, performing carpentry and fitting pipes." https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/attorney-says-detained-k...

Obivously the person quoted has an agenda and didn't actually witness those activities - so we just don't know. That being said, if that description is accurate, in general that kind of activity would not be appropriate on a B-1 visa and wouldn't qualify for an L visa.

But again, it depends on the details. Maybe the cement base is some special blend for certain equipment, maybe "erecting steel" involves highly specialized welding techniques, maybe this pipe fitting involves specialized high-pressure ratings outside the norm.

When I was a diplomat, our internal guidance (at least, what I was privy to) was never different from public information, just more detailed.

I'd be suprised if the corporate immigration departments of Hyundai or LG messed up this badly. But I wouldn't at all be surprised if some no-name subcontractor decided to play fast and loose with the visa rules to win a contract with a low bid.

> Is the internal guidance you received different from what's published?

Probably, I doubt anyone in the US government has a consistent view of what immigration laws are _and_ how they're actually enforced. Whole thing feels like a giant slapdash of things thrown together and assessed in whatever way feels right that day.

Here's a fun one: do people born in Hong Kong count as being born in China for green card purposes? Used to be no, then Trump 1 said "yes" with an executive order, then as best I can tell no one in government really enforced that, then immigration lawyers tell me they're counted as rest of world instead of China, and now? Who the hell knows, whoever gets your case probably makes up what they feel is the law.

It’s also the fault of the last administration, because when you bend the rules and your reign ends, you have no control over how the next regime is going to enforce the law as it stands. I do not disagree this is insanity, but this is the result of kicking the can on immigration issues for almost two decades. Congress must do its job, but refuses to. Is it not reasonable to both incentivize domestic manufacturing investment while also adhering to immigration visa regulations?

Hyundai has done something similar with children refugees from Central America previously in 2022.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Alabama_child_labor_al...

I bet they’re thinking more “so you blackmailed us into investing in you, and you arrest our people who are there making that investment happen”

I cannot honestly believe that you think any group of people on earth would look at this situation and then think that they should have just followed the rules better.

The South Korean government is already saying that the US needs to fix its visa program if it wants the investment[1]

[1] https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_internatio...

> Probably "if I work in a foreign country I should probably have the proper work visa"

Which one would that be in this case?

Here's an AI overview of working illegally in SK btw:

> Working illegally in South Korea can result in deportation, a fine of up to 30 million KRW (approximately US$22,000), and a ban on re-entry for up to five years. Employers who hire illegal foreign workers also face significant penalties, including fines of up to 20 million KRW (around US$15,000) and/or imprisonment.

They were. Other news reports indicated that some tried to hide in sewer ponds.

Some of the workers were on tourist visas.

It's very disappointing. I just bought an Ioniq 9 and it's a great car. I'm really bothered, at both sides, (US and Hundai/LG), for letting the situation get like this.

I’m not sure this is precisely what people voted for.

Sure, as soon as you have become wildly successful and critical to the business interests of the US, we can overlook everything that came before that moment.

Some polls state otherwise, with many pointing to disillusionment with the methods and likely incarceration and deportation of immigrants that were potentially targeted improperly by the administration as a way to appear tough on immigration to achieve their goals. The net-net of these actions will leave the economy weaker and cause a net loss of population earlier than expected according to the CBO.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigratio...

https://www.axios.com/2025/09/10/trump-ice-big-beautiful-bil...

https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/docume...

I think rhetoric around immigration is functionally a Motte and Bailey game. Many of our most productive immigrants play visa games, overstaying, working on non-working visas, etc. in fact it takes a sort of grit, daring, and entrepreneurship to play fast and loose with bloated inefficient government regulation (such as our immigration system). It is obviously easy to declare “well, my intentions were to always target just the worst ideal of immigrant” while ignoring the reality of how much immigrants— yes, even the unchecked, undocumented, unvetted ones— benefit the country as a whole…

Do you feel that the arrests at the Hyundai plant effectively countered unchecked, unvetted immigration?

That was the PR line used to trick immigrants into initially supporting the cause, it's become pretty obvious with the sheer glee on social media over all immigrants being harassed and open questioning of the immigration status of anyone they don't like (see: NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani), that it's actually just about not liking anyone who doesn't look like themselves.

Perhaps, but a lot of the recent immigration enforcement pushes haven't been about fully undocumented immigrants.

If it were this, we'd be doing everything possible to make the process of legal immigration less capricious. Instead we're rounding up anyone who looks foreign or speaks with an accent, ignoring even if they're here legally or following the process.

At least be honest with yourself about what's happening in front of your eyes.

Well, that's not what we have today. ICE making so many arrests at immigration court for people who showed up after they pressure the judges to dismiss the case. People with papers, married parents, and people who have been here decades are being grabbed because they are easy to get for the current administration.

[dead]

Koreans know about work visa rules and immigration status. ADOR reported Hanni as an illegal immigrant when they were having contract disputes with New Jeans due to the whole Min Hee Jin fiasco.

I realize that's kinda dense, but you can google it up yourself. Koreans well understand this type of thing.

> if OSHA raided Hyundai's plant

They have - multiple times, both under Biden and Trump, as the sources I gave have mentioned. Heck, The Guardian in strongly opposed to the Trump admin and pointed this out too.

> But that's not what happened

That is what happened. The issue was Hyundai would spin up yet another contracting firm when an OSHA incident arose, thus keeping business as usual.

The Korean government does the exact same thing as ICE, and continues to ignore the Korean constitutional court's ruling on indefinite detention [0][1][2], and immigrant abuse is even worse in Korea than the US [3]

[0] - https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/ngos-urge-un-human-ri...

[1] - https://www.newskorea.ne.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=7205

[2] - https://www.banmuang.co.th/mobile/news/region/424336

[3] - https://www.bbc.com/thai/articles/ckklk4w9w3po

> Are there US workers who should have been hired to do this factory-bootstrapping instead

Yes. Of these companies [0], Hyundai-LG has been the only malcontent

The European and Japanese manufacturers haven't done anything similar - only the Koreans are.

[0] - https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/06/tracking-the-ev-battery-fa...

Yes. But it is possible to agree with the principle and disagree on the specifics.