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By Lee Yeon-woo
The United States government has issued a student visa to a North Korean national this September for the first time in seven years, Radio Free Asia (RFA), a U.S. government-funded private non-profit news service in Asia, reported on Monday.
According to the monthly nonimmigrant visa issuance statistics released by the U.S. Department of State, 22 North Korean nationals obtained nonimmigrant visas during the 2022 fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022.
Among the 22 visa recipients, the data showed that one of the nationals received an F-1 visa last month. It is the first time that the U.S. government issued a student visa to a North Korean national since the 2015 fiscal year.
A citizen of a foreign country should obtain an F visa to study in a college, high school, private elementary school, seminary, conservatory, or other academic institution, including a language training program in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the United States.
It is still to be confirmed if the F visa was issued to a North Korean resident who seeks to study in the U.S. The visa could have been issued to an ethnic North Korean resident of Japan affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, abbreviated as "Chongryon," one of two organizations for Zainichi Korean residents in Japan. The organization has strong ties to North Korea and some members do not naturalize to Japanese nationality despite being residents of Japan.
During this fiscal year, 90 percent of the North Korean nationals who obtained nonimmigrant visas ― or 19 people ― received G3 visas, issued for representatives of non-recognized or non-member governments and their immediate family members.
One person obtained a G4 visa during the same period, which is for individuals going to the United States to take up an appointment at a designated international organization, including the United Nations, and their immediate family members.
Looking at the bigger picture, the number of North Korean nationals who obtained visas this year was cut by one-fifth compared to the 2016 fiscal year when nonimmigrant visas were issued to 100 people.
RFA added that the decrease in the number of visas was caused by former U.S President Donald Trump's proclamation that prohibited the entry of North Korean citizens to the United States starting in 2017. In January 2021, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation ending Trump's travel restrictions.