The U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday said it would 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 programme for Korean citizens or services for U.S. citizens.
“The U.S. Embassy to the Republic of Korea will cancel all routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa appointments as of March 19, 2020,’’ the embassy said in a press release.
According to the embassy, the State Department is suspending routine visa services in all countries with a level 2, 3 or 4 travel advisory.
In February, the department raised its travel advisory for Daegu, South Korea’s south-eastern 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 would 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.