I got my F-4 Visa today.

Change of plans. I originally decided to fly out to Korea and apply for my F-4 Visa there. But, I’ve read from other people’s blogs that it takes 5 days for them to process the visa in Korea. I didn’t want to spend a week in Korea waiting for the Visa to be processed. I would recommend gyopos to obtain F-4 Visa while they are in the U.S. if possible. There’s less red tape and you don’t have to waste time in Korea. When I got my passport back, there was a notice attached to it:

"재외동포(F-4) 비자를 영사관에서 받으신 분은 비자 발급일로부터 반드시 90일 이내에 입국을 하셔야 하며 입국후 90일 이내에 거주지관할 법무부 출입국 관리소에서 거소신고를 하여 거소증 을 발급 받으셔야 재외동포 F-4 비자 효력이 발생됩니다. "

It translates to something like: ”Once you obtained your F- 4 Visa, you must enter S. Korea within 90 days from the issuance of the visa. Then within 90 days of entering S. Korea, you must go to a local immigration office and apply for 거소증 (like national ID for gyopo). Once you received your 거소증(national ID) then your F-4 Visa goes into effect.

So, I asked one of my relatives in Korea to obtain 2 copies of my 호적등본(Hojukdengbon) and mail it to me. This took about 4 days. Then I headed to Korean Consulate Office in LA. The documents that I submitted were:

For 국적상실신고서 (To report your loss of Korean Citizenship) :

국적상실신고서 X 2
호적등본 X 2
Naturalization Certificate copy front and back X 2
Naturalization Certificate original
Fee 50 cents

The clerk looked at the original Naturalization Certificate for a minute and gave it right back.

For F-4 Visa:

U.S. Passport
Visa application
1 photo
Fee $45.

The clerk told me to come back the next day. I dropped off the documents Monday and picked up my passport on Tuesday. Wow! This was a piece of cake compared to what some 2nd generation gyopos have gone through. Your experiences may vary. It would be helpful to read my previous post on F-4 and also Mike's Blog regarding Korean military service issue for gyopos.