Korean F-4 Visa Process as an Adoptee in NYC

April 2024

This applies to New York residents only.  Rules seem to be slightly different by location.  You must apply at your local Korean General Consulate.

Things to note:

- It is unlikely that the NY consulate will answer your questions via email or phone.

- You must have an appointment when you submit your visa application.  At certain times of the year (e.g. December), it is very difficult to get an appointment.  Check early in the morning on Mondays for cancellations.  You must reserve via this site: https://www.g4k.go.kr/biz/main/main.do and then select 재외공관방문예악.  There is a reason for this.  The security guard will ask you "Passport or other", I said "visa" and she said "do you have an appointment", to which I said "no" and she said "You can't come in."  When I went back in January, the consulate employee said that my background check was expired, and asked why I didn't come in December.  I said I couldn't get an appointment, so she said "Next time just come in".  I was going to argue with her and say the security guard wouldn't let me in December but I just dropped it.  Check the Korean consulate's rating on Google Maps.  You will understand.

Documents to gather:

1. Get an FBI background check.  Fill out the form online.  You'll get an email confirming receipt of the form.  You need to print this email out.  Then you get fingerprinted.  You can get fingerprinted at certain post offices, at a police station, or other place that offer fingerprinting (I went to IdentoGO in midtown Manhattan and cost around $50-60 for 2 sets of prints).  You will take those prints and mail it to the FBI along with your printed email.  They'll take some weeks to process and then email you a PDF with your background check document.

2. To get an apostille, print out your background check.  Fill out this form https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds4194.PDF.  Mail it with your printed background check, a personal check for $20, and a self addressed stamped envelope because they'll mail back the background check with the apostille attached to it. Make sure your check is valid.  I altered my home address on mine which invalidated it, and someone from government ended up both calling and emailing me telling me as much.

3. Get a 기본증명서 (maybe optional) because originally they said it's necessary for the F-4 application but then returned this document to me when I submitted all of my documents.  It only cost $1 to process and they gave me the document on the spot, so you may want to ask when you submit your documents or beforehand if you have that kind of leisure time.  There's also a 가족관계증명서 but I did not need this.

4. Get adoption documents by sending a copy of your passport to your Korean adoption agency.  This took about 1 day to receive from Holt in my case. (They made a boo boo on one of the documents though so it took an extra day.) I don't know about other agencies, but whoever I emailed at Holt seemed to know exactly what to do when I mentioned F-4 visa. They said I need these two documents, and sent them over within hours of me sending my passport.

    5a) 입양확인서 - print out

    5b) 본적 is likely your adoption agency's address

6. Regular visa application

7. TOPIK test result (maybe optional but they took mine that was several years expired)

8. Copy of naturalization certificate

9. Copy of passport (they no longer need your actual passport it seems)

10. They did not require a 국적상실신고서 surprisingly.  I remember filling one out in 2008 but they did not need it this time.

11. Visa fee $45

12. Photos where applicable

13. Copy of drivers license

This is not an exhaustive list.  Consulate's list here: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-chicago-en/wpge/m_20641/contents.do

Concluding thoughts:

- The consulate employees at the windows are quite knowledgeable, speak English well, and were helpful.  It was the security guard's brusque behavior and the fact that there's not a clear set of policies at the consulate regarding reservations, and that they don't answer the phone or emails that were the problem, in my opinion.

- The processes that were the most time consuming and frustrating were 1) everything on the American side, like the FBI background check, the apostille, and getting passport pictures 2) IF you need the TOPIK, good luck figuring out their exam dates and getting a spot.