South Korea's LG Energy Solution was using workarounds to U.S. visa restrictions well before Donald Trump returned as U.S. president and his administration launched a massive crackdown that detained hundreds of the company's workers, internal documents show.

LG Energy Solution's reliance on a visa waiver program started under Trump's predecessors, reflecting long-running problems South Korean companies say they face in getting short-term visas for specialists they need for their high-tech plants in the U.S.

Company guidelines, detailed in the August 2023 LG documents, advise employees and subcontractors to use the short-term Electronic System for Travel Authorization waiver program, avoiding business visa procedures, after many visa applications were rejected.