chitraveler

http://seoul.usembassy.gov/esta_info.html

Looks like South Korea is in the VWP and she can use ESTA.

There is a chance she'll be denied that though since she has been denied a Visa before. If that happens she needs to get an visitor Visa from the embassy. (At least at the German embassy that is a matter of a week. In your case I would do that before booking a flight) I don't know how much of a fit they can throw about that. They might be afraid that you'll spontaneous decide to get married. You should be able to find how people have dealt with that before on here though.

Edit:

Since you've already applied for a K1 they might not even be worried about you getting married on a tourist visa/esta. If you get married without the k1 though she needs to leave the country again or she'll very likely get in trouble if you try to file AOS since she came on a non immigrant visa with the intention to stay. If she left after getting married you would need to file for a cr1 (which is what my wife and I did and that's a long long process. We applied in April 2013 and I'll go pickup my passport in half an hour now).

We didn't apply for K1 just yet. We will soon, though. Will ESTA count against her during the K1 application if she gets denied? Thanks, again!

Hello everyone,

My girlfriend came to the US 5 years ago from South Korea on a student visa and began studying English. After about 4 years, she transferred to an art school to get a degree in graphic arts. After the first year in her 2 year program, she went with me to Japan and then to Korea, when her visa had just expired and required her to renew. Of course, her renewal was denied due to lack of strong ties.

She immediately got a job in Korea teaching English and will finish her degree in Seoul from before (only 3 credits). Since we've been together a year, we decided to apply for a K1 visa. However, we want to see each other again in the timeframe leading to that. Also, she has some stuff to move out of her apartment and to terminate the lease.

Will she be eligible for ESTA or a tourist visa to visit?

Thanks for your help!