Kim 'viOlet' Dong Hwan has been granted an athlete's visa and will partake in WCS America 2014

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Kim 'viOlet' Dong Hwan has been a fan favorite in the English speaking Starcraft 2 community since the middle of 2012 when he won IEM Sao Paulo. Following his success in Latin America, viOlet went on an incredible streak throughout 2012 which included top three finishes in tournaments such as MLG, IPL and NASL.

But as 2012 came to an end, Kim and his manager Andrew Tomlinson of Cyber Solutions Agency (CSA) were made painstakingly aware that the SC2 pro had overstayed his welcome, and would not be allowed re-entry to the United States without the proper paperwork.

Today, the paperwork in question arrived and viOlet will be allowed to live and compete in America for the next five years as a recognized professional athlete. The subject of progamers receiving so called P-1A visas was brought to the mainstream public's attention earlier this year when Riot Games secured Canadian national and LCS player Danny 'Shiptur' Le a visa of the same kind, prompting the discussion on whether or not it's time to recognize progamers as actual athletes.

Image Source: Team Acer