Legal immigration to the United States totals approximately 800,000 per year, including 480,000 family-sponsored immigrants, 140,000 employment-based immigrants, and 120,000 refugees annually. Vietnam is the second leading source country behind Mexico in legal immigration to the United states, with 78,000 Vietnamese immigrants arriving in the United States each year. They include immediate relatives (spouses, children and parents), siblings, adult children and fiancées of U.S. citizens, and spouses and children of lawful permanent residents.

In 1994, a new chapter opened between the United States and Vietnam when President Clinton lifted the U.S. trade embargo. The United States established a liaison office in Vietnam in January 1995, and relations between the countries normalized in July 1995. Two years later, the United States opened a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and sent its first ambassador to the country since 1975. Since then, the United States presence in Vietnam has grown rapidly, with an embassy in Hanoi and consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.

There are many different methods of emigrating from Vietnam to the United States, including:

TEMPORARY VISAS

B-1/B-2 Visitor's Visas
Available for visits to the U.S. for business or pleasure. B-1 business visitor visas are for a short duration and must not involve local employment. Nationals of certain countries may be eligible to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader and Investor Visas
Investors and traders and their employees may receive visas to carry on their businesses in the U.S. if their home country has a commercial treaty with the U.S. conferring visa eligibility.

F-1 and M-1 Student Visas
Persons seeking to pursue full-time study at a learning institution in the U.S. may be eligible for a visa for the course of their study plus, in some cases, a period for practical training in their field of study.

H-1B Specialty Occupation (Professional) Visas
Professional workers with at least a bachelor's degree (or its equivalent in work experience) may be eligible for a non-immigrant visa if their employers can demonstrate that they are to be paid at least the prevailing wage for the position.

K-1 Fiancé Visas
A fiancé of a U.S. citizen is eligible for a non-immigrant visa conditioned on the conclusion of the marriage within 90 days of entry into the U.S.

K-3 Spouse Visas
A spouse of a U.S. citizen is eligible to apply for a non-immigrant visa in order to enter the U.S. during the pendency of a permanent residence petition.

L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visas
L-1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized knowledge employees transferring to their employer's U.S. affiliate. Executives and managers holding L-1 visas may be eligible for permanent residency without the need for a labor certification.

R-1 Religious Worker Visas
Religious workers may be eligible for an R-1 visa.

TN Status Under the North American Free Trade Agreement
A special category has been set up for nationals of Canada and Mexico under the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

PERMANENT RESIDENCY VISAS (“GREEN CARDS”)

Family Sponsored Immigration
U.S. citizens may petition for permanent resident status for spouses, parents, children and siblings. Permanent residents may also petition for spouses and children.

B-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals
Visa holders in this category normally must have a job offer and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process.

EB-4 Special Immigrant Visas for Religious Workers
Ministers of religion are eligible for permanent residency.

EB-5 Investor/Employment Creation Visas
Under the 1990 Immigration Act, Congress has set aside up to 10,000 visas per year for foreign investors in new commercial enterprises that create employment for at least 10 individuals. There are two groups of investors under the program - those who invest at least $500,000 in "targeted employment areas" (rural areas or areas experiencing high unemployment of at least 150% of the national average rate) and those who invest $1,000,000 anywhere else. No fewer than 3,000 of the annual allotment of visas must go to targeted employment areas.

DV-1 Visas (the "Green Card Lottery")
55,000 visas are annually allotted in a random drawing to individuals from nations underrepresented in the total immigrant pool.

Refugee and Asylum Applications
Persons with a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion may be eligible to apply for asylum or refugee status in the U.S.

For direct assistance with legal questions and issues concerning immigration from Vietnam to the United States, please go to www.b-nlaw.com or contact us at mail@vietnam-immigration.com.