Immigrant Visas

Frequently Asked Questions

If you cannot find the answer to your question below, you may contact our Information Unit.  
 
What is the difference between an IR-1 and K-1 visa? Which one is better?

If you already got married, an IR-1 visa allows your spouse to immigrate to the U.S. It is conditional for two years, after which your spouse is eligible to become a legal permanent resident ("Green Card" holder).

A K-1 is a nonimmigrant visa that allows you to bring your fiancée/fiancé to the United States to marry there. Your fiancée/fiancé must marry you within 90 days of arrival in the United States or return to Vietnam.

Which petition is better depends on your personal preference. If it is important to you to get married in Vietnam, you will need to apply for an IR-1 visa and/or K-3 visa AFTER you are married. However, if you would like to marry in the United States, there are advantages to a K-1 fiancée/fiancé visa such as:

- Generally shorter waiting period for K-1 than IR-1 (The total approximate processing time for K1 visa applicants, from the date the I-129 petition is filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the date the visa is issued at the Consulate is typically 9 to 12 months. A spouse visa petition (I-130) will take approximately several months longer than a fiancée visa petition).

- Unmarried minor children may be included without a separate visa petition.  

If I want to marry a Vietnamese national, what are Vietnamese Marriage requirements?  
 
Applications for marriage between a citizen of a foreign country and a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam should be filed in person at the Justice Department offices in the province where the Vietnamese citizen resides.  For detail information about this issue, click here.
 
After we decide which type of visa we want, what is the next step?
 
You should file a petition with the office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that covers your permanent place of residence in the United States.  For further information, click here.
 
Can I file a petition for any kind of visa for my fiancée/wife when I am here in Vietnam?
 
The fiancé(e) petition cannot be filed with oversea offices. The only petition that you may be able to file while you are in the country is spousal petition for her (Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130). This petition can be filed with local CIS offices (Citizenship & Immigration Services). To be eligible to file an I-130 application with our DHS office in Ho Chi Minh City, you must establish that Vietnam is your place of residence, and that you have continuously resided in the country for a period of not less than one year with no more than thirty days accumulated absence during any calendar year.
 
For further information, you should contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in Ho Chi Minh City at:  
 
Department of Homeland Security
9/F – Saigon Center
65 Le Loi Street
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel:  821-6237
Fax: 821-6241
 
My address, telephone number, marital status, or citizenship status has changed.  How can I update this information in my case file?  
 
If your case is already at our office, you may contact our Information Unit.  If your case is at the National Visa Center (NVC) or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), you should contact them.  Contact information for NVC and USCIS is available on our Information Unit page.   
 
Can you expedite my case and schedule an early interview?  
 
Due to the large number of cases to be processed and the need to be fair to each applicant, we do not schedule interviews out of sequence except when there is an urgent need to travel due to emergency reasons.     
 
My priority date is not yet current.  Can you interview me before the priority date is current?  
 
We cannot take any action on a case if the priority date is not current for visa consideration.  There are no legal provisions to process immigrant visa applications out of chronological order, even for pressing humanitarian concerns.  We will schedule a visa interview as soon as the priority date becomes current.  
 
In order to obtain up-to-date information on current priority dates for each visa category, you may call (202) 663-1541 or visit the State Department’s Web Site at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi_bulletin.html.   
 
How can I re-schedule an interview appointment?
 
If you have missed your interview appointment or you would like to re-schedule an upcoming appointment, you should send a written request to our office for a new appointment.  The re-scheduled interview date will be approximately three months after we receive the written request.  Your case may be terminated if you fail to pursue the application within one year of the original interview date. 
 
I did not receive the Instruction Package/Appointment Package that you sent to me.  How can I get another?  
 
If four weeks or more have passed since the time we mailed the package to you and you believe the package was lost in the mail, you may come to our office to pick-up another copy between 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.  You may also contact our Information Unit to request that we mail another copy to you.   
 
I am a petitioner. May I attend the visa interview with my relative?  
 
As is standard practice around the world, we do not permit the petitioner to attend the immigrant visa interview.  Our officers are trained to conduct interviews in Vietnamese.  If the applicant is still unable to understand the questions posed to them, we will provide a local employee who will translate for the applicant.   
 
The interviewing officer requested that I submit more documents.  How can I submit the information requested?    
 
When you have ALL of the requested information, you may submit it to our office via registered mail or in-person.  Do NOT fax documents to our office. You should include the notice you received asking for additional information.  Information may be submitted in-person between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.        
 
Please note that we encourage the applicant to submit the requested documents in person to ensure the documents are adequate or to receive a further guidance if the documents are inappropriate from our expert local employees.
 
After a consular officer has reviewed the information submitted, we will contact the applicant directly with the officer's decision.   
 
I am unable to submit a document that your office requested.  What should I do?
 
If you are unable to provide information requested by the interviewing officer, you should submit a letter explaining the circumstances that prevent you from complying with the request.  After you submit the letter, a consular officer will review your case file.     
 
I am unable to submit my original birth certificate.  What should I do?
 
If you are not able to obtain a birth certificate because records have been destroyed or the government will not issue one, you must obtain a statement to that effect from the civil registrar’s office and submit secondary evidence of birth.  Secondary evidence of birth can be old family household registrations, school records, or baptismal certificates.     
 
How can I apply the Police Certificate (Ly lich Tu Phap)?  Can your office assist me in this matter?
 
If you live in Ho Chi Minh City, you may contact the Justice Department at 143 Pasteur St, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  The telephone is 848-829 7052/ 848-822 3276.  It is our understanding that a friend or relative may request the Police Certificate (Ly Lich Tu Phap) on your behalf.  This can also be done at the local Department of Justice office of your last residence in Vietnam. 
 
Unfortunately, the U.S. Consulate General is unable to assist you in obtaining a "Police Certificate."  
 
My relatives or I cannot obtain the passport, can your office assist in this matter?
 
The U.S. Consulate General is unable to assist a Vietnamese citizen in obtaining a Vietnamese passport.  The issuance of a Vietnamese passport is a Vietnamese government process and the U.S. government cannot interfere in this matter.
 
How can I obtain for my birth certificate?  In case, I cannot obtain my birth certificate, what can I do?
 
Individuals born in Vietnam who need new copies of their Vietnamese birth certificates need to contact the office of the People's Committee of the district where they were born: the district where their mother was then resident according to her Ho Khau.  The district People's Committee can issue certified copies of a birth certificate (Ban Sao) based on their records of the original birth certificate.  Alternatively, the office may provide an Extract (Trich Luc) of the information in the birth record on file in their office.
 
If you are not able to obtain a birth certificate because records have been destroyed or the government will not issue one, you must obtain a statement to that effect from the civil registrar’s office and submit secondary evidence of birth.  Secondary evidence of birth can be old family household registrations, school records, or baptismal certificates.  
 
How can I withdraw or cancel a petition that I filed?
 
Please send us an original, notarized letter of cancellation.  We will stop processing the case and return the petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).   
 
I lost my green card while traveling in Vietnam.  How can I get a replacement?
 
You should contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in Ho Chi Minh City to request a replacement.  
 
Department of Homeland Security
9/F – Saigon Center
65 Le Loi Street
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel:  821-6237
Fax: 821-6241 
 
I am a green card holder (Legal Permanent Resident) currently living in Vietnam.  How long can I stay outside the U.S.?
 
Although your green card (I-551) is valid for 10 years, you can stay outside the U.S. less than a year. If you cannot return within one year, it is considered that you have abandoned your resident status.  For further information about your green card, please contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in Ho Chi Minh City.