U.S. Department of State Vietnam Visa Approvals for May and June 2018

U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City

     The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) has published a list of visa issuances for both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for the months of May and June 2018. 

     There were 1,643 immigrant visas issued for Vietnamese nationals in May. Eighty-four were IR-1 visas and 187 were CR-1 visas. The IR-1 visa and the CR-1 visa are issued to foreign spouses of U.S. citizens. IR-1 visas are issued to those who have been married to a U.S. citizen for more than two years while CR-1 visas are issued to foreigners who have been married to a U.S. citizen for less than two years. 

     There were no EB-5 visas issued in Vietnam. 

     A total of 14,633 nonimmigrant visas were issued to Vietnamese nationals in May. Of that number, 12,080 were B-1/B-2 visas. A B-1/B-2 visa is issued to those visiting the U.S. for temporary business and/ or pleasure. There were 1,113 visas issued to Vietnamese students aspiring to study in the United States. This included 1,110 F-1 visas for academic and language students, 3 M-1 visas for vocational students, and 125 J-1 visas for exchange visitors such as exchange students, au pairs, professionals, scholars, and teachers. 

     The majority of the visas issued from Vietnam were issued by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. For May, the consulate in Ho Chi Minh issued 1,601 immigrant visas and 10,136 nonimmigrant visas while only 6 immigrant visas and 3,796 nonimmigrant visas were issued from Hanoi.

     The number of immigrant visas approved for Vietnamese nationals slightly decreased to 1,602 in June. There was, however, an increase in the number of IR-1 (103) and CR-1 (238) visas approved. 

     On the other hand, June showed a slight increase in the number of nonimmigrant visa approvals for Vietnamese nationals bringing the total to 14,945. Majority of the visas issued were from the B-1/B2 category (10,430 visas). The number of academic visas (F, M, and J) increased nearly 173% because of the upcoming U.S. academic year. Specifically, 3,147 F-1 visas, 8 M-1 visas, and 228 J-1 visas were issued to Vietnamese students. 

     Most of the June issued visas from were also issued by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh. The consulate in Ho Chi Minh issued 1,566 immigrant visas and 10,309 nonimmigrant visas. The consulate in Hanoi issued 8 nonimmigrant visas and 3,942 nonimmigrant visas. 

     These numbers only show the approvals and does not in any way show a trend since data on the number of applicants per month and the number of rejections is not available to the public.

by: Enterline and Partners Consulting