Resettlement has become a vital part of the US-Vietnam relationship in the past few years and holds significance for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese citizens, US Consul General Ken Fairfax told the conference.
The meeting, held to review the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR) Process, brought together US and Vietnamese immigration officials.
Fairfax added that the US appreciated the goodwill of the Vietnamese government in going ahead with the process, and hoped, with the program drawing to a close, the conference would help improve mutual understanding.
In November 2005 the two countries signed the final agreement of the HR Process under which a number of eligible Vietnamese will be considered for resettlement in the US
The scheme considers applications from former high-ranking officials and employees of the US-backed Saigon regime and former staff recruited directly by US companies or organizations before April 30, 1975, along with their families.
Processing of applications started in June 2006 and wrapped up last week.
Speaking at the conference, Le Xuan Vien, deputy head of the Immigration Management Bureau, said the Vietnamese government has always respected and protected the resettlement rights and created conducive conditions for eligible citizens.
Authorities have also strived to improve immigration procedures, Vien said, citing relaxed passport formalities as an example.
Last August the Vietnamese government issued a decree stipulating that passport applications must be processed in eight days.
New and renewed passports are now valid for 10 years instead of the earlier eight.
Vien stressed that the aim of his government in overseas resettlement programs is humanitarian and not political.
Vietnam is thus willing to cooperate with other countries and international organizations to meet the overseas resettlement needs of its citizens, he said.
He pointed out that the government has given ethnic minorities equal treatment under the HR Process, including passports, applications, rejecting all allegations of discrimination.
Asked about the small number of ethnic minorities deemed eligible for US resettlement, authorities told the meeting that the US has turned down many applications from minorities.
The Immigration Management Bureau said between 1997 and 2000, only 157 out of 967 applicants were accepted by the US
Authorities from central highlands provinces, however, also blamed the cumbersome application formalities for scaring away ethnic minority applicants.
Many of them had to wait very long, some for as long as a year, after they were interviewed for resettlement.
Central Highland authorities urged the US to streamline procedures in this regard.
Timothy Swanson, chief of the Humanitarian Resettlement Section of the US consulate in HCMC, said the consulate always writes to every applicant to apprise them of the status of their application.
But he admitted that problems with regard to permanent addresses often make it difficult for US authorities to contact ethnic minority applicants.
Swanson acknowledged the support rendered by the Vietnamese government since the HR Process began three years ago.
The predecessor of the HR process, the Orderly Departure Program, enabled nearly 500,000 Vietnamese citizens to resettle in the US between January 1980 and September 1994.
Reported by Minh Duc |
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