US spouse visa for Vietnamese nationals
What this visa is
The CR-1 and IR-1 immigrant visas allow the husband or wife of a United States citizen to move to the US permanently. The applicant enters as a lawful permanent resident and receives a green card shortly after arrival.
Vietnamese applicants interview at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, which handles all immigrant visa cases for Vietnam.
If the couple has been married for less than two years when the applicant enters the US, the visa is a CR-1 with a conditional two year green card. Two years or more and it is an IR-1 with a ten year card.
Who can apply
You can apply if you are legally married to a United States citizen and the marriage is valid where it took place. A marriage in Vietnam between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreign national is registered with the provincial Department of Justice or the People’s Committee, which issues the marriage certificate.
Marriages registered abroad are recognised, and many couples marry in the United States or a third country instead.
Both spouses must have been free to marry, with a divorce judgment or death certificate for any previous marriage.
Who can sponsor
The sponsor must be a United States citizen. Spouses of green card holders apply in the F2A category, which has annual limits and a waiting list. A large share of Vietnamese cases involve sponsors who naturalised after arriving as refugees or through earlier family petitions.
Financial requirement
The sponsor signs Form I-864, the affidavit of support, which is enforceable against them in court.
Household income must be at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines: $27,050 for a household of two in the contiguous states. Shortfalls can be met with assets worth three times the gap, or a joint sponsor. Active duty military sponsors need only 100 percent.
Step one: the I-130 petition
Your spouse files Form I-130 with USCIS from the United States, with the marriage certificate, proof of US citizenship and evidence of the relationship: photographs across visits, flight records, message histories, and evidence of contact with each other’s families.
Once approved, the case transfers to the National Visa Center.
Step two: the National Visa Center
The National Visa Center collects the DS-260 application, fees, the affidavit of support and civil documents. The case only progresses once it is documentarily qualified.
Vietnamese documents must be accompanied by certified English translations. Names should be transliterated consistently across every document, including diacritics, since inconsistencies are a frequent cause of requests for evidence.
Step three: the interview in Ho Chi Minh City
Interviews take place at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Applicants from Hanoi, Da Nang and the north must travel south for the interview.
Interviews are conducted in Vietnamese. The officer will ask about how the relationship began, visits, the wedding, and your plans in the United States. Bring original documents even where scans were uploaded.
Medical examination
You must be examined by a panel physician approved by the consulate before your interview. Approved clinics operate in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
The examination covers a physical check, chest x ray, blood tests and required vaccinations. Bring your vaccination records. Results are sent directly to the consulate.
Police certificates and civil documents
Vietnamese applicants need a Judicial Record Certificate Number 2, issued by the Department of Justice in the province where you are registered or by the National Centre for Criminal Record Information. Certificate Number 1 is not accepted, because it does not show expunged records.
Birth certificates are issued by the People’s Committee at the commune level. If the original registration has been lost, a copy can be extracted from the civil status register.
If you have lived in another country for twelve months or more since turning 16, you need a police certificate from that country as well.
Documents needed
- Valid Vietnamese passport
- Marriage certificate issued in Vietnam, or foreign marriage certificate if you married abroad
- Birth certificate issued by the People’s Committee
- Judicial Record Certificate Number 2
- Divorce judgment or death certificate for any previous marriage
- Citizen identification card
- Court and prison records if ever arrested or convicted
- Military records if you have served
- Sponsor’s proof of US citizenship
- Sponsor’s federal tax return, W-2 forms and recent pay stubs
- Completed Form I-864 with supporting evidence
- Medical examination results from an approved panel physician
- Two US visa format photographs
- Relationship evidence spanning the whole relationship
- Certified English translations of Vietnamese documents
Costs
- Form I-130: $625 online, $675 on paper
- Immigrant visa application fee (DS-260): $325
- Affidavit of support review fee: $120
- Medical examination in Vietnam: typically $150 to $300
- Judicial Record Certificate and civil documents: modest local fees
- USCIS Immigrant Fee after the visa is issued: $235
Verify current amounts on the USCIS and Department of State websites before paying.
Processing times
The I-130 stage at USCIS commonly runs from several months to well over a year. The National Visa Center stage is quick if documents are correct first time. Interview availability in Ho Chi Minh City is the final variable.
Plan for a total of twelve to twenty four months from filing to arrival.
After approval: what comes next
Your passport is returned with the visa and a sealed packet that must not be opened. Travel before the visa expires, normally within six months of the medical examination.
Pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you fly, otherwise the green card will not be produced. You can work immediately on arrival and can apply for a Social Security number.
If you hold a CR-1, you and your spouse jointly file Form I-751 in the ninety days before the two year card expires.
FAQs
Which judicial record certificate do I need?
Number 2. Certificate Number 1 omits expunged convictions and is not accepted for immigrant visa purposes.
We married in the United States rather than Vietnam. Does that work?
Yes. A marriage valid where it was celebrated is recognised. You do not have to register it in Vietnam for the US visa, although you may wish to for other reasons.
Can I interview in Hanoi?
No. Immigrant visa interviews for Vietnam are held in Ho Chi Minh City, although the medical examination can be completed in Hanoi.
My spouse sponsored a previous spouse. Does that affect us?
It does not bar the petition, but it invites scrutiny and, where the previous petition was recent, may trigger additional review. Be ready to explain the history and to show that the current marriage is genuine.
My spouse’s income is below the threshold. What can we do?
Use a joint sponsor who is a US citizen or permanent resident living in the United States, or rely on qualifying assets.
Can my children come with me?
Not automatically. Your spouse files a separate I-130 for each child, and the stepchild relationship must have been created before the child turned 18.