Vietnamese Immigration

Vietnamese immigration began soon after the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in April 1975. There were four different waves of immigration from Vietnam, and each had distinct characteristics. Some of these groups could be considered refugees, while others could be considered immigrants. In general, refugees are defined as those who fled Vietnam owing to fear of political or religious persecution; immigrants were those wanting to leave Vietnam for better economic and life opportunities. Although the distinction between refugee and immigrant is important, it should be noted that the motivation to emigrate could involve more than a single factor, as explained by Nazli Kibria. She also mentions that the official labels given to these groups are not chosen by them, but rather imposed.

As mentioned, the first wave of Vietnamese immigration to the United States began in 1975. Approximately 125,000 refugees fled Vietnam because they had been affiliated either with the United States or with the South Vietnamese government and military. Immigrants from this period tended to be well educated, came from a middle-class background, and were residents from urban areas.

The second wave of Vietnamese immigration occurred between 1976 and the early 1980s. Owing to the outbreak of hostilities with China during this period, the Vietnamese government had an unofficial policy of allowing ethnic Chinese to leave Vietnam via boats in exchange for large sums of money. Many ethnic Chinese from Vietnam fled this way. Hence, this group of immigrants were also known as “Boat People.” Many immigrants from the second wave were business owners and merchants.

The third wave occurred in the mid-1980s and ended in the late 1980s. Policies such as the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1987 allowed Amerasians and their families to immigrate to the United States. Amerasians were the children of American servicemen and Vietnamese women. This wave of immigration also included political prisoners from reeducation camps and their families. Many of the political prisoners were religious leaders, former government officials, and members of the military.

The fourth wave occurred in the late 1990s. Vietnamese immigrants who had become American citizens were able to sponsor family members to the United States. Currently, there is limited immigration by Vietnamese because they are no longer accepted under refugee status, but now must go through the usual immigration and naturalization procedures with the U.S. consulate in Vietnam. This process tends to be very long and expensive.