After thorough review, the Department of State determined that for visa application purposes, the new Vietnam passport, issued starting July 1, 2022, which does not contain a birthplace, must include a Vietnam government endorsement page that states place of birth information. We urge all individuals with upcoming appointments already scheduled to get the endorsement prior to their appointment. Recognizing the inconvenience this presents, we will continue to interview applicants whose passports lack the endorsement through September 29. Beginning October 3, all visa applicants with the new blue-covered passports must have the passport endorsed with place of birth before their interview. Applicants who do not have an endorsement in their blue cover passports will not be permitted to interview and will need to reschedule their appointments.
From now until October 3, to minimize disruption, all Vietnamese nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants should do the following:
ALL NEW APPLICANTS: When completing your DS-160 application or DS-260 application, please make sure that you write your place of birth. (Do NOT write your place of origin or your place of birth registration. Write the name of the city/province and country where your mother gave birth to you.)
APPLICANTS WITH THE NEW BLUE-COVERED PASSPORT: We strongly recommend that you request that the place of birth be added as an endorsement prior to your interview. If your new passport is not endorsed, then bring an original birth certificate with you to your visa interview. If you do not have an original birth certificate but do have an old green-covered passport that shows your place of birth, then bring the old passport along with your new blue one.
