Visits in Jail
If you are arrested, you should ask the authorities to notify a U.S. Consul. Consuls cannot get you out of jail (when you are in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws). However, they can work to protect your legitimate interests and ensure that you are not discriminated against. They can provide you with a list of local attorneys, visit you, inform you generally about local laws, and contact your family and friends. Consular officers can transfer money, food, and clothing to the prison authorities from your family and friends. They can try to obtain relief if you are held under inhumane or unhealthy conditions
Welfare and Whereabouts
Should one of your family members become missing, the U.S. Citizen Services unit can assist you in locating the person. Also, should you become concerned about the welfare of a family member, this office can assist you. Keep in mind that once an individual is located, you will be notified ONLY if he/she has signed an authorization or given verbal permission to waive the Privacy Act.
When contacting the U.S. Citizen Services unit in these cases, please have available the name of the person you are looking for, his/her U.S. passport number, date and place of birth, travel plans, and the date when he/she entered Vietnam.
WHAT THE CONSULAR SECTION CAN NOT DO
The American Citizen Services office cannot act as your travel agent, bank, lawyer, investigator or law enforcement agent. Please do not expect the office to find you employment, get you residence or driving permits, act as interpreters, search for missing luggage or settle disputes with hotel managers. You may not stay at the U.S. Consulate General if you are stranded. However, the office can tell you how to obtain help on these and other matters.
Federal Benefits and Veterans's Services
The American Citizen Services unit provides assistance with Social Security and Veterans' benefits.
Applying for a Social Security number: A first-time applicant must submit an original birth certificate and proof of U.S. citizenship. All first-time applicants age eighteen (18) or older must appear in person at the Consulate General. A parent may apply for a child under age eighteen (18); the parent must present a passport or Vietnamese Identity Card.
Changing your name on your Social Security Card: Applicants must submit an original marriage certificate and/or a change of name certificate.
Replacing a Social Security Card: Applicants for replacement Social Security Cards must present a U.S. passport.
Voting Information for the 2008 Primary and General Elections October 2007
This is a reminder that in just three months we will be entering the U. S. presidential and state primary season. Five primaries are currently slated for January, another 20 are scheduled for February, and the rest take place from early March through early October. Registration for the first primary (the District of Columbia) closes December 10, 2007. We encourage you to act now so that your opinion is heard – not only in the November 2008 presidential and general elections, but also in the presidential primary and state primary elections! The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website www.fvap.gov.
Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are or will be residing outside the United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office. This includes primary, run-off, and special elections that occur throughout the year, as well as the general election in November 2008. Some states allow overseas voters to vote in elections for state and local offices, and for state and local referendums.
Voting eligibility and residency requirements are determined by the various U.S. states, and are available on-line at http://fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html. Your "legal state of residence" for voting purposes is the state where you last resided immediately prior to departure from the United States. Voting rights extend to overseas citizens even though they may no longer own property or have other ties to their last state of residence, and even if their intent to return to that state may be uncertain. For those who have never resided in the U.S., sixteen states, to date, allow eligible U.S. citizens to register where a parent would be eligible to vote.
To register to vote and/or apply for an absentee ballot, you can use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The on-line version, the OFPCA, is accepted by all states and territories except American Samoa and Guam. Voters from American Samoa and Guam must use the standard form of the FPCA, available at the Consulate General or through many American civic groups. The on-line OFPCA form must be completed legibly, printed, signed, dated, and mailed to your local election officials. Your state may allow faxing to speed the process, but you will still need to send in the original by mail. Use an envelope and affix proper postage. The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance, www.fvap.gov, has a wealth of information about absentee voting, including the state-specific instructions for completing the FPCA form, links to state and local officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot for use by those who register in time but fail to receive an official ballot.
As a general rule, you should try to send in the FPCA so that it reaches your local election officials at least forty-five days before the first election in which you are eligible to vote --- ample time for them to process the request and send you a blank ballot. If applying for both registration and an absentee ballot, you may want to mail the FPCA earlier. One FPCA will qualify you to receive all ballots for Federal offices for the next two regular Federal elections (through 2010). However, we recommend that you submit a new FPCA in January of every year, and whenever you move, to ensure that your most recent mailing and e-mail addresses are on file with your local election officials.
Under normal circumstances, most states and territories begin sending ballots to overseas citizens 30-45 days before an election. However, if you haven’t received your ballot within three weeks of your state’s ballot receipt deadline, and you are required to return your voted ballot by mail, you should download, complete, sign, date, and send in a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB), available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefwab.html. Make sure it is witnessed if required by your state. If you subsequently receive your regular absentee ballot, execute it and return it regardless of when you receive it. Court decisions sometimes require late counting of ballots voted by Election Day, but received by local election officials for a specified period of time following Election Day.
Be an Educated Voter
Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues is widely available and easy to obtain via the Internet. Use the links appearing on the FVAP website at http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html, read your hometown newspaper on-line, or search the Internet to locate articles and information.
The Voting Assistance Officer at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City is also always available to answer questions about absentee voting. To contact the Voting Assistance Officer, call (04)850-5000 ext.5046 or send an e-mail to votehanoi@state.gov.
For a handout regarding marriage procedures in Vietnam, click here. It is possible that these requirements may be revised at any time or interpreted differently in different jurisdictions of Vietnam. Please note that the Vietnamese authorities are the proper point of contact for information about the requirements to register a marriage in Vietnam. More information about the procedures for bringing a Vietnamese spouse or fiancé(e) to the U.S. is available on the Immigrant Visa unit's web page.
General Information
Special Consular Services
