Secretaries of State and Homeland Security Exercise Discretionary Authority Relating to Material Support to Benefit Certain Montagnards from Vietnam

The Secretary of State, on October 20, jointly with the Secretary of Homeland Security, exercised her discretionary authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act and determined that the material support inadmissibility provisions of the act are inapplicable to material support provided to the Front Unifié de Lutte des Races Opprimées (FULRO), a Vietnamese Montagnard group, before December 31, 1992. This will allow certain Montagnard refugees from Vietnam who are already resettled in the United States to adjust status and become legal permanent residents. This exemption will also benefit certain individuals outside the United States who would otherwise be inadmissible for having provided material support to FULRO. To benefit from this exemption, an applicant must meet all other eligibility requirements -- including that they pose no danger to the safety and security of the United States.

The United States Government will continue to consider for resettlement eligible Montagnards who apply through the Humanitarian Resettlement Section of the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition, the United States maintains its policy of considering individual cases for resettlement to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program upon referral by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).