Skip to content
WE LIVE IN USA
RaccoMy list
All guides ＋
My products
WEWELIVEINUSAVisa
Menu
中文

Explore visasDS-260Overview

AM-1 / AM-2 / AM-3Vietnam Amerasian immigrant

For people born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, whose father was a U.S. citizen, and for certain family members.

At a glance

How you apply
Directly at a consular section of a U.S. embassy or consulate: you can apply for an AM-1 visa without an approved petition. Like every immigrant visa applicant, you apply on Form DS-260 (Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) or Form DS-230, as the consular officer directs. High confidence
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
Who it is for
People born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, who were fathered by a U.S. citizen (AM-1). The law covers people who were residing in Vietnam as of December 22, 1987, and who establish their eligibility to the satisfaction of an officer after a face-to-face interview.
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3]
Family who can come
Your spouse or child (AM-2). Your natural mother, or a person who acted in effect as your mother, father or next-of-kin, and the spouse or child of either (AM-3), but only if an officer decides, in the officer's discretion, that the relationship is bona fide and similar to that between close family members and that the admission is necessary for humanitarian purposes or to assure family unity. All of them must be accompanying you or following to join you. High confidence
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,4]
What you get
If you are admitted, you enter as an immigrant with lawful permanent resident status (a green card); permanent residents are authorized to work in the United States incident to that status. The AM immigrant visa is valid for one year. High confidence
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,5]
Annual limit
None from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA): the law lets the Attorney General admit these immigrants notwithstanding any numerical limitations in the INA.
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3]

What the AM visas are

High confidence Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act (AHA), Public Law 100-202, in 1987 to help one specific group immigrate to the United States: people fathered by an American citizen and born in Vietnam within the dates the law sets. A qualified principal applicant is issued an AM-1 visa, and a spouse or child an AM-2. An AM-3 goes to the AM-1's natural mother, or to a person who acted in effect as the AM-1's mother, father or next-of-kin, and to that mother's or person's spouse or child.[1,4]

What AM-1 requires

  • You were born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, and you were fathered by a U.S. citizen.[1,3]
  • As of December 22, 1987, the date the law was enacted, you were residing in Vietnam, and you establish your eligibility to the satisfaction of a consular officer (the law also names an officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service) after a face-to-face interview.[3]
  • You are admissible as an immigrant, except as the program itself provides (see the next item), and you are issued an immigrant visa and depart from Vietnam on or after March 22, 1988.[3]
  • High confidence Three grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to anyone seeking admission under this program: public charge (INA 212(a)(4)), labor certification and qualifications for certain immigrants (INA 212(a)(5)), and documentation requirements for immigrants (INA 212(a)(7)(A)). On a consular officer's recommendation, the Attorney General may waive any other ground for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity or when it is otherwise in the public interest, except controlled substance traffickers (INA 212(a)(2)(C)) and the security, terrorist activities, foreign policy and Nazi persecution, genocide, torture or extrajudicial killing grounds (INA 212(a)(3)(A), (B), (C) and (E)). Each waiver is granted in writing, case by case, after a consular officer's investigation.[3,6,7]Whether a ground of inadmissibility applies to you, and whether a waiver fits, depends on your facts; an immigration attorney can apply these rules to them.

Family members: AM-2 and AM-3

  • Your spouse or child can receive an AM-2 visa when accompanying you or following to join you. For this program, "child" has the meaning in INA 101(b)(1)(A) through (E): an unmarried person under 21 who fits one of those definitions.[3,4]
  • Your natural mother (or her spouse or child), or a person who acted in effect as your mother, father or next-of-kin (or that person's spouse or child), can receive an AM-3 visa when accompanying or following to join you, but only if the officer decides, in the officer's discretion, that the person has a bona fide relationship with you similar to that between close family members and that the admission is necessary for humanitarian purposes or to assure family unity. If a person who acted as your parent or next-of-kin is admitted, your natural mother cannot afterward receive any right, privilege or status under the INA by virtue of being your mother.[3]
  • The residence and interview conditions cover family members too: the law describes each AM-2 or AM-3 applicant as someone who was residing in Vietnam as of December 22, 1987, and who establishes eligibility to an officer after a face-to-face interview.[3]

How an AM-1 case works

  1. Gather evidence

    Prepare copies of evidence that you were born in Vietnam within the dates above; evidence of your parentage and of your U.S. citizen biological father, such as birth certificates, baptismal records, correspondence or financial support from your father; and, if you are married, a copy of your marriage certificate and proof that any prior marriage ended.[1]

  2. Apply and interview

    High confidence Apply at a consular section on Form DS-260 or DS-230 as directed; no approved petition is needed. The officer may ask for more information or question you on any relevant matter when the form is not enough to decide your eligibility. As with other immigrant visa cases, a case that needs more evidence is refused under INA section 221(g), and it goes through the same termination processing as other immigrant visa classifications.[1,2]

  3. Travel and after arrival

    High confidence Your AM immigrant visa is valid for one year. Once admitted, or while awaiting admission, you are eligible for the benefits in chapter 2 of title IV of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1521 and following) to the same extent as people admitted as refugees under INA section 207.[3,5]

Other routes for Amerasians

High confidence A separate provision, INA section 204(f), covers people born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea (Cambodia) or Thailand after 1950 and before October 22, 1982, and fathered by a U.S. citizen. That route starts with Form I-360, which the person or someone on their behalf files with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Among other conditions, approval requires a sponsor's acceptable written commitment, signed before an immigration or consular officer, to take legal custody and financial responsibility, and the petition is for immediate relative, family first preference or family third preference classification, depending on age and marital status. Anyone eligible under the AM program may also seek permanent residence under any other provision of law they qualify for.[1,3,8]

Fees

State Department fee from 22 CFR 22.1; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fees from Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26
FeeAmountNotes
Immigrant visa application processing fee (State Department), per person$205 or $325 (see notes)22 CFR 22.1 item 32 does not name AM visas. Item 32(c), $205, covers other immigrant visa applications, including special immigrant visa applicants; item 32(a), $325, covers immediate relative and family preference applications, and the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual lists the AM visas among family-based classifications. The consular section confirms which line applies.
USCIS Immigrant Fee$235For people immigrating to the United States as lawful permanent residents. The G-1055 lists $0 only for children entering under the orphan or Hague adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, returning residents (SB-1) and K nonimmigrants.
Form I-360, filed for or as an Amerasian (INA 204(f) route only)$0An AM-1 visa needs no petition; this line applies only to the separate route described above.
Form I-361 (Affidavit of Financial Support and Intent to Petition for Legal Custody for Public Law 97-359 Amerasian)$0Filed in support of an INA 204(f) Form I-360.
High confidenceChecked Oct 18, 2026[1,9,10,11]

Recent policy changes

Recent policy changes

Official

Updates

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Answers come from our sourced database and your own timeline, sorted into fact, public data, inference and unknown. No AI model is used in this version, so questions outside what we cover get an honest "not covered".

Questions people ask

Does my U.S. citizen father have to file a petition for me?

High confidence No. You can apply for an AM-1 visa at a consular section without an approved petition, and you give the consular officer the evidence of your birth and parentage yourself.[1,12]

Can my mother come with me?

She may qualify for an AM-3 visa if she meets the program's other conditions, including residing in Vietnam as of December 22, 1987, is accompanying you or following to join you, and the officer decides, in the officer's discretion, that she has a bona fide relationship with you similar to that between close family members and that her admission is necessary for humanitarian purposes or to assure family unity. Whether that standard is met depends on your family's facts; an immigration attorney can apply it to them.[3]

What if I was born outside Vietnam, or outside these dates?

High confidence Then you do not fit the AM-1 class, which requires birth in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976. If you were born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand after December 31, 1950, and before October 22, 1982, and were fathered by a U.S. citizen, the separate INA 204(f) route through Form I-360 may apply, and an Amerasian may also immigrate under another INA provision if qualified.[1,3]

Related categories

Content last reviewed: Oct 18, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. 1.9 FAM 502.2 FAMILY-BASED IV CLASSIFICATIONSU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  2. 2.22 CFR 42.63 — Application forms (immigrant visas)eCFR · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  3. 3.8 U.S.C. 1101 (INA 101) - Definitions, incl. 101(a)(15)(E), (H), (L), 101(a)(44), 101(a)(45)U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  4. 4.22 CFR 42.11eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  5. 5.8 CFR 274a.12 - Classes of aliens authorized to accept employmenteCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  6. 6.8 CFR 245.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  7. 7.Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  8. 8.8 U.S.C. 1154 (INA 204) — Procedure for granting immigrant statusOffice of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  9. 9.22 CFR 22.1 - Schedule of fees for consular services (Department of State)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  10. 10.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  11. 11.8 CFR 106.2 - USCIS feeseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  12. 12.9 FAM 502.1 IV CLASSIFICATIONS OVERVIEWU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026