VZCZCXRO9058
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0240/01 0371004
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061004Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4548
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 2480
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, CA/FPP, CA/VO/EAP AND DRL MITTELHOUSER 
COMMERCE FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO 
LABOR FOR CARTER, LI 
HOMELAND 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON CVIS PGOV ETRD EIND EINV VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM CONSIDERING EXPORT WORKER PROGRAM FOR UNITED 
STATES 
 
 
SENSITIVE - DO NOT POST ON INTERNET 
 
REF: 2005 HANOI 801 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Econoff and ConsChief met with officials at the 
Ministry of Labor Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to discuss 
recent news reports that the Government of Vietnam (GVN) was 
beginning a new program to export laborers to the United States. 
The reports quoted MOLISA officials as stating that workers would 
pay USD 5,000 to USD 7,000 to Vietnamese export labor companies for 
contracts, and making claims about visas, green card eligibility, 
and U.S. Embassy approval of firms.  After Emboffs disputed the 
claims and noted that the Embassy had not approved the activities of 
any firms, the officials acknowledged that the press reports were 
wrong.  Officials said the proposal, which still has not been 
approved by the Prime Minister, would be focusing on higher-end 
labor which would be profitable for workers.  Early in 2006, Post 
stopped issuing these kinds of visas because of concerns about such 
contracts involving H2A visas where seasonal agricultural workers 
paying such fees would lose money on the venture and have an 
incentive to remain in the United States illegally.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) EconOff and ConsChief met with MOLISA International 
Cooperation Director Tran Phi Tuoc and Bureau of Overseas Labor 
Deputy Director Nguyen Ngoc Quynh on February 1 to discuss recent 
news reports of the GVN beginning a new program to export laborers 
to the United States.  Recent television and print news reports have 
stated that Vietnam is beginning a program in February to send 
workers, including welders and nurses, to the United States. 
Workers would pay UD 5,000 to USD 7,000 in fees to Vietnamese export 
labor companies for their contracts, would be able to obtain visas 
to remain in the United States for three years and would then be 
eligible for green cards, the reports stated.  The reports quoted, 
on camera, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Director of the Bureau of Overseas 
Labor, who also said two export labor firms were "approved" by the 
U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.  Post requested a meeting with Hoa, but was 
denied and met with Quynh, his deputy, instead. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In the meeting, EconOff and ConsChief noted that the 
reports were factually incorrect, that the Embassy had not approved 
the activities of any firms.  They then asked for information about 
the new program.  The officials acknowledged that the press reports 
were wrong, saying there was no "program" per se to send workers to 
the United States.  They indicated, however, that the Ministry has 
submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister allowing export labor 
firms to send workers to the United States, as every new market 
needed such approval.  Quynh emphasized that MOLISA had not yet 
given permits to any firms to send workers to the United States.  He 
added that the initiative followed a pair of visits to the United 
States by MOLISA Vice Minister Nguyen Nguyen Luong Trao and himself 
in 2006, when they had met with a range of officials at the 
Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security.  Quynh 
stated the GVN wished only to allow the operation of these contracts 
in a way that was "100 percent legal" in the United States and 
protected worker rights.  They also stated that, in line with 
Vietnamese law, they would only give permits to firms to conduct 
export labor activities in the United States after they examined 
contracts between U.S. employers and Vietnamese labor exporting 
firms and between the labor exporting firms and the employees 
themselves.  Quynh added firms would not send large numbers of 
workers to the United States at first, as the GVN wished to see 
firms gain experience with the market. 
 
Background: Exorbitant Fees Create Incentive to Overstay 
----------  -------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to Vietnamese law, firms can charge a maximum of 
one month's salary for workers that go to a foreign country for a 
year.  Limits are lower for workers that go for shorter periods of 
time, Quynh said.  He admitted, however, other fees could also be 
applied, such as those for medical examinations and training, fees 
which often resulted in workers paying substantially more than one 
month's salary.  Human rights groups have criticized the government 
of Vietnam for failing to regulate export labor firms.  Despite the 
legal limit, these firms have been known to extract from workers a 
range of surcharges, all beyond the basic contract fee, adding up to 
thousands of dollars in some cases.  Workers in the most egregious 
cases spend most of their time abroad trying to pay off the debts 
they have incurred to these firms, providing them with strong 
 
HANOI 00000240  002 OF 002 
 
 
incentives to work and hide illegally in the informal economy of 
their host countries and overstay their visas.  Vietnam passed a new 
export labor law in November to address some of these issues, but 
has still not issued the implementing regulations.  The 
International Labor Organization, which had worked to improve the 
law, was generally disappointed with the new law's language, stating 
more worker protections and sanctions against exploitative firms 
should have been included. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The MOLISA officials did note that there were a few 
Vietnamese workers in the United States now -- those that had 
received visas from ConGen Ho Chi Minh City in 2006 to work via the 
U.S. labor importing firm Global Horizons, Inc. (GHI), before it 
stopped issuing visas to these workers (reftel).  The GVN does not 
regulate individuals who are able to obtain work contracts without a 
Vietnamese export labor firm being involved, Quynh said. (Note: Post 
stopped issuing the visas related to GHI after a Post investigation 
revealed that the workers were paying large contract fees to the 
firm to assist with six-month H2A (for seasonal agricultural 
workers) visas with no guarantee of renewal.  As such, workers would 
have an incentive to remain in the United States illegally.  End 
note.) 
 
GVN to Focus On Sending Skilled Labor 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) ConsChief emphasized that it was important for MOLISA to 
understand that if it wished to maximize the returns on a program 
like this one, then it would be advisable to focus on jobs at the 
higher-wage and higher-skills end of the spectrum.  The fees that 
workers were paying in the GHI cases were too high to be 
economically feasible for temporary unskilled laborers such as 
agricultural workers, he said. Instead, Vietnam should focus on 
sending, for example, information technology specialists.  The 
officials said that the GVN's efforts were focused on these exact 
workers.  ConsChief asked the officials to keep the Embassy informed 
of the progress of the issue.  Econoff also urged the officials to 
continue working with the International Labor Organization and 
others to ensure that the implementing regulations for last year's 
export labor law provide workers with strong protections against 
exploitative export labor firms.  The officials said they would 
comply. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The discrepancies between the statements of the 
officials quoted in the media and the statements made to Emboffs 
during the MOLISA meeting create credibility issues. Cons and Econ 
will continue monitoring the issue of labor exports, working to 
ensure that new visa applicants are not paying exorbitant fees and 
thus carrying with them an incentive to overstay their visas in the 
United States. Post will also continue to monitor the drafting of 
the export labor law implementing regulations.  End Comment. 
 
MARINE