| An Amerasian's Story | |
Last year this 29 year-old Amerasian woman, Tran Thi Hong, was desperately trying to come to the United States with her husband and two children. She was looking for her father (an American pilot) who she thought she needed in order to immigrate to the United States. In actuality, all she really needed to do was prove she was an American. |
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| Hong may have been successful
in her search for her father, but the man she found via the internet
insisted he wasn't the one. In all likelyhood, the news of his previous life and an unknownVietnamese family might have been too much to accept and deal with in his current marital situation. |
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| We met her again at her stall
on the docks of Hoi An and paid for her and her daughter to travel
to Ho Chi Minh City by train. Once there we arranged for an interview with the American Consulat. She brought her father's dog tags and her looks which are undeniably European in origin. |
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| Good News! The American Consulate had lost all record of her existence, but through Dr. Poremba's deligence and the invaluable support of Dr. Earl King and his wife Judy of Sacremento, we were able to get her recognized as an American citizen. Finally, she was given permission to immigrate to the United States. |
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| She arrived with her family
in Sacremento, California on September 14th, 2000. After 7 long years lost in the application process, she is now in America and a U.S. citizen. Congratulations Hong! |
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| E-Mail from Dr. Earl King
of Sacramento Hong arrives in Sacramento at the Sacramento International Airport on Wed. 13th of Sept. on United Airlines Flight 2506 at 2:03 P.M. I think I am more excited about this than when my  daughter arrived from Thailand.
She formally goes to pick up the tickets in HCMC tomorrow. We
sent her an E-Mail several days ago and she had already left
Hoi An. I'll bet she will be the first one in line at the ticket
counter! We have been buying lots at garage sales and have a
whole garage full of "stuff". The Catholic Immigration
Agency in Oakland is involved and there are lots of resources
here but still it is going to be a busy time during the next
few weeks. So many little details that we normally take for granted.
Give Nu our best and congratulations. Will be sending pictures I hope since I have a new digital camera on the way from Amazon. --- End Forwarded Message --- |
 Site Map rwalsh@salemstate.edu bporemba@salemstate.edu |