US Bureau of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Janice Jacobs (R) during a press conference at the USA Education Center in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday.

The US recession will not affect the country’s visa and immigration policies in Vietnam, a US State Department official told a press briefing in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday.

Currently, the US is hosting around 15,000 Vietnamese students and the Southeast Asian nation now ranks 8th among countries sending most students to the US, she said.

In a meeting Tuesday with the HCMC People’s Committee Standing Vice Chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai, the US diplomat said she was satisfied with recent cooperative projects between the US and Vietnam including HIV/AIDS programs and student exchanges.

Tai praised non-governmental organizations from the US for their effective work in HCMC, especially with drug abuse prevention programs.

He said the People’s Committee would seek further cooperation with the US government in human resource development and labor export programs by sending young students and guest workers to the US this year.

Poor infrastructure was a challenge for HCMC’s socio-economic development strategy, Tai said, adding that the city was seeking more US investment in the sector.

Jacobs said she expected the US Consulate General in HCMC to continue issuing more visas to Vietnamese students in 2009.

In meetings with government officials in Hanoi later this week, the US official will discuss establishing more diplomatic offices in the US and Vietnam, and the possible resumption of a child adoption program.

The assistant secretary is on a four-day visit to Vietnam until Thursday.

Reported by Tuong Nhi-Vinh Bao