On my birth certificate it shows I was born on 17 March 1973. Before my mother met my father she was married to a Vietnamese man and had one daughter and she was born in 1968. Right after the daughter was born my mothers husband moved to Saigon and she stayed with her parents in Plei Ku, Gia Lai Province. She went to work at Camp Holloway and worked as a maid for my father. My father was with Company 119, with the rank of Sergeant. She had a relationship with him until just before I was born.

When I was 2 or 3 years old, my mother married another Vietnamese man and she moved to his house and lived with him. She left my sister and me with my mother's parents to live. Meanwhile my mother kept seeing me and gave money to my grand parents to take care of me.

When I was 7 or 8 years old I went to primary school and studied until grade two. At that time the teachers loved me because I was a good student and got the first position in my class. My classmates always called me My Lai and other nasty things, so I would fight with them and get into trouble and my teachers forced me to stay on my knees for 10 minutes, every time I would fight. I was then sent back to class.

At this time my mother moved to the New Economic Zone, about 8 Kilometers from my grandmother. I quit school at this time because I was always fighting and I went to live with my mother. My sister continued to live with my grand parents.

For 2 years I took care of the baby and after that I went back to school and studied until I graduated from primary school, after grade 5, because my mother did not have enough money for my school, so I would go to the rice fields and work. I did this for four years. When I worked in the rice fields we did not have enough food at eat, we would cook sweet potatoes with rice, but we had to save rice for my 3 younger brothers. While living with my step-father, he treated me OK.

After this I went to live with my grand parents and my older sister. We would buy a cow every day and have it butchered and then we would sell the meat in the market. The money we earned, my sister would keep some for her, some for our grand parents and send the rest of the money to my mother. I would only get food and clothes. I did this for 2 years and then my uncle and I moved about 70 Kilometers to a gold mine site and sold oil to the miners.

I did this for 4 or 5 months and got sick with malaria and nearly died. They transferred me to a nearby hospital, and after one day I went back to my grand parent's house and stayed there for nearly two months recovering from the malaria.

A lady who used to buy meat from me offered to help me and send me to learn the trade of making jewelry. I accepted her proposition and lived with her for about 3 months. I got sick from the chemicals used in making jewelry, so I left her and went to Saigon to learn how to make rice snacks. After one month of training I returned to this lady and lived with her. I taught her how to make the rice snacks and we would sell the snacks from her house. People would buy from us and then sell them in the market.

I did this for about 1 year, then the lady's family bought a big truck and they asked me to go with the driver and to control the money. I really wanted too drive the truck but they thought it was too dangerous for me and did not allow me to drive. I did this for two years. In 1993 they sold their trucks because they were unable to earn enough money from the trucks.

After this I came back to Saigon and lived with this lady's sister and learned how to make moon cakes. I studied for one year in Saigon. In 1994 I returned to this lady's house and lived with her about 4 or 5 months and taught her how to make them also.

When I had returned to Gia Lai in 1994, she told me she had heard about the AmerAsian Program and had paid someone to do a file on me so I could go to America. I am not sure what ever happened to the paperwork. I did not sign anything.

Once again in May of 1994 I returned to Saigon and learned how to manufacture a gas oven used in baking bread. At this time I could earn 1,000,000 to 1,400,000 VND a month. I would earn a commission of 10% on the sales of the ovens.

In 1995 this lady, Tran Thi Le, put my name in her house book, as a foster son, even though I was living in Saigon. I did not change my birth certificate. It still has my real mother and step-father as my parents.

In 1997 I heard the Consulate had sent a letter requesting me to have an interview. We did not go, as Tran Thi Le, had told me that in 1993 she had applied with her real family and other fake people. She told me not to go because she could not enter the other fake people to her house book. She sent a letter to the Consulate requesting they delete the fake people from the application.

The Consulate sent her a letter back having deleted the people and only her real family. We received and letter for an interview in 1998, and had an interview in March 1998 and I was rejected. This is on Case Number PAM 11100 / IV 376059. Right after that I sent a letter to the Consulate requesting reconsideration. On 21 May 1998, they sent me a copy of the first rejection letter.

In 2001 Phat, another AmerAsian, typed a letter with information from my mother, which has a typographical error. He put in there that I was born in 1971, and that is wrong. This application was in my name only, as I was still single at that time. In 2004 I got married to Le Thi Hong Nhung, on the 2nd of November. We are going to have our first child any day now.

We just moved to Can Tho, and we live with my in-laws, so they can help when the baby is born. My wife is a hair dresser and I help her in the shop. After the baby is born I plan to start making the gas ovens and sell them in Can Tho.

I would like to go to America so I can have a better life for my family. I also want to be able to help my mother by sending money to her. I want my children to have a good education so they can have a good life.