In October 2010, the consulate general allowed certain visa cases to have expedited appointments at the request of the Consulate’s executive office, or at the request of local Vietnamese employees. As a result of the OIG report, this practice was stopped.
(1) Traces of mutual suspicion still linger from the Vietnam War– which the Vietnamese call the "American War." However, trade between the US and Vietnam has increased 17-fold in the past decade.
The new I-601A Waiver Application has been in the news a lot recently because it will give some people a chance to receive provisional waivers of the 3 or 10 year bar for being in the US illegally. If they receive a waiver, they can feel confident when they return to their home countries for the immigrant visa interview.