U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City Business Visa Facilitation Pilot Program

Greg Naarden, 

Consular Section Chief, U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City

Greg Naarden has been the Consular Section Chief at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City since August 2023.  Prior to his arrival, he was the Deputy Coordinator of Assistance in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where he oversaw the U.S. Government’s economic, humanitarian, and security support to Ukraine and other allies and partners from 2021 to 2023.  He has served in both consular and political positions Frankfurt, Dushanbe, Kabul, Kyiv, and Rangoon.  In Washington, he has had multiple stints in the Consular Affairs Bureau, including as a Branch Chief in the Office of the Executive Director.

Prior to joining the State Department, Greg worked as a lawyer in UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo, and for the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Duke University, and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Greg speaks German, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Persian/Tajiki.

Chris Collington,

Non-immigrant Visa Chief, U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City

Chris Collington joined the Foreign Service in 2010 and arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in August 2023 as the Nonimmigrant Visa Chief (NIV).  In previous assignments, he served as fraud prevention manager and deputy visa chief in Panama; staff assistant in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs; deputy NIV chief in Guadalajara; and vice consul in Kathmandu and Guatemala.  Before joining the State Department, Chris taught high school chemistry.

Chris graduated from the University of Florida and holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He is originally from Orlando, Florida and enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with his wife and seven-year-old daughter.

Alexander Sevald,

Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City

Alexander Sevald is a vice consul in the nonimmigrant visa unit of U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a senior policy advisor at the Treasury Department, a finance attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP, and a judge advocate in the U.S. Navy.  Alex has a BA in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a JD from Columbia University.