A human rights lawyer who campaigned for accountability for police abuses, a Catholic parishioner evicted from his home, and their families are exiting Vietnam for the United States, one of the officials said. In the United States, the families are expected to seek resettlement under the "Priority 1" refugee program. The activists were not imprisoned, but had been barred from leaving Vietnam. Vietnam is holding at least 159 political prisoners and detaining 22 others, Human Rights Watch said earlier this month. Biden administration officials pushed for the exit visas as an additional step during final negotiations over the joint statement and trip logistics, according to one of the U.S. officials.

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Persons: Biden, Biden's, Nguyen Bac Truyen, Mai Phan Loi, Ben Swanton, Antony Blinken, Bui, Trevor Hunnicutt, Francesco Guarascio, Heather Timmons, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Communist, Reuters, United, U.S, Human Rights Watch, Biden, Thomson Locations: United States, Hanoi , U.S, Vietnam, Washington, China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Germany, Bui Thanh, Hanoi