5-Year Separation Ends for Vietnamese Couple : Red tape: They had been waiting since 1985 for the wife to receive permission to leave for the United States.

When Phong Nguyen emigrated from Vietnam in 1985, his wife of one year stayed behind, waiting for permission from her government to follow him to the United States.

It wasn’t until Friday that Nguyen heard his wife’s voice again.

“For four weeks, I couldn’t sleep,” he said as he waited at Los Angeles International Airport for his wife, Phuong Dung Nguyen, to clear Customs.

He held a long-stemmed red rose, tied with a red bow, and presented it to her with a hug when she arrived. Nguyen, 27, of Westminster, said the couple had not even spoken on the phone since they were separated.

“It costs too much money--$6.75 a minute. We just sent letters,” he said, two each week.

After more than five years apart, Nguyen sometimes wondered if he should give up his life in the United States and return so they could be together again. But four weeks ago, his wife received approval to join him.

The Vietnamese immigration process is often chaotic, Nguyen said, so the couple never received an explanation for why it took so long for his wife to be granted permission to leave the country.

Asked how she felt to be reunited, the 25-year-old woman held her husband’s hand and said only that she was happy.

Jim Matthews, Nguyen’s friend and co-worker who also went to the airport, said Phuong Dung Nguyen has always been optimistic and patient about her return.

“Ever since I met him he’s talked about his wife. ‘Some day she’s gonna come.’ And he talked about it like it was going to be tomorrow--even years ago,” said Matthews, who works with Nguyen at Architectural Doors in Stanton. “I thought it was just kind of ridiculous, but he never ever lost hope in that.”

Matthews said Nguyen had reservations.

“I could sense his frustration that they weren’t together. He was ready to go back because it wasn’t worth it without her,” he added.

The Nguyen family also showed up at the airport to greet her.

“We’re very ecstatic to see my sister-in-law.” said Phong’s sister, Anhdai.

The couple will continue living in Westminster near Little Saigon with Nguyen’s parents, brothers and sister. The couple have no children, he said.

Nguyen’s boss has given him a few days off work, and the couple will honeymoon in Hawaii in two weeks, he said. Their plans include gaining U.S. citizenship for his wife and enrolling her at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.