A year ago, following his first official visit to Vietnam, America's ambassador for international religious freedom John Hanford spoke of signs of progress for religious rights in the communist country.
As he arrives on Saturday for another assessment, that view may be tested after a series of crackdowns including two-year travel curbs for three monks from a banned group and the recent jailing of a dissident Catholic priest's relatives.
Hanford will also be keen to learn of progress in the Central Highlands, home to many Protestant ethnic minorities including the Montagnards who fought on the side of the Americans in the Vietnam War. Human rights groups say the Protestants face continual repression.
The envoy highlighted the group when he released the 2002 annual report on international religious freedom.
Hanford is set to visit from October 18 to 24, and will go to southern Ho Chi Minh City, the capital Hanoi as well as the Central Highlands. He meets for an hour with the chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs.
Vietnam can point to progress in its often-strained ties with the Vatican, officially welcoming the appointment of a new cardinal earlier this month.
Despite that and other advances, "the Vietnamese authorities are still not willing to guarantee freedom of expression and association," said a representative of a human rights group.
Last year, Vietnam was listed along with North Korea, Myanmar, Laos, Cuba and China as among the countries that exert authoritarian control over religion, a charge Hanoi denies.
The envoy arrives just as a fresh feud is brewing between the government and the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which has made renewed efforts to reassert its legal status despite having been replaced since 1981 by a state-blessed group.
Two of the group's leaders are accused of carrying state secrets, a serious crime, and await further investigation.
U.S. lawmakers are considering capping non-humanitarian aid to Vietnam and Washington could impose sanctions if it designates Vietnam as a "country of particular concern."
Vietnam recognizes six religions, but it insists on vetting leadership and activities and does not permit any alternatives.