In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Loan fled South Vietnam to the United States. There he moved to Dale City, Virginia. He then opened a restaurant called "Les Trois Continents" in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Burke, Virginia at Rolling Valley Mall. The restaurant served hamburgers, Vietnamese cuisine, and pizza, but was described as more of a pizzeria. Loan also worked as a secretary in a Washington firm at this time. When interviewed, Loan stated "All we want to do is to forget and to be left alone."