This Thursday the consular affairs working group between Colombia and the United States met to strengthen bilateral cooperation on immigration matters and discuss key issues regarding visas for Colombians.
This session, which took place in Washington, was led by the vice minister of foreign affairs of Colombia, Francisco J. Coy, accompanied by the ambassador to the United States. Luis G. Murillo and the migration director, Fernando García.
(Read also: Why has Elizabeth Manes not been ratified as US ambassador to Colombia?).
Some of the key points that were part of the agenda were the visa exemption program and assistance to compatriots in the North American country.
During the meeting the vice minister @franccoyhighlighted that “there has been a good dialogue on consular migration issues of mutual interest. It is not just about requests from Colombia, it is about talking about issues of common interest.” pic.twitter.com/CgFkGuQdoD
— Colombian Foreign Ministry (@CancilleriaCol) September 14, 2023
These were the conclusions of the meeting:
A record number of visas have been issued
The Deputy Undersecretary of Visa Services at the Office of Consular Affairs, Julie Stufft, assured that The United States has issued a record number of visas to Colombians this year.
“Regarding visas for Colombians, this year our embassy in Bogotá has issued a record number and We hope that continues in future years. “It is important that the number of Colombians traveling to the United States increases, which is the main destination for Colombians and we hope it continues to be,” he said this Thursday.
Furthermore, Stufft noted that the figure represents an increase of 20 percent compared to 2019before the pandemic began and numbers fell drastically.
Advances in the family reunification program
Another important topic that took center stage in the meeting was the family reunification program for Colombians in the United States.
In this sense, Ambassador Murillo pointed out that to date the North American country has already has approved 17,000 applications of this initiative that allows American citizens or carriers of green card, expedite the process so that certain Colombian relatives can move to this country.
On the other hand, they are also studying at least 50,000 more applications.
It is important to highlight that none of the applicants have yet arrived in the US, but the process is advanced and pending only the final procedure.
During this meeting, topics of mutual interest were addressed, especially migration issues from a different angle to allow human migration and safe and supportive mobility.
— Luis Gilberto Murillo (@LuisGMurillo) September 14, 2023
What is the visa exemption for Colombians about?
Since coming to power last year, the government of President Gustavo Petro has made this one of its priorities on the bilateral agenda with the United States. The only Latin American included in the list is Chile. Not even Mexico, its neighbor and main trading partner, is part of this group.
On this matter, Vice Chancellor Coy pointed out that the inclusion of Colombia in the visa exemption program, which would allow citizens to travel to the United States without needing a visa, It is moving forward, but it is a long process.
“It is a long-term job and possibly none of us will be the ones who receive this news. But the important thing is that we are moving forward and we have already achieved things. There are others to overcome but what we have to have is a continuous process whose result will be will see in a few years,” Coy said.
On the other hand, the Colombian delegation stressed the importance of resuming these meetings of the Consular Affairs Group, which had been on pause for four years.
“After a four-year hiatus, the meeting of the Consular Affairs Group marks the beginning of a new phase in our consular relationship and takes a significant step towards visa exemption and opening opportunities for greater mobility,” said the ambassador Murillo.
Amb. @LuisGMurillo stated, “After a four-year hiatus, the Consular Affairs Group meeting marks the beginning of a new phase in our consular relationship and takes a significant step towards visa exemption and opening up opportunities for increased mobility.” pic.twitter.com/pPJlxds9FZ
— Embassy of Colombia in the United States (@ColombiaEmbUSA) September 14, 2023
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