Colombia Announces Opening of Five New Consulates in the US Amid Bilateral Migration Talks in Bogotá

The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently praised several key achievements on migration that came within the framework of recent high-level Colombia/United States dialogues in Bogotá, including the opening of five new Colombian consulates in the United States.

The five new consulates will be opened in Charlotte, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo.

“The presence of Colombia is expanded through these consulates and is a response to the need that the Colombian diaspora, the extended Colombia, the population that lives in the outside,” said Murillo. “And we will do this, obviously not only in the United States, but in other countries where our population requires the attention of our government.”

In announcing the news, the ministry also highlighted the recognition it has received from the United States for the nation’s leadership in terms of welcoming migrants from Venezuela.

“We applaud President [Gustavo] Petro in his decision to expand regularization and protection options this year to give almost three million Venezuelans residing in Colombia the opportunity to work, send their children to school and have access to health services,” said Richard Verma, undersecretary of state for the United States.

Murillo added context by providing an update on the Venezuelan migrant situation in Colombia. “We have about 2.3 million Venezuelans here integrating into our society and we are also going to welcome about 500,000 – 600,000 more,” said Murillo.

The two nations also discussed plans regarding Colombians who have migrated, particularly the current US family unification program aimed at helping Colombians reunite with their families in the United States.

“About 58,000 a thousand Colombians will benefit,” said Murillo. “Authorization and invitation have already been given by the [US] State Department for 6,000, and there are already close to 500 families in the United States that have been reunified through this program.”

For the first time, the United States has also provided authorization for nearly 20,000 Colombians to apply for non-agricultural work visas and approximately 1,000 visas for young people to work in summer in different cities in the United States.

“There are nearly 9,000 Colombian men and women studying in the United States, which also shows the strength of this relationship in these aspects,” said Murillo.

Photo: Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo. (Photo credit: Cancillería of Colombia)