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This week, USA began to send out invitations so that its citizens and legal residents can start the process of reunification with their relatives in Colombia.
(Read here: The US begins to send invitations for the reunification of Colombians: this is how it will work)
According to sources in both countries, the measure could benefit at least 20,000 compatriotss who meet these characteristics and many of whom have been waiting years for a visa to be able to travel to the United States.
(See also: The reasons for the United States to approve the reunification that benefits Colombians)
If you receive the invitation, These Colombians could immediately use the United States where they will receive a “parole” or conditional releaselike a work permit, while they wait for their residence to come out.
However, this program is only one of seven objectives that the current government of Gustavo Petro has set for itself. and who seek not only to expand migration paths for compatriots but also to improve the living conditions of these Colombians in the United States.
TIME explains them…
Extended Family Reunion:
The program authorized by Washington only contemplates Colombians who are siblings and children over 21 years of age of United States citizens. and to the spouses and children under 21 years of age of legal residents or holders of a “green card”.
Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombian ambassador to the United States.
But in both cases, the program requires that these relatives be outside the United States at the time of the application.
That would leave out at least 80,000 Colombians currently living in the US. irregularly but are married or are the children of “green card” holders or are siblings or children over 21 years of age of citizens. Many of whom do not want to return to the country because they fear that if they leave they will not be able to return.
The government, headed by the Foreign Ministry and the ambassador in Washington, Luis Alberto Murillo, wants the United States to We offer a different alternative to those Colombians who already live in that country, but who do not qualify under the current program.
Likewise, for Washington to commit to specific times for processing reunification applications, since it does not make much sense for these to end up taking years or for maximum annual quotas to be imposed.
To put it in context, if there are currently 20,000 in line and the United States only agrees to process about two thousand cases per yearwould mean it could be a decade before they are all prosecuted.
Reference photo for application of the “green card”.
Labor Mobility
Annually we offer a series of visas for both skilled and unskilled temporary workers. These are the H-1B, H-2A and H-2B Visas. H-1Bs are offered to people with high levels of education for specific areas of work.
The H-2As are aimed at agricultural workers and the H-1Bs for non-agricultural jobs but also determined by specific seasons.
To put this in context, if there are currently 20,000 in the queue, that would mean it could be a decade before they are all processed.
Although Colombians currently qualify to apply for them, spots are limited.
What the government wants is for Washington to expand the number of eligible Colombians annually.
In the case of jobs for the agricultural sector in the United States, Colombians generally have little access due to cost issues, since the companies that process these applications tend to prefer nationals from Mexico and Central America who can bring them by land.
The idea is to create some kind of subsidy and link with the private sector so that groups of Colombians can travel temporarily to harvest crops, for example.
Likewise, they want to expand the quotas and promote O-1 or talent visas, which are offered to highly outstanding people and who have wide public recognition.
(See also: The cases of fraud in Miami against Colombians seeking to emigrate to the United States)
What the government wants is for Washington to expand the number of eligible Colombians annually.
Deferred Forced Departure
the DED (for its acronym in English) is a figure that depends on the president of the united states and that once it is granted, it allows certain citizens of a country to remain legally for a determined period, which can be two or three renewable years.
The government estimates that there may currently be between 300,000 and 400,000 Colombians in the United States living illegally. Although it would be very difficult to grant this kind of amnesty for all of them, it could be done for a smaller group.
For example, those who left Colombia due to violence before the year 2000.
Although it is not easy, the government’s strategy has been to remind the Biden administration that the immigration problem is global, and that just as Colombia protects millions of Venezuelans and now helps the United States with the opening of a mobility center to process immigrantsWashington should also open its doors to Colombians.
The strategies seek to prevent the irregular migration of Colombians to the United States (file photo).
EFE/Juan Manuel Blanco
DHAKA
Deferred Action for those who came to the United States very young (or DACA) is a program that prevents the deportation of these people and offers them legal paths to access employment and education.
It is estimated that there are at least 2,000 Colombians who qualify for this program and the government seeks to speed up the process of their employment authorizations and the issuance of the “parole” or conditional release for them.
The program with this program is that it is sued before the courts and its future is uncertain. But it is another path that is being explored to regularize the situation of many undocumented immigrants.
Homologation of Degrees and university opportunities
On US soil there are thousands of Colombians who emigrated legally under one of the permitted figures such as family reunification, asylum and others.
However, they encounter many difficulties when entering the labor market because in the United States their university degrees are not valid or require multiple certifications.
Therefore, they end up taking informal jobs that find pay and truncating their professional careers.
The objective here is for the US administration to collaborate so that they can validate their studies and contribute to society according to their abilities.
Likewise, it is intended to expand educational opportunities so that more Colombians can access universities. It is proposed, for example, to eliminate the fees charged to apply for a student visa.
The objective here is for the US administration to collaborate so that they can validate their studies and contribute to society according to their abilities.
Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program that eliminates the need for a visa for the inhabitants of a certain country. At this moment there are 40 countries to which the US recognizes this status (Chile is the only one in Latin America) and Colombia wants to be 41.
For months a working group was created between both countries that explores alternatives and is helping Colombia to meet all the VWP criteria. my
The most complex is to reduce the rejection rate for nonimmigrant visas below 3 percent. Although it is anticipated that the road will be long, the objective is to meet the requirements one by one and seek advice from other countries that have already achieved it.
political asylum and refugees
Every year there are thousands of Colombians who have entered the United States requesting political asylum or the granting of refugee status. Many of their cases are in the immigration courts awaiting a resolution.
Meanwhile, a large majority of them remain in limbo. The idea is to identify all pending cases and ask the US to give them priority in processing.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
On Twitter @sergom68
