Which Latin American countries ask visa to Colombians

juanalejo says on Jan 17, 2005, 07:22:

Visas Central American countries, all ask visa except Panama. South American countries non ask visa, except Venezuela that now does not requiere visa if travelling by plane, but you still need a visa if entering by land.

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paisa29 says on Jan 17, 2005, 08:47:

GIB you are right but we have a problem , the isn´t any nonstop flight from Colombia to St Vicent and probably we would need a transit visa for the first country.

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 09:06:

I beleive that St. Marten requires only a passport and no visa but Paisa29 is right about flight routing. Since the USA stopped TWOV things got more difficult for anyone without a USA visa trying to enter a lot of the caribbean islands since many of those flights originate in Puerto Rico.

Does Aruba require any special visa for people in transit to St. Vincent or St. Marten ?

Strange as it seems a foreign person can legally enter the USA without a visa. Try and figure that one out.

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 17, 2005, 09:43:

Viewpoint......what did you say? You said:

"a foreign person can legally enter the USA without a visa. Try and figure that one out."

That is not correct. The US allows national from on a few countries to enter the US without a visa. And almost all those countries are european ones.

The US visa is one of the most dificult ones to obtain....just ask any Colombian. On the other hand, a US passport will get you admitted almost anywhere if your stay is less than 6 months...you can still ussually get an extension and still not need a visa.

Any country that would require a visa for a person with a US passport, I probably would not have much interest in going to anyway.
)Libya, Iran, etc)

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 12:41:

Gomezman5 Well I knew someone would question that statement but what I said is exactly correct. I brought my Colombian girlfriend (and co-worker) to the USA without a visa legally in 1999 after she was turned down in her application for a USA tourist visa in Bogota. It was completely legal but it would be a little more difficult today after 9/11.

I am not sure what the current law allows but in 1999 I remember well what the law provided for. This was before Homeland Security got into the act and things tightned up but I doubt that anything has changed that much. Local INS offices are empowered to allow in their discretion an "Advance Parole" to an non-resident alien for a "short period of time" that demonstrates an "allowed need" to enter the USA.

Most of us understand the Advance Parole as issued to non-resident alien residing in the USA under a change of status that needs to return to their home country or otherwise exit the USA for less than 60 days. This is just another version of that same authority.

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 17, 2005, 12:54:

Well...than someone was asleep on the job And viewpoint..just because for some reason you were able to do so, that does not mean that that was/is the official poilicyl.. really now.
You know that!!

In fact, I am assuming you flew here. I mean there is no common border. Did you guys swim here?? I have been traveling back and forth from Colombia. (Chgo Mia Col and vice versa) since 1985. As far back as I can remember, the airline you are flying with does not evern allow you on the plane without a valid visa...They pre screen everyone!! Do you know why this is the case? It is because if someone comes here and shows up at the port of entry without a visa, the airline has to pay the cost of their return trip. If what you say were true, then Avainca would have been out of business a long time ago. And this has nothing to do with 9/11. Colombians have been looking to get into this country to work since before I and probably you have been born....

So.....I'm dubious of your contention. How is it that both the airlines and immigration allowed someone here with no visa...She must have had one and you forgot about it.

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 13:20:

Gomezman5 Well since you are still a little suspect of how this happened I will state a few more chapters of the story. Her USA tourist visa application was not denied at the time of the first interview but they wanted more supporting information which was later supplied.

However, the next morning day following the first visit to the USA embassy and the USA tourist visa being "not approved" I took her immediately to the British Embassy and she filled out a form seeking a tourist visa to a caribbean island that was a British territory. That application was approved within a day and we flew on a round trip ticket to that british territory TWOV (transit without visa) thru Puerto Rico.

Upon arriving in the British territory I contacted a person in the INS office and explained the situation and the reason that the person wanted to access the USA. The reason was approved conditioned upon us entering the USA at the airport under that office's jurisdiction.

Upon entry her passport was stamped and she was given 9 days to complete her visit/business and exit the USA. There is probably more that can't be said here but it worked and it was legal. I remember that I provided the INS officer with copies of her return travel information and re-entry stamps when she returned back to Colombia even though they never asked for it. Needless to say that entry in her passport has brought more than one question from USA immigration sometimes when she's clearing immigration but she keeps the paperwork I proved INS after her exit and it's never been an issue.

Yes the INS officer that directed immigration to allow entry was empowered to do so but he made it quite clear in terms I understood that nothing better happen during her visit including her timely departure from the USA. He knew who I was and where I lived as he could see my house from his and it would be not be hard to find me if something went wrong. It was expensive as one of those round trip flights was with a chartered airplane as there was no scheduled airline providing direct service but when you are in love common sense, good judgment and money all go out the window.

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 17, 2005, 13:52:

Well viewpoint...I didn't mean to challenge you .... It's just that blanket comment that started this was a universal statement that said you did not need a visa to enter. And that statement in and of itself required some clarification.

Clearly your situations was a bit more complicated, and to some extent confusing. But, I think you will agree that even prior to 9/11, nobody from Colombia could just hop on a plane in Bog, CLO, and fly here without a visa.

It is obvious, when ever you have "red tape" there are going to be foul-ups. I just hope that there are less of them these days.

Sorry if you felt that I was backing you into a corner...I appreciate your views (no pun intended) as you have contruibuted much here.

Peace..G5

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:01:

Gomezman5 I never throught for a moment that you were challenging me and I am sorry if I came across that way. Here is the link that will tell you how and when Port-Of-Entry Parole can be and is used.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/repsstudies/report.htm#Port-of-Entry

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:03:

But was it worth it? Did you marry her? ;-)

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:23:

Tinto Good Question In March of this year our relationship will have survived six years but in the process I have become more knowledgable of the Colombian woman and she has become more knowledgable of the north american man. We never married as neither of us wanted to at the same time but maybe someday.

When I first visited her house in Medellin in 1999 I noticed immediately that her father slept alone in his separate bedroom while her mother slept in the principal bedroom with her sister and ruled the house with an iron fist and a loud voice. Now when I come home from my office I surrender to this Colombian woman who rules the house with an iron fist and a loud voice while I sleep in my bedroom and she sleeps in hers. Her (our) son is now almost nine and his love of both of us keeps everything together but needless to say our neighbors know us well as they can hear her voice from afar.

This is why I always suggest that others consider the cultural and langages differences because it's not easy to bridge these differences. She's still living and re-living her childhood experiences. In the USA we have Arnold the governor of California and in Colombia we have the Colombian women but they are both terminators.

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:23:

I play it safe If she is here (en mi tiera), I'll marry her.
If she is not, someone else will have to.

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:39:

Port-of-entry parole is the single category used most often. It applies to a wide variety of situations and is used at the discretion of the supervisory inspector, usually to allow short periods of entry. Examples include allowing otherwise inadmissible aliens to attend a funeral and permitting the entry of emergency workers, such as fire fighters, to assist with an emergency.

1. Port-of-Entry Parole

Many scenarios are cited for the exercise of discretion by the supervisory inspector at a port to allow brief visits. For example, relatives may be granted parole to attend a funeral, visit or accompany seriously ill family members, or to assist in the care of a new baby. Crew members may be paroled to conduct ship's business. In certain circumstances, people who arrive at a port-of-entry and assert a claim for asylum may be given a port-of-entry parole to enter and pursue their claim. If parolees do not clearly belong in one of the other parole categories, port-of-entry parole is used. The port-of-entry parole allows for some administrative flexibility to deal with situations that could not have been foreseen. The authority for this type of parole rests with the INS district offices.

This category of parole is the one most commonly used. In FY 1996 it represented 68 percent of all paroles, and in FY 1997 its share rose to 76 percent. Our immediate neighbors, Mexico and Canada, represented 29 percent of these paroles in FY 1996 and 41 percent in FY 1997. The other paroles in this category were distributed among many countries. Most countries showed an increase between the 2 years, but Mexico accounted for 53 percent of the substantial increase of more than 57,000 in the category (see Table 2).

INS authorizes parole for a length of time that is expected to be adequate for the traveler to depart or resolve questions about his or her status. A generous estimate of the time required is used to avoid the administrative need to re-parole. Port-of-entry parole presents a good illustration of this. During FY 1996, 70 percent of all port-of-entry paroles were issued for periods of time ranging from 2 months up to 1 year. In practice, these cases were resolved in a median time of 1 month, meaning that half the cases were resolved in a month or less, while the remainder took longer than a month.

While the great majority of persons who are granted port-of-entry parole can be assumed to depart the United States soon after entry, there are certain exceptions. Persons who are paroled when they request asylum upon arrival at a port are allowed to remain until their applications are decided. A significant number of aliens have been paroled in past years to pursue claims for asylum, including approximately 11,000 Haitians in fiscal years 1992 and 1993, as many as 20,000 from Guatemala and El Salvador under the terms of the ABC settlement in fiscal years 1993 and 1994, and about 6,500 Kurds from Iraq in the fall of 1996. Some of them have received asylum, and some are still present in the United States awaiting decisions on their requests for asylum, while the backlog of asylum claims is being reduced. As of April 1, 1997, many asylum applicants are now subject to the expedited removal credible fear process and would not be paroled, but would be detained in INS custody.

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 17, 2005, 15:42:

Some extremely interesting posts, Viewpoint. I find it fascinating how many people on this site comment on the cultural differences between Colombians and Americans and to be wary in inter-cultural relationships etc. Maybe we are very unusual but my wife and I have not experienced these difficulties. My marriage to my first wife (an American) was an extremely tumultuous relationship but my current (and last) marriage is very tranquil and harmonious.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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viewpoint says on Jan 17, 2005, 16:09:

Utopia Cowboy I think that maybe I ended up with the exception rather than the absolute RULE. Maybe I should have said I ended up with the RULER (of the house) rather than the exception. I try to spend as much time as possible traveling on business or at the office. I never ever have to worry about who's bed she sleeping in, or her loyality and committment. I just wish she would direct some of that energy in a more positive manner.

The other day she was at the university selecting another class to take because of a schedule change and her councelor suggested her taking a course about "Learning Woman's Rights" and one of her teachers was standing there witnessing the suggestion and said "hell she doesn't need that class as she could probably teach it better than anyone of us teachers".

Sometimes on a quiet morning when I open the window of my apartment in Medellin I swear that I can hear her voice from 1,500 miles away.

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crispeta says on Jan 17, 2005, 23:57:

Colombia Panama I was just in Sapsurro. There you can enter Panama by land, but to go into Panama further you need to show proof that you will not stat in Panama example $500.00 USD or plane ticket.

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kernow62 says on Jan 18, 2005, 06:26:

Very good posts. I concur with several posters. My Colombian wife keeps the house in order as far as being tidy. She also does all the accounting. I have my area, ad dictated by mi reina, I wash the cars, feed the cats, do the yard work and all home repairs.....I am in charge of putting up Christmas lights (an ever growing collection, thanks to my wife), taking down the Christmas lights...

I put my foot down when it comes to my audio gear and video gear, I won't allow her to buy cheap or dust my turntable any longer ($800 cartridge ruined). I did make a compromise and replaced 3 amplifiers with a single multi channel one, but that worked out to my advantage, she believes I did it for asthetic reasons, her priority. ;-)

She is my best friend and I wouldn't change a thing about her!

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 18, 2005, 07:19:

Great posts, Strobers and Kernow. Good to hear something positive.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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lpdiver says on Jan 18, 2005, 10:11:

Turntable? showing our age eh?

"cook some rice!"

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ElViajero says on Jan 18, 2005, 23:30:

Hey boys, thank your for your comments: I just asked for a small travel by land to Latin America and I got your interesting views on Colombian women. Colombians need visas almost everywhere in this planet: we are a very “suspected� specimen, unfortunately… I remember my travel to Bangkok… a very elegant and smiling young man like me waiting behind a group of rude American teenagers that even laughed on the face of the Thai police guys. The teenagers went ahead immediately and for the elegant Colombian young man was pointed a “special� line, line number ONE… Kindly I went and I read “HIGH CONTROL� hehehe.. I was in line with citizens of Muslim and African countries… Colombians don`t need visa to Israel (three months), at least you cannot pass the “kind� interview of the “kind� Tel Aviv police guys first. If you have in your passport visas to other countries, especially Europeans, it is easier to get an USA visa in any other third country. I think single young people in Colombia have more problems to get visas to USA. Easy for us visas to Malta… hehehe… nice place for summer (no recommended for English studies… they don’t speak English like the tourist agencies say to Colombian young students in Bogota, but the beautiful Maltese language (half Arab, Third Italian, Third English…) Easy visas to the beautiful and welcoming Ireland… even now that Irish have to get visas to Colombia.. you know why. Spain… well… “La Madre Patria� (sure “Defensor de la colombianidad� shall not like this expression)… no much problem to go into Spain even after E.C. OBBLIGATED to Spain and Italy to ask visas to their always welcome Colombian visitors. Maybe you don’t believe but there was a time where Colombians could go around the world without visa: since 1820 (less the Kingdom of Spain for a small international problem with it, of course) until the 60’s approximately… after that… we could go without visa around Mars (that is twice the size of the Earth)… the problem is that you need visa to USA to get the plain there… hehehe.

About Colombian women… just this: an Arab boy told me that he would like to have a Colombian girl as a wife. I answered: Sure guy! There are plenty Colombian girls keen to married an Arab man… only you need to know who is the chief at home (An Arab male does not believe it… hehehe)

Well, friends, going back to Latin America… how is it possible to travel for example from Cartagena to Panama? Is it possible? I think we Colombians do not know our own region… I mean, we know about our neighbors what EFE and other agencies tell us… I have proved it here, when Europeans and Asians ask me for my neighbors… only I can say general things and “ideas�. The same the other Latin American countries have superficial ideas about Colombia. If we do an inquiry to Colombians about, for example, who is the President of El Salvador, surely… 0% I make joke of a friend of mine (Rep. Dominicana) that has been in Europe almost everywhere, but never has been in the AMERICAN CONTINENT… I said… sorry guy, you cant say you’re “American�… The only thing he knew about Colombia was Vallenato and Carlos Vives… Shakira and Pibe Valderrama…

El Viajero Paisa
Now trying to know Latin America…

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christianruben says on Jan 18, 2005, 23:54:

are you guys sure thatST vicent doesn't ask colombian for VISA... are yll really sure about this?

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 19, 2005, 08:13:

Forget St. Vincent. Just go to Colombia. The first time I was so paranoid that I went to San Andres and was hardly willing to leave the airport in Bogota but once I got there I realized what an idiot I was.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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