United States | DOS cancels all visa interviews in Colombia for Jan. 27-29

The Department of State announced that all visa interview and Applicant Service Center appointments in Colombia are canceled for Jan. 27-29, 2025.*

*Note that this alert has been updated to reflect the announcement that the cancelations have been extended to Jan. 29, 2025.

Key Points:

• All scheduling and rescheduling of visa appointments have also been suspended.
• The cancellations are due to the Colombian government’s initial refusal last week to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals from the U.S.

Additional Information: Following Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s refusal to accept two repatriation flights he previously authorized, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a suspension of visa issuance on Jan. 26 at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular section. Secretary Rubio also authorized travel sanctions on individuals and their families who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations.

President Petro released a statement later on Jan. 26 confirming the Colombian government would accept all deportation flights.

The White House followed with a statement that declared penalties such as visa sanctions will remain in effect until the first planeload of deportees has arrived in Colombia.

BAL will continue to monitor the situation and report on updates as more information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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