Thread: US Embassy Bogota, Colombia Forget the border?

I was in Bogota a few weeks ago. My wife, a LEGAL resident, is from Colombia and we go back once a year to visit. We have stayed 3 times at a guest house right next to the US Embassy. We rent rooms from a nice elderly lady. Most of her guests are Colombians who have appointments for visas at the embassy. They come from other Colombian cities. I always hear lots of stories and I want to share some of them with you.

Firstly, I asked her how many people she has had who have stayed at her place who have admitted that they would overstay a tourist visa and stay in the US illegally instead of returning to Colombia as required by law? She thought around 50.

I asked her if there seemed to be any pattern of who gets a tourist visa and who gets denied? She said that it seems to be a toss up. She says that she has guests who have wealth. Bank accounts, land and a business in Colombia yet many of these types get denied while some 24 year old poor destitute type shows up and gets approved. Remember, only those with proven wealth are supposed to get approved since there are so many ILLEGALS here who have overstayed a tourist visa. The thinking being they have a reason to return to Colombia and WILL?

STOP! All this talk of the border gets me mad and damn mad. Why? Because the State Department seems to be giving out visas right and left and the terms are being ignored. Where are the deportations? It isn't just the border is it now?

It gets better. While we were there, an elderly couple from the city of Medellin, they appeared to be about 60 years old, were there for resident visas. This visa is given to those who have a relative in the US. When my wife becomes a citizen, she can apply to bring in Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters. (She will NOT because I don't want them in my house!)

Well, they go to the embassy and are told to get a form from the Colombian FBI showing his exit and entrance record from Colombia...if any record is there. Well, he admitted to me that he had entered the US illegally in the early 1990's VIA MEXICO. Went to Boston where this son who is sponsoring him now lives. He left the US on his own and went back to Colombia but claims he did no work here. Yeah right? Anyway, this guy and his wife went to the same Embassy in 97 and 98 trying to get tourist visas and were turned down. I guess you have to wait a year if turned down. He showed me his Colombian passport and I saw the stamps for 97 and 98 annd it said rejected. My point? This guy and his wife are hell bent on getting in the US. He also told me he had family that was given amnesty in 1986 under that Reagan amnesty. The lawyer for the son sponsor in Boston admitted that he had come into the US illegally
and was asking the INS or State Department for a pardon?

STOP! What good is a 60 year old couple from Medellin, Colombia going to do to enhance the good of the US of A? His son, has to fill out a government form showing he will be finacially responsible for them. Same one I filled out for my wife. Know how much income one needed in 1999 to be eligible? $13,000 in yearly income! YUP! Think this couple will learn English? I know where this couple will end up...in a nursing home at taxpayer expense that is where.....(If my wife divorces me she will get half of everything I own just like any other US couple)

We left Colombia before I found out if they got the visa....I hope they were denied but if son is now a citizen I would bet they got it! AMNESTY will make the lines even longer outside of these State Department facilities with new citizens bringing in Mom and Dad and brother and sister. You know this right?

Another woman at the house from Barranquilla recieved her tourist visa.
She said she was just goinng to visit her son but said she knew poor illegals in the US from her city who had been given TOURIST visas and are here now illegally.

I went to the Embassy entrance at 6:45 A.M. one morning. There are basically 3 kinds of visas being handed out. Resident visas. This visa is for those who have a CITIZEN relative in the states. These visas are not the norm so all these people show at 6:30 A.M by appointment. Maybe 20 to 100 each day. From 7:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. those eligible for the Business Visa or Tourist visa appear every half an hour. At 6:55 a voice on the loudspeaker said all those for business and tourist visa, 7:00 A.M appointment please move to the right on the sidewalk. I counted 110 people who moved. If they do this every half hour and I am told they do then roughly 1,000 to 1,300 people a day are applying for a business and tourist visa. Those for RESIDENT visa for the most part get approved! Tourist and work VISA? This is a different story!

STOP! Look at the big picture of this. This State Department facility takes in roughly $100,00 dollars a day in VISA fees. These fees, non refundable regardless of whether you get the visa or are denied, are collected at a bank branch across the street that does nothing but accept FEES for the State Department. This game is played out every day Monday through Friday except US holidays when the State Department Employees get the day off. So, rough math tells you that $24 million is collected by the State Department JUST IN COLOMBIA! The State Department has a facility like this in just about every country on the planet and this same game is played out every business day. This is big money and can you see why some Senators are so keen on making the illegals pay fines here? Not to mention what this means to the immigrant lawyer industry!

Who gets the tourist visa and who does not? As I said, only wealthy are supposed to get the nod but from what I hear there is little consistency as to who gets it and who does not. Depends on whether that State Department consul is in a good mood or not? One lady got denied while we were there in the house and she was livid. She said her daughter invited her to New York because she was getting a promotion. The State Department consul told her "...stay in Colombia and make it better and don't go to mine..." ?????????????

Folks, I have heard it said that %40 of the ILLEGALS are here who were given tourist visas and never left. When I hear these stories I have to wonder? I also heard that many times these State Department employees speak very bad Spanish. This could be true since they generally get moved every couple years from one country to another. If they lack language skills how do they know who they are giving a visa to? It is a fair question indeed!

We know that the State Department gave at least 19 tourist and or student visas to some bad Arab boys who did a pretty bad thing on 9-11.
Does the State Department really know what they are doing?

I am in favor of some form of legal immigration but when I hear of this stuff I mention above I wonder? Everybody seems to be getting into the US SOONER OR LATER if they do not die in the desert or die on a capsized boat off of Puerto Rico from the DR. Legally and or illegally! What the hell does the US need a 60 year old couple from Medellin Colombia just because his son is now a citizen? My wife's father is 81 and mom is 72 should we bring them in and for what purpose? It is nuts!

One last story and I can find nothing of this on the intenet but the lady we rent rooms from claims it is true. I don't think she made it up.
She says that in 1999 or 2000 that 4 State Department consuls, US citizens, were arrested by the Colombian FBI called the DAS. These 4 were caught selling visas for $4,000 a piece. When arrested, they had 500 more ready to be sold. She says, these 4 were sent right to Bogota's airport and were wisked of to Washington. She claims some of her guests saw them being led off in cuffs. She says Bill Clinton pardoned these 4 11 days before he left office? I know a Mexican employee of the embassy in Mexico City was sent to jail for this type of thing but I never heard this story and can find nothing about it on the net. I know the same State Department has an office that investigates these types of things! The lady we stay with says this was big news in Colombia! True or not?

OK draw your own conclusions from what I write above. Is it really just about the border? Yes, the border is the main problem but what about this stuff annd you hear nothing of this on Fox news or even Lou Dobbs now do you? Illegals are coming in through Miami, LA, New York on airplanes. Legal when they enter but for how long? My wife knows an illegal from Bogota who has done just this!

I keep hearing how everybody wants legal immigration and yes my own wife was allowed in on this but with visa selling and overstays how good is this process? Where are the deportations?

To say our visa system needs an overhaul is an understatment.

As to 'forget the border' - I think that is exactly what this government wants us to do.

I don't know if 40% are 'overstayers' - but I do know that millions, literally millions of people walk across our border. These people, until recently, came with nothing. That means they must be fed, clothed, medicated and educated - at our expense.

While they do jobs that Americans once did and would do again.

So while I do think there are many overstayers - and that needs to be addressed - don't let them divert the focus from our borders.

If our government officials say it - we need to consider it with a good dose of healthy cynicism.

Each time I hear someone talk about increased LEGAL immigration I get up in arms. Where do we put everybody? And how do we provide for everybody? And the Visa thing is a joke. I can't tell you how many people I've met who were here and their visas were expired. Nobody cares, nobody. Between the unsecured borders, the visa overstays and the legal immigration, we are going to surpass India's population.

We can't take everybody. We can't even take care of our own.

We know that the State Department gave at least 19 tourist and or student visas to some bad Arab boys who did a pretty bad thing on 9-11.
Does the State Department really know what they are doing?

It is my understanding they were here to get "blanket amnesty" in 1986. So to answer your question, NO when they give amnesty they have no idea who they are making legal.

She says that in 1999 or 2000 that 4 State Department consuls, US citizens, were arrested by the Colombian FBI called the DAS. These 4 were caught selling visas for $4,000 a piece. When arrested, they had 500 more ready to be sold.

They have busted INS employee's doing the same thing here too. As well as a couple boarder patrol taking money to "look the other way" or assist in human smuggeling. Recent DMV employee's handing out fraudulant documents (for a price) to aid in illegals passing for legal. Social security employee's busted for selling SSN's. Once the top sector of a government is corrupt, just like so many other countries, everyone else goes on the take too. If we were to truely clean house, i would bet we would find thousands of these people imbedded across every area and agency we have.

Just another good reason to cut back on government jobs. The government is the largest employer. Talk about cutting government jobs and those with gov jobs have a hissy fit. Less government, less fraud.