What I Didn't Expect to Learn at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá

I traveled to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá in June to take care of some mundane business. What I witnessed was something much more humanitarian, taking place in and around the U.S. compound, than I had anticipated.

https://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/explorer/places/195812.htm

On a characteristically brisk Bogota morning, I departed on foot for the embassy with a coffee in hand wearing, for the first time since arriving in Colombia (the Caribbean coastal climate is much hotter than the interior), my jacket that I brought from home. It was only a 10-minute walk to the embassy. The neighborhood was, for lack of a better word: cool, littered with cafes, artisan beer bodegas, and well kept dog parks. Though as I approached the more immediate proximity of the embassy, the environment evolved. Notary shops, travel agencies and shabby parking lots replaced the boutiques and restaurants, which accompanied me for most of my walk thus far. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of the congestion outside a large sporting event than the hip neighborhood that encircled it. Attendants wearing neon green vest and holding large signs advertised parking spots, offered visa support, and sold other services needed for what was clearly a very special day for most of the people there. Judging from the various license plates, different accents and general confusion, it was clear that people had journeyed from all corners of Colombia for, what I would later learn, was their critical U.S. visa interviews.

Well early for my 9 a.m. appointment, I was ushered through Gate 2, and, while waiting, I listened as security guards directed person after person to the hectic and busier Gate 1 where visa applicants entered. Inside the embassy, I saw lines of people standing and waiting, like as if in an airport terminal, for their crucial visa interviews that, if successful, would allow them to visit the USA and, if unsuccessful, would mean that all their efforts up to that day were for no avail. 

I thought to myself: all this for a chance to legally visit the U.S.A? And, to which the scores of people there that day would have unequivocally answered me: “yes”.

We, as Americans, can take for granted the freedom we have to migrate or travel for leisure without (much) restriction. This is especially true to those who choose to exercise this privilege ranging from Peace Corps Volunteers all the way to high-end international vacationers.

As you can imagine, I often explain to new acquaintance host-country nationals what Peace Corps service is for the very first time. I explain that I have come to Colombia to live and work for 27 months, to, which they often reply:

Them- “Can I go to the U.S to live and work?”

 Me- “Well, yea. Um, I mean, no. Honestly, it depends.”

Them - nods their head

My Colombian friend, Santiago, once told me he could travel to only 27 countries without applying for a lengthy and non-guaranteed tourist visa (though nowadays the number is higher). Moreover, to work or study, the visa requirements are more stringent.

What I would like to elegantly and honestly tell people when asked is that it is much harder for a Colombian to do the same in my country as I do in theirs. Bluntly put, I’m privileged, blessed, lucky, or whatever you want to call it; I am American.