Colombian immigrants in the United States number about 855,500 foreign born as of the 2022 American Community Survey, with a total Colombian-origin population of roughly 1.4 to 1.6 million. They are the largest South American-born group in the country, concentrated in Florida, New York, and New Jersey, and the legal pathways available to them narrowed sharply in late 2025 when the Family Reunification Parole program and the Safe Mobility Offices in Colombia were shut down. Family-based petitions and asylum are once again the main routes to lawful status.
Where Colombians Live in the U.S.
Nearly three in five Colombian immigrants live in just three states. Florida accounts for about 35 percent of the Colombian-born population, with the heaviest concentrations in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. New York holds roughly 13 percent, centered in Queens. New Jersey accounts for about 11 percent.
The five metropolitan areas with the largest Colombian populations are New York-Newark-Jersey City, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. Together these metros are home to more than half of all Colombian immigrants in the country. Texas and California host growing populations as well, but the historic pull of the New York and South Florida corridors remains strong.
Three Waves of Colombian Migration
Colombian migration has arrived in roughly three waves, each with a different profile.
The first began after World War I and accelerated during the late 1940s and 1950s, driven by “La Violencia,” a civil conflict between Colombia’s Liberal and Conservative parties that killed an estimated 200,000 people between 1948 and 1958. Emigrants during this period were largely educated professionals from the middle and upper classes, and most settled in New York City. This early cohort built the churches, social clubs, and small businesses that would anchor later arrivals.
A second wave ran from the 1970s through the late 1980s, driven more by economic stagnation than open conflict. New York remained the primary destination, but Miami began drawing significant numbers. The profile broadened to include working-class families alongside professionals.
The third and largest wave began in the 1990s and continued through the 2000s, fueled by internal armed conflict involving guerrilla groups, paramilitary organizations, and drug cartels. Immigrants in this period came from a wider range of backgrounds and spread into a broader set of destinations, including Orlando, Houston, and communities across New Jersey.
Education, Work, and Citizenship
Colombian immigrants are well educated. About 35 percent of Colombian-born adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, matching the rate for both the overall immigrant population and U.S.-born adults. Among those who arrived between 2017 and 2021, the college-degree share rises to 43 percent. Only about 14 percent lack a high school diploma, roughly half the rate for the foreign born overall.
Labor force participation runs at about 69 percent, above the overall foreign-born rate of 66 percent and the U.S.-born rate of 62 percent. Roughly 37 percent of employed Colombians work in management, business, science, and arts occupations, and 21 percent in service jobs. Median household income for Colombian-headed households was about $66,000 in 2021, compared with $70,000 for both all immigrant-headed and U.S.-born households.
Naturalization runs high. As of 2021, about 63 percent of Colombian-born residents had become U.S. citizens, compared with 53 percent of the overall foreign born. That gap matters legally as well as socially: citizens can sponsor more categories of relatives, and their petitions move faster than those filed by green card holders.
Family-Based Petitions and the Backlog
p>Family reunification through Form I-130 is the primary lawful route to permanent residence for Colombians. A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files the petition to establish the qualifying relationship, and once approved, the relative either applies for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or adjusts status inside the country.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
Federal law splits family-based immigration into two tracks. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents) face no annual numerical cap. Everyone else falls into one of four preference categories with a fixed annual supply.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas Demand consistently exceeds supply, so backlogs build.
Colombia falls under the “all chargeability areas” column in the State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin, meaning it is not singled out like Mexico, the Philippines, India, or China for separate wait times. The waits are still substantial. Based on the November 2025 Visa Bulletin, the approximate time from petition filing to visa availability looks roughly like this:3U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for November 2025
- F1, unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens: about 9 years
- F2A, spouses and minor children of green card holders: under 2 years
- F2B, unmarried adult children of green card holders: about 9 years
- F3, married adult children of U.S. citizens: about 14 years
- F4, siblings of U.S. citizens: about 17 years
The F4 category is where most expectations collide with reality. A citizen who petitioned for a sibling in early 2008 is only now reaching the front of the line. For many Colombian families, reunification stretches across decades, and life circumstances often change dramatically during the wait.
Asylum, TPS, and DED
Colombian nationals have recently become one of the largest groups seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. During the 12-month period ending in September 2024, Colombians ranked fourth in border apprehensions with more than 127,000 encounters, behind only Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Venezuelans. That is a sharp break from historical patterns, when Colombians were a small share of border arrivals. In the 1990s and 2000s, most Colombians who gained lawful status through humanitarian claims did so through refugee resettlement or affirmative asylum filings inside the country.
Colombia is not designated for Temporary Protected Status, so there is no blanket protection from removal or automatic work authorization for Colombian nationals already in the United States. A coalition of more than 400 civil society organizations petitioned the federal government in 2023 to grant Deferred Enforced Departure for Colombians, a separate form of temporary protection.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for an 18-Month Designation of DED for Colombia DHS responded that DED is an exercise of presidential constitutional authority over foreign relations and that the department itself cannot issue such a designation. No president has granted DED for Colombia.
Programs That Ended in 2025
Two programs that had opened new lawful channels for Colombians between 2023 and early 2025 are no longer available.
Family Reunification Parole
In July 2023, DHS announced a Family Reunification Parole process for nationals of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who had approved I-130 petitions filed on their behalf.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Family Reunification Parole Processes The program let eligible beneficiaries enter the United States on parole and apply for work authorization while waiting for their immigrant visa to become available, bridging the gap created by preference-category backlogs.
DHS formally terminated FRP effective December 15, 2025. Anyone paroled under the program whose initial parole period had not already expired saw their parole end on January 14, 2026, unless they had a pending adjustment of status application postmarked by December 15, 2025.6Federal Register. Termination of Family Reunification Parole Processes for Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Salvadorans Individuals whose parole has ended and who lack another lawful basis to remain in the country are expected to depart.
Safe Mobility Offices
The Biden administration set up Safe Mobility Offices in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala to screen potential migrants for refugee resettlement, labor pathways, and other lawful alternatives to irregular border crossings. Applications went through the MovilidadSegura.org website at no cost. In Colombia, applicants needed valid documents and regular immigration status or evidence they were in the process of obtaining it. The Trump administration ceased operations at these offices as part of a broader reassessment of migration processing abroad. As of 2026, the program is no longer operational.
What’s Left for Colombians Seeking Status
With FRP terminated and the Safe Mobility Offices closed, the legal avenues have narrowed back to the traditional options: family-based petitions with the backlogs above, employment-based visas for those who qualify, the diversity visa lottery, and individual asylum claims. For Colombians already in the United States on expired parole, the practical next step is legal counsel to determine whether any remaining basis for lawful status exists. Immigration policy in this area is moving quickly, and the rules in place today may not be the rules in place a few months from now.