( Spanish) — The parents of Paula Durán, a 27-year-old Colombian mother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, received a humanitarian visa that will allow them to travel to the United States to accompany their daughter in what could be the last month of her life.
Colombian congresswoman Saray Robayo Bechara posted a video on social media this Tuesday confirming the news. “What great joy we feel to have achieved that Paula Durán’s parents were granted the American visa for their reunion in California,” Robayo wrote on Twitter.
What great joy we feel at having achieved that Paula Durán’s parents were granted the American VISA for their reunion in California. When we come together as a country we can achieve great things. Our gratitude to the @USEmbassyBogota and the @CancilleriaCol. ???? pic.twitter.com/4vdicqv7je
— Saray Robayo Bechara (@sarayrobayobech) January 17, 2023
According to a statement from the Colombian Foreign Ministrythe government institution has been in permanent contact with Sergio Vega and was the one who submitted the humanitarian visa application for the relatives of Paula Andrea Durán.
Humanitarian visa, also known as parole or humanitarian parole, is an option for those who have an urgent humanitarian or public interest reason to remain temporarily in the United States. And although the Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) does not give a regulatory definition of the term “urgent humanitarian reasons,” officials make a case-by-case assessment considering factors such as the sensitivity of the circumstances in which the applicant and the degree of suffering that may result if the permit is not authorized.
In the case of this Colombian family, Durán’s terminal diagnosis could have played a very important role in his parents’ request.
“They gave us the tragic news that she had a 4-centimeter tumor,” said Sergio Vega, Durán’s husband.
In an interview, Vega recounted that on November 28 of last year, when she was in the 34th week of pregnancy, his wife had stomach aches and headaches, for which she was taken to a hospital in the San Francisco, California, area. seeking medical attention. It was there that they were told the tragic diagnosis.
Vega said that his wife “has a month to live medically,” but he does not lose hope of being able to share more time with her. “We believe in a God who is above, who is the one of the will and is the God of the impossible,” added Vega.
With information from Michael Roa.
