SPRINGDALE -- The Colombian consulate in Houston will send a mobile office to The Jones Center in Springdale from April 14 through 16 to serve citizens of its country in the region, the consulate confirmed Tuesday.
"The consulate general in Houston is pleased to confirm the mobile consulate in Springdale," an email from the consulate said Tuesday. "This marks the very first mobile consulate in Arkansas, in which we know there is a significant number of Colombian nationals."
All procedures must be carried out by appointment, according to a statement from the consulate. Services offered will include issuing passports, citizenship cards, identity cards, consular cards, birth certificates, travel permits and authentication of copies of documents.
The consulate will set up an online link beginning March 29 to register for appointments, according to the announcement.
"We've been working on this for years," said Diana Gill of Rogers, one of the Arkansans from Colombia who sought such a consulate visit.
The estimated Colombian community in Northwest Arkansas now amounts to at least several hundred, she estimated.