September 21 2022
The U.S. Embassy in Havana is preparing for the full resumption of immigrant visa services in Cuba and will speed up procedures for Cuban family reunification
In line with our commitments under the Los Angeles Declaration on Immigration and Protection to facilitate safe, orderly, humane, and regular immigration, the United States today is announcing an expansion of the regular routes available to Cubans who wish to come to the United States and an increase in staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
As part of expanding regular pathways, in early 2023, the US Embassy in Havana will resume full immigrant visa processing for the first time since 2017. Immigrant visas provide eligible individuals with a pathway to safe and orderly immigration. This change will also eliminate the need for Cubans applying for immigrant visas in family preference categories to travel outside of Cuba to Georgetown, Guyana, for their interviews.
Additionally, pursuant to the August 2022 resumption of the Cuban Conditional Family Reunification Program (CFRP), USCIS is increasing the number of staff in Havana to efficiently and effectively handle cases and conduct interviews.
The Cuban Family Reunification Program (CFRP) was established in 2007 to provide a safe and orderly path to the United States for certain Cuban recipients of approved family immigration petitions. The program allows certain eligible US citizens and lawful permanent residents, who receive a letter of invitation, to apply for a permit for their relatives in Cuba that would allow them to be reunited with them in the United States without having to wait until the time for a regular immigrant visa to be processed.
These efforts are an important step toward fulfilling our commitment, under the US-Cuba Immigration Agreements, to ensure that legal immigration to the United States from Cuba totals at least 20,000 Cubans annually, not including immediate family members of US citizens. The Department of State continues to assess the possibility of expanding visa services in Havana, to the extent conditions permit.
As we work toward this goal, the Consular Section of the Embassy in Havana will continue to provide essential services to US citizens, immigrant visa services for those applying in the immediate family categories, and limited processing of non-resident visas for emergency immigrant situations. The Georgetown Embassy in Guyana will continue to process Cuban immigrant visa applications in family preference categories until Havana resumes full immigrant visa processing in early 2023.
During the transition to full immigrant visa processing at the United States Embassy in Havana, the National Visa Center (NVC) will continue to schedule appointments for preferred family visa applicants at the United States Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. NVC will begin scheduling appointments for all Family and Immediate Relatives Preferred Immigrant Visa applicants at the U.S. Embassy in Havana in early 2023. Applicants do not need to contact the embassies in Havana, in Georgetown, or with the NVC as they will be notified directly with your appointment information.
We will provide more details as they become available and encourage those interested to visit the website of the US Embassy in Havana for the latest information.
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