US embassy in Cuba to resume 'full visa processing' in 2023

US embassy in Cuba to resume 'full visa processing' in 2023

Starting in early 2023, Cubans will no longer have to travel to third countries for their US visas to be processed
Starting in early 2023, Cubans will no longer have to travel to third countries for their US visas to be processed. Photo: ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

The US embassy in Cuba said Wednesday it would resume "full immigrant visa processing" next year for the first time since 2017, when the mission was closed over alleged sonic attacks on diplomatic staff.

The announcement came as Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented exodus of undocumented migrants amid the communist country's worst economic crisis in 30 years due to ramped-up US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.

"This change will... eliminate the need for Cubans applying for immigrant visas in family preference categories to travel outside of Cuba to Georgetown, Guyana for their interviews," the embassy said in a statement.

The United States evacuated its diplomatic staff and their families in 2017 after at least two dozen people suffered brain injuries that resembled concussion, but with no exterior signs of trauma.

Read also

China should do more to help avoid debt crisis: US official

US officials accused Cuba of carrying out "health attacks" using some sort of acoustic or microwave device, a charge Havana angrily rejected.

A US government report in 2020 said the illnesses suffered by staff and their families were most likely caused by "directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy."

PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!

The embassy closure made obtaining a visa an expensive nightmare for Cubans, who now had to travel to a third country, at their own cost, to put in an application.

Many have sought to make it to US shores even without a visa, many trying their luck without travel documents on long, dangerous journeys by sea or by road via Central America.

According to US border police, a record 198,000 Cubans illegally entered the United States in the last 11 months.

Read also

Movies back in Indian Kashmir, decades after cinema closures

The US embassy resumed limited visa services in Havana in May, but announced "full resumption" from early 2023, enabled by an increase in embassy personnel.

According to existing immigration agreements, the United States is supposed to authorize at least 20,000 immigrant visas a year to Cubans.

However those agreements were suspended in 2018 by former president Donald Trump, whose administration also refused to meet with the Cuban government.

Annual migration talks between Havana and Washington resumed earlier this year.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.