MIAMI, United States.- The United States embassy in Cuba announced this Thursday that it will begin processing pending applications for the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP), suspended since 2017.
In a release broadcast on its social networks, the diplomatic mission in Havana said that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) began conducting interviews for the family reunification program at the headquarters on August 18.
The embassy also clarified that, for the time being, “it has begun mailing interview notices to applicants for the program.” But he clarified that the process will not be immediate due to the lack of personnel.
“Beneficiaries should not take any steps to prepare for an interview until their petitioner receives an interview notice,” the document adds.
According to the note, USCIS is not sending new invitations so far and it will be through its website when a new round is announced for those who had not processed an application before the break in 2017.
The program was initially launched in 2007 under the mandate of former President George W. Bush (2001-2009) and provides a legal way for Americans and legal residents in the US to claim their family member within Cuban territory.
The family reunification program was suspended ten years later by the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021), after his government substantially reduced staff in Havana after thirty US diplomats suffered mysterious “health incidents”. ” in what was called the “Havana syndrome”, and whose reasons have not yet been clarified.
The US Embassy resumed issuing visas for migrants in May 2022 after a four-year pause, and last June the embassy expanded visa processing for immediate family members.
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