Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío spoke today in Havana on migration and consular issues with the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs of the United States, Rena Bitter, and the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ur Mendoza Jaddou.
According to release During the exchange, Fernández de Cossío reiterated to the officials “the importance of fully resuming the migratory and consular services at the US embassy in Havana.”
The deputy minister reiterated “the willingness to contribute with the necessary steps for the full functioning of the migratory and consular services of the diplomatic headquarters.”
Bitter and Mendoza traveled to Cuba to address the full reinstatement of immigration visa processing in early 2023 and the recent resumption of the Parole Family Reunification Program at the US Embassy,” the State Department said in a statement.
USA: Visit to Cuba of two senior officials announced to address migration issues
In the past fiscal year (October 2021-September 2022), the record number of irregular migrants in general, and of Cubans in particular, who arrived at the southern border of the United States, was registered.
According to the Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were 224,607 Cuban emigrants in that period,
On the other hand, since October 1, 2021, the US Coast Guard has intercepted or detained more than 6,182 Cubans on the Florida coast.
In that period, the US government issued 23,966 visas to Cubans. And for the first time since 2017, it complied with the 1994 bilateral migration agreement, which stipulates the delivery of a minimum of 20,000 visas a year to Uban citizens.
Efe/OnCuba.
