the embassy of USA in Cuba resumed its consular services and visa processing on Wednesday after an interruption of more than five years, due to the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House.
The interviews for those interested in obtaining the immigrant visa began on December 29.
It is now available on our Instagram account ?https://t.co/gx3ul44Mep today’s campaign video #30in30. ???? #K1 #K1Visas #VisaFiancé pic.twitter.com/MbNZA7wlEZ
— Embassy of the United States in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) January 3, 2023
The announcement of this reactivation was made at the beginning of November, after a meeting in the island capital between the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Rena Bitter; the director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ur Mendoza Jaddou, and the Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío.
Months earlier, Washington explained that the visas provide those eligible to apply for them with a “safe and orderly” path of migration.
The restart of operations occurs after a few months of timid rapprochement between Washington and Havanain which the migration has played a central role. The records speak of the largest exodus of Cubans to the US in recent history.
Until last November 30, 290,338 islanders arrived in the United States through the border with Mexico, according to the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), cited by efe.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has detained more than 6,182 Cubans on the Florida coast from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, when the last fiscal year ended.
The US government delivered 23,966 visas to Cubans during that period. Washington complied for the first time since 2017 with the 1994 bilateral immigration agreement, which stipulates the delivery of a minimum of 20,000 visas per year to the citizens of the island.
Until before the resumption at the diplomatic headquarters in Havana, Cubans were forced to carry out immigration procedures in Guyana, which meant an extra financial burden that not many could afford.
In parallel, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is increasing its staff in Havana to “effectively and efficiently” process cases and conduct interviews.
On September 1, the United States embassy in Cuba began processing pending applications for the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP), suspended since 2017.
“SONIC ATTACKS”
The stoppage at the embassy originated after detecting some unexplained health problems of the American staff at the legation.
The then President Trump accused the Cuban government of being responsible for “acoustic attacks” on diplomatic workers, which he used as a pretext to interrupt the “thaw” process that had been promoted by his predecessor, Barack Obama (2009-2017), and the Former Cuban President Raúl Castro.
Havana, for its part, denied any responsibility in the case and launched a commission of experts that found no scientific or criminal evidence linking the symptoms to possible sonic attacks, microwaves or any other deliberate action.
Neither “sonic attacks” nor “Havana Syndrome”: the scientific refutation of Cuba
Over the months, more than 200 US diplomats and officials stationed in half a dozen countries – from Cuba to China, passing through Austria, Germany and Colombia – reported similar symptoms. Some were unable to continue exercising their duties.
In January of last year, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ruled out that the inconveniences described were the result of a campaign led by an enemy country, against which there was speculation.
Efe/OnCuba.
