CUBA:
US Visa Programme to
Speed Family
Reunification
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA (IPS) - The
United States has begun
a new programme to
reunite Cuban families,
which has renewed the
hopes of potential
migrants from the island
who have family members
in the United States.
The U.S. government
hopes to fulfill the
goal of issuing 20,000
immigration visas a
year, as agreed in a
longstanding bilateral
treaty.
"The U.S. Interests
Section (USINT) in
Havana is pleased to
announce the first
official travel
documents have been
delivered to an eligible
Cuban family under the
Cuban Family
Reunification Programme
(CFRP)," which ensures
legal, safe and orderly
immigration from Cuba,
Consul General Sean
Murphy told journalists
on Thursday.
What is new about this
programme is that
families will now be
able to obtain a
"parole" document to
enter U.S. territory,
instead of staying in
Cuba to apply for
permanent legal
residence in the United
States, thus
dramatically shortening
the waiting period.
The parole document is a
temporary authorisation
to travel, which would
be replaced in the
United States by a
resident permit.
According to Murphy,
under the previous rules
people might have to
wait for a visa for up
to 10 years, whereas now
the waiting period will
be no more than 10
weeks.
"The purpose of the
programme is to expedite
family reunification
through safe, legal and
orderly channels of
migration to the United
States and to discourage
dangerous and irregular
maritime migration,"
says a press release
distributed by USINT to
the foreign press.
Julio (last name
withheld), a 33-year-old
Cuban who has tried
several times in the
past to reach the United
States aboard precarious
watercraft, admitted to
IPS that the sea route
is "very dangerous,"
even in fast motorboats,
which "can turn over, or
leave you stranded on
some key" along the way
if the traffickers are
not paid on time.
He said that the
crossing in a speedboat
could cost up to 10,000
dollars. Julio gave up
putting out to sea after
all his previous
attempts were
frustrated, for one
reason or another. "The
last time we almost
foundered, but a cruiser
rescued us and handed us
over to the U.S. Coast
Guard, which brought us
back to Cuba," he said.
Under what is known as
the "wet foot, dry foot"
policy, the United
States repatriates
would-be Cuban
immigrants intercepted
at sea, but those who
manage to reach dry land
can obtain residence in
the United States under
the Cuban Adjustment
Act, no matter how they
entered the country.
"Well, if my mother (who
lives in the United
States) does something
about it now, I might
have the chance to get
there soon," said Julio.
"I’m not interested in
the jobs they offer me
here. I’m a mechanic and
an electrician, and
that’s the work I want
to do, but over there,"
he added.
USINT said that
approximately 12,000
immigrant visa
petitioners have been
notified that their
family members are
eligible for the CFRP
and, to date, more than
5,000 of them have asked
to participate in the
programme.
Prospects are good for
persons in the United
States to be reunited
with family members
living in Cuba, said
Murphy, who added that
the programme is an open
one, with no deadline,
special to Cuba, and
will be "key" in
fulfilling the migration
agreements.
Signed in 1994 and 1995,
the agreements
stipulated that the
United States would
issue at least 20,000
visas a year for Cuban
migrants.
Last year only 15,000
visas were issued, and
USINT blamed
"restrictions" imposed
by the Cuban government,
such as denying entry
visas for new USINT
personnel, and bans on
importing materials.
USINT officials told the
foreign press that their
working conditions have
improved, in that they
have more personnel and
resources, although the
consulate is still short
staffed.
Murphy said that this
U.S. fiscal year, which
runs from Oct. 1, 2007
to Sept. 30, 2008, 9,390
visas have been issued,
including 3,000 for
refugees, less than half
of the 20,000 called for
by the bilateral
agreement. He said that
he thought the new
programme would help
them meet the target.
In 2007, the Cuban
Foreign Ministry said
that non-fulfilment of
the agreement encouraged
"illegal emigration,"
and that Washington’s
preferential treatment
of Cuban immigrants
stimulated illegal
attempts to leave the
island, as well as crime
and social unrest in the
country.
So far this fiscal year,
2,891 Cuban nationals
tried to reach the
United States across the
Florida Straits, 21
percent more than in the
equivalent period of the
previous year, when the
total was 2,300.
Official estimates in
Cuba indicate that
between 1.3 million and
1.5 million Cubans and
their descendants
currently live abroad,
most of them in the
United States.
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