US will reopen immigration office in Cuba to tackle family-reunification backlog

By NORA GÁMEZ
TORRES MIAMI HERALD • August 17, 2023

(Tribune News Service) — After almost a five-year break, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is reopening its office in Havana, a step that will bring more resources to process a backlog of family reunification cases and expand access to legal immigration pathways for Cubans, the Biden administration says.

“This administration is taking steps to reduce unlawful entries, deny resources to ruthless smuggling organizations, and streamline access to lawful, safe, and orderly pathways for those seeking humanitarian relief. Reopening the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Havana helps us do just that,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

“Cubans like my own family, who nearly 63 years ago fled the communist takeover, deserve the same opportunity to follow legal pathways to build a new life in the United States,” Mayorkas added.

The Department of Homeland Security, which manages USCIS, says the Havana office will conduct interviews and process pending cases in the Cuban Family Reunification Parole, a program that helps those with approved family-based immigration petitions to expedite their entry into the U.S.

The office will also process petitions by refugees and people who have been granted asylum in the U.S. to bring their close relatives to the United States and provide other “limited services” like processing refugee petitions, according to an agency’s statement.

More:
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/americas/2023-08-17/cuba-us-immigration-office-reunification-backlog-11078862.html