U.S. adding embassy staff in Havana to ‘resume full immigrant visa processing’
The Biden administration is expanding immigrant visa services for Cubans amid a record influx of migrants from the island nation to U.S. borders.
The United States announced Wednesday an “expansion of regular pathways available to
Cubans wishing to come to the United States,” and an increase in personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Havana working to process visas, after consultation with the Cuban government.
“As part of the expansion of regular pathways, beginning in early 2023, the U.S. Embassy in Havana will resume full immigrant visa processing for the first time since 2017,” the White House said in a statement. “Immigrant visas provide eligible individuals with an avenue for safe and orderly migration. This change will also eliminate the need for Cubans applying for immigrant visas in family preference categories to travel outside of Cuba to Georgetown, Guyana for their interviews.”
The administration has been grappling with a surge in irregular migration from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — a change from traditional sources of migration in the Western Hemisphere and a challenge for Washington, which has limited diplomatic engagement with all three autocratic governments.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, alluded to the news.
“We’ve actually had a series of discussions with the Cuban government about getting visas restarted,” Sullivan said. “The United States is providing a significant number of visas for Cubans to be able to come directly from Cuba to the United States and not make the harrowing journey. And we will continue to engage with them on the question of migration.”
“What you will see in the coming weeks is an enormous amount of intensive diplomacy as we work with all of the countries of the region to do their part to help deal with the migration issues coming out of Cuba or Nicaragua and Venezuela in particular,” Sullivan added.
In addition to the expansion of visa processing, the administration said it would increase the number of personnel at the
U.S. embassy in Havana working on processing cases and conducting interviews for applicants in the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program.