Once again, the United States embassy in Havana warns Cubans about fraud in the process of obtaining humanitarian parole, and stressed that all steps are free.
"We remind you that access to the parole process is free. Neither the supporter based in the US nor the beneficiary in Cuba are required to pay a fee to submit the form or to be considered," the diplomatic headquarters reiterated on Twitter .
"It's a scam if they ask you for money," he stressed.
As it has done on at least one previous occasion, the embassy shared a notice from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) warning that access to the processes is free.
"There is no fee to file Form I-134A, nor to be considered for travel authorization or temporary residence permit, USCIS noted in itswebsite.
Since the Biden administration put into effect the humanitarian parole program to legally immigrate to the United States, there have been several cases of people who have lost their money in scams.
This is what happened to one28-year-old Cuban doctor who was deceived by an alleged sponsor she contacted on Facebook, and that he offered to take her off the Island.
"Most say they have relatives in Cuba who will pay them back if something goes wrong, but it's all lies," he toldNBC News.
The young woman reported that a relative of hers transferred $1,800 to the scammer, an amount that took her family years to save. Of that figure, $800 was supposedly for the application process and $1,000 for a lawyer.
After sending the money, the person blocked the doctor on Facebook.
"A lot of people I've contacted since then ask me for money up front. When I tell them I'm not going to pay ahead of time, they immediately block me," she said.
OtherCuban was the victim of a scam by a false sponsor who stole $2,500 from him.
He had to sell the scooter - his means of work in Cuba - to raise the money to pay the guy and he lost everything.
"In the end I was left without a scooter, without money and without anything," the man confessed to journalist Alexis Boentes, fromTelemundo 51.
The young man said that he saw a publication on Facebook offering sponsorship and contacted the person, who informed him that "the procedure cost 5,000 dollars, that the lawyer charged 2,500 to complete the procedure and the other 2,500 were paid when the procedure was approved in the United States".
The alleged scammer even went to his relative's home in the US to collect the money. Everything seemed fine, but "until today," he said.
"They blocked my WhatsApp number and never again, nothing more. Nothing, nothing, nothing," he lamented.
In January, theUS embassy in Havana alerted Cubans about parole scams and stressed that the process is free.
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