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Cuban Moisés Ricardo was on the verge of fulfilling a dream he had awaited for 17 years—becoming a U.S. citizen. However, an unexpected letter from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) again put his life on hold and left him engulfed in uncertainty.
His case, published by NBC Connecticut, adds to the wave of cancellations and delays affecting thousands of immigrants from 19 countries, including Cuba, following the new immigration restrictions implemented by the Trump administration.
Ricardo, 59 years old and a resident of Bristol, Connecticut, had his citizenship exam scheduled for November. An emergency open-heart surgery forced him to postpone the appointment to January 6, 2026. However, last week he received a notification canceling the process without providing any explanation.
“It is unimaginable how much a person can suffer with everything that happens in their body: pain, anxiety, depression,” she said to NBC Connecticut, speaking through a translator. “And receiving news like the one I received at that moment was truly devastating.”
The announcement is part of a national pause ordered by USCIS on December 2nd, according to a memorandum that halted all immigration adjudications for individuals from 19 countries included in Presidential Proclamation 10949.
Although the measure originated from a criminal case in Washington D.C. involving an Afghan refugee, its impact has extended to thousands of applicants without criminal records, many of whom have already been established in the United States for years.
Cuba is among the affected countries, which has left many Cubans trapped in a migratory limbo. Recently, Cuban Anyi Cabrales, whose citizenship ceremony was canceled just three hours before taking the oath, also made headlines.
It was even reported that recently immigrants were removed from the line in Boston when USCIS officials asked them about their country of origin and removed them if they were from the restricted nations.
Immigration advocacy organizations have described the new policy as "cruel" and "arbitrary," while Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut have strongly criticized what they see as a discriminatory ban. "We are a nation of immigrants," stated Congressman John Larson. "The extreme ban... has nothing to do with national security; it is discrimination."
Amid this scenario, Moisés Ricardo just wants to move forward. He came to the United States in search of freedom and spent years working as a truck driver and in tree removal services. He now lives with one of his sons, who also emigrated from Cuba, and he hopes to retire once he obtains citizenship and qualifies for Social Security.
Becoming a citizen, he says, was not just a procedure, but the culmination of a lifetime built away from the control of the Cuban regime. "Having lived in this country and finally reaching the point where they granted me that privilege, I have no words."
As the migration pause continues with no clear end in sight, stories like his reflect the human impact behind each stalled case and the growing fear among Cubans who, like him, dreamed of taking the final step towards lasting stability in the United States.
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