A Cuban citizen of the United States reported that her mother, a former primary school teacher with over 50 years of work experience in Cuba, was denied a family reunification visa during an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
In statements to journalist Javier Díaz, the woman expressed her disappointment after having supported former President Donald Trump: “I am an American citizen of this great country. I was one of the many people who voted for President Donald Trump, trusting him one hundred percent.”
The daughter explained that in 2024 she filed the claim to bring her mother, who was a teacher for first to fourth grade in Cuban primary schools: “My mom was simply and plainly a primary school teacher, from first to fourth grade, the one who taught reading and writing. She was never a teacher for Camilitos, nor for pre-university, nor for university.”
According to what she said, during the interview on November 19, her mother was asked few questions before being denied the visa: “They asked her who was sponsoring her, how long it had been since she retired, and if she belonged to any governmental organization or the Party. She said no, that she had never belonged to any of that. And right then they told her no.”
The woman, who has been living in the United States for nearly eight years, stated that she has met all the requirements for the process: "I am stable, married for fifteen years, with an organized life. I have done everything legally, as the law requires."
He assured that the process has cost him more than two thousand dollars, and the possibility of appealing is even more expensive: “When I filed the claim, I had to pay over a thousand dollars, and now they tell me that if I want to appeal, I need a waiver that costs between three thousand and three thousand five hundred dollars with a lawyer. Why, if my mom was not part of the Party and did nothing wrong?”
The Cuban also expressed her frustration over what she sees as unequal treatment: "There are people who worked with Fidel Castro, who were part of the Party, and they are allowed in. Why can't my mom, who was just a teacher and taught so many people to read, come?"
The woman asserted that her case is not isolated: “It's very sad, because it happened to my mom, but also to many people: doctors, dentists, homemakers… They are all being denied. I speak for myself and for hundreds of people who are going through the same thing. I'm not losing a cousin or an uncle, I'm losing my mother.”
The testimony of this Cuban woman comes amidst a drastic change in the immigration policy of the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the cancellation of the family reunification parole program for Cuba, which had allowed thousands of individuals to enter the country in advance while awaiting their visas since 2007.
According to lawyer Willy Allen from CiberCuba, the measure affects Cubans with family petitions made by permanent residents —such as spouses, children, and siblings— but does not impact applications from U.S. citizens for their parents, spouses, or minor children, which continue to proceed as normal.
"What disappears is the expedited pathway that allowed applicants to bypass years of waiting and enter with a parole while the process was ongoing," explained Allen, who warned that now applicants will have to wait the regular time of the consular system.
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