Four young Cubans from Camagüey opened a jewelry store in Miami and named it after the immigration document that marked their lives in the United States: I-220A, the same form that two of them received upon entering the country.
With less than five years in the country and two of them without permanent residency, they turned their migratory story into a business identity.
The name did not come from a business meeting or an advertising agency. It was a spontaneous idea during a car trip.
"We were driving one day, the four of us in the car, and I said: What if when we open our jewelry store, we name it I220A?" said Neyser Noy, one of the owners, in recent statements to Telemundo 51.
“The most important thing about the name is to demonstrate that under freedom, anything is possible”, he added, noting that all it takes is “sacrifice and the desire to move forward.”
The proposal did not convince everyone right away.
“I didn't agree at first... but then we started talking and I grew fond of the name,” admitted Ángel David Cervantes, another one of the partners.
Today, the business is growing with more and more customers and is making shipments to different parts of the country.
The jewelry was officially presented on Instagram in March 2026 under the slogan "Dreams know no borders," and since then it has become a symbol of Cuban entrepreneurship in exile.
Behind the display case is years of effort that the owners do not hide.
Diana Miranda, one of the partners, recounted her journey with a rawness that encapsulates what many newly arrived Cubans experienced.
"I had two jobs, one in the morning and another in the afternoon... I would walk because I didn’t have a car... 40 to 50 minutes of walking," he recounted
Another owner summed it up in a single sentence: “Everything I have achieved is because I have fought for it.”
As a gesture of solidarity with those who share their situation, the jewelry store offers a 10% discount to customers who also have I-220A immigration status, a strategy that strengthens the connection with the community.
"We will be the I-220A franchise from Miami."
The owners of the jewelry store have taken their legal precautions, but they do not lose hope or ambition.
Neyser Noy said it with the same clarity with which he proposed the name that day in the car:
“We will keep the name for a lifetime, because it is the emblem, it is the mark, and it is what we will leave for history. Thank God we have done well, and if we continue to do well, we will be the I-220A jewelry franchise in Miami,” he concluded.
Gratitude and message to other Cubans with I-220A
Despite the legal uncertainty surrounding nearly 500,000 Cubans with that document in the United States, the owners of I-220A Jewelry express their gratitude for the opportunities they have found.
“This country that opened its doors to us, despite the uncertainty of a legal process, has allowed us all the benefits: our work permit, our license”, they said.
For other Cubans in the same situation, Ángel David Cervantes has a direct message: “Don’t cling to a piece of paper or a status… we came here to move forward… to get involved… that’s what we came for.”
This attitude is part of a broader trend: since 2024, Cubans with I-220A have opened barbershops, beauty salons, and bakeries in Miami, turning entrepreneurship into a collective response to migratory uncertainty.
What the lawyers say
However, having a business does not resolve the migration issue, experts warn.
The immigration attorney Rosaly Chaviano was clear:
"There are positive factors that support the application, but unfortunately, having a business or properties does not guarantee approval."
The estate planning attorney, Natasha Pérez, added a practical recommendation.
"It is very important because if they are not present, who has the power to manage the business? They need to make things clear so that nothing is left up in the air in case of arrest or deportation," he warned.
The legal context is complex. A court in the United States has made a decision regarding Cubans with I-220A that excludes them from the status adjustment under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, although there are two active lawsuits seeking to have the document recognized as parole.
Meanwhile, the detentions of Cuban migrants have intensified under the Trump administration.
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