Immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo addressed the speculation regarding the immigration status of Cuban independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta and assured that the process he is facing in an immigration court in the United States is due to an administrative issue stemming from poorly conducted paperwork in the past, not to any misconduct or obstacles related to his political activism.
Mayeta, known for his informational project "¡Súbelo Mayeta!", has a decisive hearing scheduled for July 2026. With that date approaching, his legal representatives requested more time to address outstanding issues in his immigration file.
Marcelo explained to journalist Tania Costa from CiberCuba that he took on the case alongside attorney Yelena Guerra from Guerra Law, due to the complexity of the process.
"We are handling the case; I'm working on it with another attorney, Yelena Guerra, from Guerra Law. Yelena is a friend of mine, and we have known each other since we attended law school here. We decided to take on Mayeta's case together because it requires quite a bit of work," she noted.
The two legal experts submitted a motion before the immigration judge in order to obtain more time before the final hearing.
"What Mayeta unfortunately has is a final court, and there are many things to do before reaching that final court," Marcelo explained.
According to the details provided, the magistrate agreed to accept the request, although she has not yet decided whether to grant the requested extension of time.
"The judge agreed to let us file the motion, which does not mean that she accepted our request for more time; we are still waiting," she clarified.
The lawyers assert that they are prepared to appear in person before the court if they do not receive a response before the specified date.
"If she doesn't respond before the date, then Yelena and I are ready to go there in person, to the court, and see what we can do," she indicated.
Marcelo also insisted that Mayeta is not facing any difficulties due to having committed any violation nor does she need to request any type of immigration pardon.
"People speculate. No, he didn’t have any problems; he doesn’t have to ask for any forgiveness because he hasn’t had any issues. It's simply the way Mayeta entered this country," he stated.
The complication arises because the journalist arrived in the United States in 2019 with a J-1 visa, a migration category associated with exchange programs and scholarships that requires meeting certain criteria before benefiting from the Cuban Adjustment Act.
According to Marcelo, those steps were not completed correctly because Mayeta completed her initial process with someone who was not a lawyer.
“She applied with someone who is not a lawyer; she applied with a notary. So this person did not fulfill these three requirements,” she explained.
Now, the defense is seeking the judge to grant sufficient time to rectify that situation and complete the pending procedures.
"We need time to see if the judge allows us to meet these three requirements for him to be able to leave happily, but it depends on the judge," the lawyer noted.
Marcelo also emphasized that if the case were being evaluated under the status of political asylum, the situation would be very different due to the journalist's history of opposition within Cuba.
"If it were a case of asylum, we all know that Mayeta's history is almost equivalent to an asylum granted because he has a lot of evidence and is a very well-known person, and the repercussions of him returning to Cuba are definitely present," he stated.
Mayeta was a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) since 2011 and for years documented citizen complaints and opposition activities in Santiago de Cuba through her digital platforms.
As part of his recent activities, on June 6th, he attended the United States Congress to deliver letters addressed to the Cuban-American congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, and María Elvira Salazar, in which he outlined his immigration situation.
The journalist has been in the United States for seven years without having managed to permanently regularize his status.
As a result of this case, Marcelo took the opportunity to issue a warning to other immigrants facing similar processes.
"It should not be done with notaries; you need to find a lawyer because things can go well—sometimes they do—but if they go wrong, they go very wrong," he concluded.
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