Cuban content creator Lietty Piña has just obtained her humanitarian visitor card in Mexico, a document that for a long time meant more to her than simply regularizing her immigration status: the opportunity to work formally and move past missed chances due to lacking the necessary documentation.
However, since she shared the news on social media, there is one comment she keeps hearing repeatedly: "You have to declare taxes now."
In a video posted on Facebook, Lietty responded to those who remind her as if it were a negative consequence of her regularization.
"People say it as if one didn't want to do it, as if one didn't want to file taxes," he stated.
For the young Cuban, being able to meet her tax obligations was precisely one of the reasons she needed to regularize her situation in Mexico. "I mainly wanted to be legal here in Mexico to be able to do that," she explained.
One of their immediate goals is to process the Federal Tax Registry (RFC) with the Tax Administration Service (SAT), which is necessary for numerous work and tax activities in the country. The lack of this document, they assured, had already closed several doors for them.
"I can’t explain how many jobs I have lost for not having an RFC," he lamented.
Lietty also mentioned that she initially thought having the Unique Population Registry Key (CURP) would be sufficient to obtain it, but later discovered that she needed to complete her migration regularization process first.
"When I first received my CURP, I thought that with it I could already obtain my RFC, but no, I had to wait until I now have my humanitarian visitor card in order to start processing my RFC," he recounted.
The content creator emphasized that declaring taxes was never something she was unaware of or wanted to avoid. On the contrary, she affirmed that she left Cuba fully aware that settling and working in Mexico would also entail assuming tax obligations.
"I knew that when I left Cuba and arrived here, I would have to pay taxes. In other words, my mind was already prepared for that," he noted.
Now, with her immigration document in hand, she claims to be taking the first steps to also formalize her situation with the SAT.
"I am ready to do it and I'm already making my appointment at the SAT to obtain my RFC and register with the SAT," she added.
"We are now legal."
The card obtained by Lietty is issued by the National Migration Institute (INM) and certifies a regular stay in Mexico under the condition of a visitor for humanitarian reasons. The document is valid for one year and allows for work, as well as entries and exits from Mexican territory during its validity.
However, achieving it came with a final moment of uncertainty.
In a video published on YouTube on August 11, the Cuban woman shared that she arrived about 30 minutes late to her appointment at the INM due to two traffic accidents that complicated her journey. Faced with the delay, she thought she had missed the chance to complete a procedure she had been waiting for a long time.
"I've already given up on the process, literally," he confessed.
Her lawyer advised her to go anyway and explain what happened. In the end, the immigration authorities allowed her to enter and complete the process.
Lietty did not experience that moment alone. She traveled accompanied by her mother, who also received her card that same day.
Upon exiting the INM offices, both celebrated a step that for many migrants signifies the end of months—and sometimes years—of uncertainty.
"We are legal now. We are legal, and we feel completely free, thank God," she expressed with excitement.
From crossing Central America to feeling "part" of Mexico
The Cuban creator has been sharing her migration experience in Mexico on social media for years, a country she reached after a land journey through Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. During that trip, she was even briefly detained by Guatemalan authorities.
The Cuban presence is also notable among those who have received migratory protection in Mexico. During the first half of 2025, Cuban citizens were granted 3,284 of the 4,129 Visitor Cards for Humanitarian Reasons issued in the country, nearly 80% of the total, according to official Mexican migration statistics.
For Lietty, obtaining the document signifies primarily a sense of security that, as she explained, is difficult to understand for those who have never lived as migrants.
"It's so nice, people, it's so nice that you feel protected. Those who are emigrants and leave, what they dream of the most at some point is to be able to legalize themselves, to feel like a part of here," he reflected.
After traversing several countries, losing job opportunities due to lack of documentation, and enduring the uncertainty of irregular immigration status, Lietty now has another goal in mind: to obtain permanent residency in Mexico. For her, filing taxes does not seem to be the problem that some point out on social media, but rather a consequence of something she has been seeking for a long time: the ability to work, settle down, and build a life legally in the country that welcomed her.
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