A federal court overturned last week the suspension of immigrant visas that the Trump administration had imposed on nationals from 75 countries, including Cuba, but immigration attorney Willy Allen warns that for Cubans, the situation remains more complicated than for the other countries that benefit from the ruling.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the Southern District of New York declared the measure "manifestly illegal" for exceeding the authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and for contradicting the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on nationality in the issuance of immigrant visas. The ruling also overturned visa denials based solely on that policy.
"Interesting. Remember that we also have a presidential proclamation that eliminated visas directly to Cuba," Allen noted in an interview with Tania Costa while analyzing the implications of the ruling for the Cuban community.
That presidential proclamation, signed by Trump in June 2025 and expanded starting January 1, 2026, constitutes an additional layer of restriction that the court ruling does not remove. Under this instrument, Cuba remains blocked in aspects of the immigration regime that go beyond the suspension annulled by the court.
However, Allen believes that the situation should improve partially. "If we go back to what it was before the complete suspension, I think there should at least be interviews and some approvals in Havana for American citizens claiming their spouses, minor children, and parents," the lawyer explained.
Those immediate requests —from U.S. citizens who are petitioning for their spouse, minor children, or parents in Cuba— are the ones that, even during the validity of the presidential proclamation, continued to be processed at the embassy in Havana, albeit with difficulties. Requests from permanent residents for their spouses, on the other hand, were not being approved.
In addition to the obstacle of the proclamation, Allen points out that another consular barrier persists: the policy of denying visas to those who worked for the Cuban government. "If you are an American and you are petitioning for your wife, and your wife was a teacher in Cuba, during the interview they would say, 'Look, I can approve you, but since you were a teacher and worked for the Cuban government, we won’t grant it to you now. You need to request a pardon for having worked for the Cuban government,'" the lawyer illustrated with a specific example.
That requirement for a 'waiver' due to employment ties with the Cuban state —which affects teachers, doctors, and state employees— is separate from the court ruling and could continue to be enforced in the consulates.
Regarding the possibility of reopening cases of denied visas under the overturned ban, Allen was cautious but hopeful. He mentioned the case of a minor, the child of an American citizen, whose interview in Havana was rejected: "I will absolutely request that they reinterview that kid once the details are clarified."
The lawyer emphasized that the details of the ruling's implementation for Cuba still need to be clarified, and that the overall situation, although improved, is far from being resolved for Cubans. "We have to remember that the devil is in the details," he warned.
Nevertheless, Allen concluded with a positive assessment of the moment: "Today we are a little better than we were a few days ago."
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