Renewing a Cuban passport while having a pending asylum case in the United States can be a mistake that jeopardizes that application or makes the defense even more challenging. This warning comes from immigration attorney Liudmila Armas Marcelo during the weekly legal advice segment of CiberCuba, in response to a question from a follower identified as "Duque," who wanted to know if he should while in U.S. territory.
The lawyer was straightforward: "Look, if you have a pending asylum case, it’s assumed that you are afraid to return to Cuba and that the Cuban government is persecuting you." The problem is that immigration judges and prosecutors already use two arguments against Cuban applicants; they criticize them for having been able to leave the island by plane and for the regime itself having granted them a passport.
"Judges and prosecutors are claiming that if they gave you a passport and allowed you to leave, then you weren't being persecuted," explained Armas Marcelo.
The lawyer acknowledges that the defenders of the Cuban applicants counter that the regime issues passports precisely so that people emigrate and do not protest within the country. However, she warns that this stance does not always convince the courts: "We fight against that. We say they do it so that people leave and do not protest within the country, yet they continue with that mentality."
If we add to that the fact that the applicant, already in the United States, asks the Cuban government to renew the document and they do so, the damage to the case is multiplied. "Imagine, Duque, if you are already inside the United States and you ask the Cuban government to renew your passport, and they actually renew it for you. That goes much more against the fear of persecution in Cuba," the lawyer pointed out.
This risk is not theoretical. On October 16, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the denial of asylum for a Cuban family linked to the Damas de Blanco —Fidel Ernesto Armas Riverón, his wife Viena Martínez Bernal, and their two children— citing among other factors that they were able to obtain passports and leave Cuba without any obstacles.
The only practical reason to need an active passport would be to request a voluntary departure, as that option is not granted without a valid document. But Armas Marcelo is categorical on this matter. “I do not recommend any I-220A at this time to request a voluntary departure, unless they have dual citizenship.”
The I-220A form is an order of supervised release from ICE that allows immigrants to remain out of custody while their immigration process continues. Its legal status has been the subject of intense litigation: in February 2026, the Eleventh Circuit overturned decisions from the Board of Immigration Appeals and remanded cases for further review, without establishing automatic eligibility under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
The underlying reason for not requesting voluntary departure is strategic: if the argument that the I-220A is equivalent to a parole succeeds, those who are already in Cuba when that issue is resolved will not be able to benefit from that resolution. "Because if the I-220A is considered as a parole, you won't benefit if you are already in Cuba," the lawyer warned.
The Arms Council Marcelo is set against an increasingly adverse backdrop for Cubans with pending asylum requests. According to the lawyer, asylum is "already difficult," and one of the most frequent reasons for denial is precisely the fact that the individual was able to leave Cuba by plane with a passport issued by the regime itself, an argument that any consular renewal from the United States would only serve to reinforce.
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