There was a time when Cuban nationals were given only a span of six months to stay in the United States. Things have changed very recently. The United States government has implemented on Monday, August 1 a new policy that gives Cubans the opportunity to travel to America back and forth for five years. While the majority of the Cuban masses rejoice on this new travel measure, the Cuban government remains silent. It appears that it would not soon give any comments on the matter.
The new US visa policy
A few clarifications: The visa being issued to Cubans for US travel is still only allowing the visitor to stay or remain in the country for only six months. What changed? What is the new policy all about? They are now allowed to engage in multiple trips to the United State for five years without applying for a new visa every time the six-month period of stay ends. The new policy simply gives them a hassle-free measure of travel to the US, not to mention the chance to save $160 fee for the opportunity.
Gracias
A retiree from Havana, Antonio Fernandez, is among those who greatly appreciate the implementation of the new policy. Fernandez had the opportunity to visit his relatives and children in America before the new policy was announced. Fernandez was very glad about the new policy and said that this would give him more opportunities to be in contact with his family abroad. As of the moment, Fernandez is applying for the new visa and is very happy that he need not apply for new visa every six months like before. From now on, every Cuban who wants to visit friends and relatives in the US will have a better visa application experience.
Restriction lifted
Earlier this year, the Cuban government enacted a lifting of travel restrictions. The changes resulted to Cubans having more chances to travel and return home with less cost and greater convenience. Cubans are given a 24 month extension without losing any rights whatsoever whenever they are abroad. They are also allowed to seek another 24 months after the first 24 months have expired as indicated in the new Cuban travel measure.
Since the restrictions were lifted in Havana, there was a 30% increase in Cuban applications for a US visa. This number is not very surprising since a lot of Cuban and Cuban-Americans complained in the past about the cost in acquiring visas. They were also vocal about the difficulties imposed by the application procedures.
Side comments
In an article that the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party released through its paper “Granma,” it was stated that the current actions of the United States regarding visa processing is essentially the provision of a new tool. However, it ultimately suggests the same policy. They also said that the new policy does not entirely suggest a total change from the old one. The article also quoted some commentators based locally and defined the new policy as an alternative step to lessening costs in terms of processing requests for visa application.
Photo Credit: A Cuban Flag
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
LinkedIn
Email