U.S. Embassy in Havana to Operate with Reduced Staffing on Permanent Basis

Beginning on September 29, 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Havana began operating under ordered departure status. Under this policy, non-essential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana was removed, leaving only critical personnel necessary to continue the essential functions of the Embassy. We discussed this decision and what it meant for immigration services provided in Cuba in a separate post [see blog].

On March 4, 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Havana reached the maximum allowable days in ordered departure status, thus requiring the DOS to make a decision on how to proceed. The DOS announced that beginning on March 5, its new permanent staffing plan for the U.S. Embassy in Havana would take effect [PDF version]. The DOS stated that under the new permanent staffing plan, the U.S. Embassy in Havana will “continue to operate with the minimum personnel necessary to perform core diplomatic and consular functions, similar to the level of emergency staffing maintained during ordered departure.”

Although the DOS has not released an update regarding immigration services provided at the U.S. Embassy in Havana under the permanent staffing plan, they will presumably continue to be limited due to the lack of staffing. Furthermore, it appears to be unlikely that there will be any change in the situation for the foreseeable future. We will update the site with more information as it becomes available.

Please see our original article on the draw-down for information about what this means for Cubans seeking visas or other benefits through consular processing [see blog].