USCIS Permanently Closes Havana Field Office

On December 10, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had permanently closed the USCIS Field Office in Havana, Cuba, on that same day [PDF version]. We discuss the initial suspension of operations at the Havana Field Office along with new updates in a separate post [see article].

In the aftermath of the closure of the USCIS Havana Field Office, the USCIS Field Office in Mexico City “will assume the Havana Field Office's jurisdiction over U.S. immigration matters for individuals who are in Cuba.” Furthermore, the U.S. Department of State's (DOS's) U.S. Embassy in Havana will take over some of the services that were previously handled by the USCIS. However, it is important to note that “[a]ll immigrant visa operations for Cuban citizens will continue to be processed by the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana” [PDF version]. Both the USCIS and DOS state that they are exploring additional options to offer consular and other immigration services to Cubans in the future.

The USCIS provided the following filing instructions for individuals who live in Cuba and individuals who are petitioning for Cuban residents:

We will continue to update the site with more information as it becomes available. Those with case-specific questions about how the USCIS and DOS closures and slowdowns in Cuba may affect them should consult with an experienced immigration attorney.