The Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program

This program was established in 2007 which allowed certain eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to apply for parole for their family member in Cuba. Upon being granted parole, the Cuban family member was allowed to come to the United States without waiting for their immigrant visa priority date to become available. Once present in the United States, the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, “CFRP” allowed Cuban nationals to apply for work authorization while they awaited to apply for lawful permanent resident status. We discussed the adjustment of status process for Cuban nationals under the Cuban Adjustment Act here.

We discuss the family based green card process through adjustment of status here.

A Cuban national must have had an I-130 family based green card petition filed by a qualified United States Citizen or lawful permanent resident approved by USCIS.

The immigrant visa also known as a green card is not yet available for the Cuban family member and

The Cuban family member received an invitation form the Department of State’s National Visa Center to participate in the CFRP program.

We discuss the process to determine the immigrant visa availability also known as the priority date here.

Upon receipt of the invitation letter from the NVC, the Cuban family member would need to file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. The invitation letter will specific where and how to file the application therefore the application cannot be submitted without the invitation letter.

Once the NVC reviews the application and if it appears approvable, the case will be forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Havana Cuba where USCIS staff will interview the beneficiary to determine whether to grant parole. Granting of Parole is dependent on the following factors:

• The Cuban family member meets all CFRP eligibility requirements.
• The Cuban family member meets all eligibility requirements for an immigrant visa/green card except for the immigrant visa/green card number being available.
• The Cuban family member passes all background checks.
• The Cuban family member passes a medical examination
• The Cuban family member is admissible to the United States and
• The Cuban Family member warrants a favorable exercise of discretion.
• One the travel document is granted; the Cuban family member can travel to the United States and wait for the immigrant visa number to become available. The Cuban national can also apply for work authorization.

Note that the program was suspended but has recently restarted where USCIS has recently announced that they are mailing interview notices to petitioners with instructions with previously filed applications. Presently USCIS is not issuing new invitation letters but will provide updates and public announcements when the next round of invitation notices are issued.