Havana - USCIS Havana Field Office

Purpose:

The CFRP program was established in 2007 to provide a safe, orderly pathway to the United States for certain Cuban beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant petitions. The program allows certain eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who receive an invitation letter to apply for parole for their family members in Cuba. If USCIS approves these family members for parole, they may come to the United States before their immigrant visa priority dates become current.

USCIS continues to process Form I-131 CFRP applications filed before Aug. 11, 2023. For more information about the processing of pending Form I-131 CFRP cases, visit our CFRP Page. For more information on modernized Family Reunification Parole Process for Cuba, visit our Family Reunification Parole Processes Page.

Special Instructions:

USCIS resumed processing for the CFRP program in August 2022. Updated information and guidance regarding this program can be found on the CFRP webpage.

Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Form and Fee Information

Purpose:

Individuals admitted to the United States as a principal refugee or granted status in the United States as a principal asylee within the past 2 years may file a Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, for qualifying relatives.

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

Principal refugees and asylees may file this petition in the United States for their qualifying relatives. Please see the Form I-730 webpage for eligibility requirements and filing instructions. If you file a Form I-730 petition with USCIS for a beneficiary who resides in Cuba, we will transfer the petition to the USCIS Havana International Field Office for further processing. After the USCIS Havana International Field Office receives the Form I-730, we will contact the petitioning relative and any representative of record to begin processing and gather additional information and documents.

Please Note: It is important to notify our office if the beneficiary’s contact information changes from what is on their Form I-730 petition. You should inform us of any such changes by submitting the change by email to the USCIS field office where we transferred your petition.

Purpose:

Lawful permanent residents may collect a reentry permit that they applied for by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, to return to the United States from travel outside the United States in certain circumstances

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

This office does not adjudicate re-entry permits. This office only provides service if :

• You applied for a reentry permit by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, before departing the United States:
• USCIS approved your application; and
• You asked us to send your reentry permit to the U.S. Embassy in U.S. Embassy/USCIS in Havana.

IUSCIS Havana will use the contact information you provided on the Form I-131 to contact you when your reentry permit is ready for collection. If you believe your permit should be at USCIS Havana and you have not heard from us, you may send us an inquiry.

Purpose:

Biometrics required for certain applications and petitions submitted to USCIS may be submitted at an international USCIS office if the person who is required to submit the biometrics is not inside the United States with access to a USCIS Application Support Center.

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

If USCIS has requested biometrics (such as fingerprints, a photograph, or signature) to adjudicate the forms listed below, individuals residing in Cuba generally may request biometrics submission at our office:

• Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative; and
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records (including refugee travel document, or RTD, if the applicant left the United States without an RTD and has received permission from USCIS to file Form I-131 from outside the United States. Otherwise, it is at the field office director’s discretion, as we explain in the section For All Other Forms Not Listed Above).
• Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant;
• Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative—We do not always require residency;
• Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition—We do not always require residency;
• Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition;
• Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt from Convention Country—We do not always require residency;
• Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status**;
• Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status**;
• Form N-400, Application for Naturalization—for active duty military service members stationed abroad and their dependents, and for certain applicants who are eligible for naturalization under section 319(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

For All Other Forms Not Listed Above:

USCIS usually schedules biometrics collection at an Application Support Center (ASC) in the United States based on the applicant’s or petitioner’s address of record.

In rare circumstances, international field office directors may use their discretion to collect biometrics that we initially scheduled for collection in the United States. When deciding whether to collect biometrics at an international field office, field office directors will consider resource constraints and appropriate supporting evidence the applicant provides, as well as the following factors:

• An appointment notice showing that we scheduled biometrics collection at a domestic USCIS office;
• Evidence of extenuating circumstances requiring the individual to depart the United States before we collected their biometrics as indicated in the appointment notice. For example, these circumstances might include, but are not limited to, the need to assist a critically ill family member, an unexpected immediate job transfer, or other urgent need; and
• Evidence that the applicant requested an expedited or rescheduled appointment at an ASC before leaving the United States, or an explanation of why they failed to request an expedited or rescheduled appointment.
• For those residing abroad: Evidence of the compelling circumstances or hardship that would prevent the applicant or petitioner from traveling back to the United States for an ASC appointment. Generally, we do not consider the expense of traveling back to the United States to be a hardship in itself.

Because of the small number of staff in our international offices, you may experience a delay in appointment availability for biometrics collection.

You can contact USCIS Havana to determine whether you are eligible to have your biometrics captured at this office or for further information.

*Note: The available biometric services noted above only apply if you live in a country with a USCIS office.

Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, Form and Fee Information

Purpose:

If you are inadmissible to the United States and are otherwise approved to immigrate to the United States, you must file this form to seek a waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility.

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

Except as we explain below, you must file Form I-601 with the USCIS Lockbox in the United States by mail. If you believe you have extraordinary circumstances that require expedited processing, you may submit a written request for expedited processing along with your application when you file with the Lockbox. You can find further instructions on requesting expedited processing domestically on the How to Make an Expedite Request webpage.

To file with USCIS Havana in limited circumstances:

You must request an exception to Lockbox filing via email.

We may grant an exception to Lockbox filing and permission to file Form I-601 if:

• The applicant resides in Cuba;
• There are exceptional and compelling humanitarian circumstances that require immediate filing and adjudication; and
• Expedited processing would not address the urgency of the circumstances.

For information about the exceptions to Lockbox filing and permission to file Form I-601 at an international office, including examples of possible qualifying circumstances, please see the USCIS policy memorandum (PDF, 78.82 KB) on exceptions for international filing.

Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal, Form and Fee Information

Purpose:

If you have been deported or removed, or unlawfully returned to the United States without admission after a previous removal or unlawful presence, you may file this form to obtain consent to reapply for admission to the United States.

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

File with the USCIS office in the United States indicated in the Form I-212 instructions.

If you need to file both Form I-212 and Form I-601, file them together at the Lockbox address specified in the Form I-601 instructions.

If USCIS Havana decides that exceptional and compelling humanitarian circumstances warrant filing your Form I-601 with USCIS Havana, you can also file Form I-212 with Form I-601.

If you file Form I-601 and Form I-212 together, be sure to bring the correct filing fee for each separate form.

Please see the information below to file for other immigration benefits this office does not provide.