Fact Sheet: The Cuban Adjustment Act As released by the Office of Cuban Affairs, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Department of State, March 16, 2000

Public Law 89-732
The Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), Public Law 89-732, was enacted on November 2, 1966. The law applies to any native or citizen of Cuba who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States after January 1, 1959 and has been physically present for at least one year; and is admissible to the United States for Permanent Residence.

Legal Migration to the United States
Cubans in Cuba can legally migrate to the U.S. through various migration programs that include immigrant visa issuance, refugee admission, the diversity lottery, and the Special Cuban Migration Program (SCMP), otherwise known as the Cuban lottery.

Immigrant visas are issued to the parents, spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens as soon as the immigrant visa petition is approved by INS.

Immigrant visas are also available to a range of persons who can qualify for family or employment-based visas under the preference system that controls numerically limited immigration to the United States.

The preference system allows US citizens to bring their siblings and their adult married children to the United States. Lawful permanent residents of the United States can petition for petition for their spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children). The waiting period for preference visas varies by category.

Those who have been persecuted in Cuba, or who fear persecution (on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion), may apply for U.S. resettlement through our in country refugee processing unit at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

The diversity visa program is also available in Cuba. There are 55,000 visas available annually to eligible applicants from around the world. For the three years that we have statistics, the success rate for Cuban applicants is quite high. In 1996 approximately 67% of those registered were issued visas, in 1997 the success rate was 69% and in 1998 a total of 73% of Cuban applicants who applied for the diversity visa program were issued visas.

The Special Cuban Migration Program, or "Cuban lottery," is open to all adult Cubans between the ages of 18 and 55 years of age who are resident in Cuba regardless of whether they qualify for our immigrant visa or refugee programs. The lottery provides an avenue of legal migration to a diverse group of Cubans, including those who might not have close relatives in the United States. The last registration period was held from June 15- July 15, 1998. The next registration period has not yet been determined but we anticipate that it will take place in 2001.

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