A Cuban American woman says her mother, a retired primary school teacher with more than five decades of experience in Cuba, was denied a family reunification visa following an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, leaving the family devastated and searching for answers.
Speaking with journalist Javier Díaz, the woman said the denial came as a shock, especially given her own status and political support in the United States. “I am an American citizen of this great country. I was one of the many people who voted for President Donald Trump, trusting him one hundred percent,” she said.
The daughter explained that she filed the petition in 2024 to reunite with her mother, who spent her career teaching first through fourth grade in Cuban public schools. “My mom was simply and plainly a primary school teacher, from first to fourth grade, the one who taught reading and writing. She was never a teacher for Camilitos, nor for pre-university, nor for university,” she said, emphasizing that her mother never held any political or military-linked teaching positions.
According to her account, the visa interview on November 19 was brief and ended abruptly. “They asked her who was sponsoring her, how long it had been since she retired, and if she belonged to any governmental organization or the Party. She said no, that she had never belonged to any of that. And right then they told her no.”
The woman, who has lived in the United States for nearly eight years, said she fully complied with all legal requirements. “I am stable, married for fifteen years, with an organized life. I have done everything legally, as the law requires.”
She also described the financial strain of the process. “When I filed the claim, I had to pay over a thousand dollars, and now they tell me that if I want to appeal, I need a waiver that costs between three thousand and three thousand five hundred dollars with a lawyer. Why, if my mom was not part of the Party and did nothing wrong?”
The woman questioned what she sees as unequal treatment. “There are people who worked with Fidel Castro, who were part of the Party, and they are allowed in. Why can’t my mom, who was just a teacher and taught so many people to read, come?”
She said her case reflects a broader pattern. “It’s very sad, because it happened to my mom, but also to many people: doctors, dentists, homemakers… They are all being denied. I speak for myself and for hundreds of people who are going through the same thing. I’m not losing a cousin or an uncle, I’m losing my mother.”
Her testimony comes as U.S. immigration policy toward Cuba shifts. The Department of Homeland Security recently ended the family reunification parole program for Cuba. Attorney Willy Allen told CiberCuba that while petitions from U.S. citizens for parents remain valid, “What disappears is the expedited pathway that allowed applicants to bypass years of waiting and enter with a parole while the process was ongoing.”
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