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Cuba/United States: Update to USA11394 of 10 August 1992 on the current status of Cuban "Marielitos" who entered the United States in 1980; information on any requirement and/or privilege/ or special status attached to "Marielitos" travelling outside the USA and seeking to re-enter the USA; information on "Marielitos" who were paroled in 1980 and have habitually resided in the USA but have not applied for permanent resident status under the Amnesty of 1986

"Marielitos" were classified as special entrants under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which allowed paroled entrants to become immigrants to the United States one year and one day after their entry date, upon application and acceptance (Migration Dialogue 27 Apr. 1998). Permanent residents of the United States of Cuban origin (Marielitos or others) are currently limited to one visit to Cuba per year (Inter-University Committee on International Migration Jan. 2001; Embassy of the U.S.A. 11 Feb. 2002). However, this restriction often proves difficult to enforce, as permanent residents of Cuban origin are able to travel to Cuba through a third country (ibid.).

According to an immigration officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service at the American Embassy in Ottawa, paroled "Marielitos" who have never applied for permanent resident status would automatically lose their special entrant status upon departure from the United States, and would not be guaranteed re-entry (ibid.). However, the representative stated that "Marielitos" have been in the United States for such a long period of time (over 20 years) that a re-paroling process and the authorization to re-apply for permanent resident status would likely be granted, as long as the applicant had not participated in any criminal activity since his or her initial entry (ibid.). The determination would be made on a case by case basis and there is no particular law that applies specifically to the "Marielitos" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa. 11 February 2002. Telephone interview with immigration officer.

Inter-University Committee on International Migration. January 2001. Susan Eckstein and Lorena Barberia. The Mellon Report: Cuban-American Cuba Visits: Public Policy, Private Practices. <http://web.mit.edu/cis/www/migration/eckbar-paper.html> [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

Migration Dialogue. 27 April 1998. Philip Martin and Michael Teitelbaum. Integration Issues and Immigration Policy: Focus on Southern Florida. <http://migration.ucdavis.edu/ols/miami.html> [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

Social Science Quarterly

Internet sites including:

Cuban-American Foundation

U.S. Department of State