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Family Visit


jrmama496
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Has anyone cruised to Havana under the "Family Visit" category? We will be going in October and the new People to People rules may be in place by that time. Since we do have a family member in Cuba, we could travel under that category and not have to follow the new regulations.

 

Has anyone done this? And if so, did you come under any additional scrutiny by immigration either in Cuba or coming back into the US? Were you asked to present any proof of your family ties?

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According to OFAC : A close relative is defined as any individual related to a person “by blood,marriage, or adoption who is no more than three generations removed from that person or from acommon ancestor with that person.” Do you and your Cuban relative fit that?

Do you need a Cuban passport? (Depends on when your family left Cuba.) If so, the process takes quite a while. (6 months when my friend applied for a new one last year)

 

I don't think you can assume that nothing will change in the other 11 OFAC categories (besides P2P) with the new guidelines. It may be that it reverts to specific licenses for them, no longer general licenses..

(It also used to be that there was a limit on the amount of money you as family could take into Cuba. People were searched before boarding (so my friend tells me) and any amount over was confiscated. Who knows if that will revert under the new guidelines.)

 

The cruise lines seem that they will be authorized to be the sponsoring agency of a P2P group tour. They may not be willing or able to simply provide transportation to/from Cuba the same way the airlines may be able to, i.e. for any category.

How could the cruise line guarantee the US government that you were visiting relatives on a full time schedule if you are not under the direct supervision of a cruise line staff member?

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According to OFAC : A close relative is defined as any individual related to a person “by blood,marriage, or adoption who is no more than three generations removed from that person or from acommon ancestor with that person.” Do you and your Cuban relative fit that?

Do you need a Cuban passport? (Depends on when your family left Cuba.) If so, the process takes quite a while. (6 months when my friend applied for a new one last year)

 

I don't think you can assume that nothing will change in the other 11 OFAC categories (besides P2P) with the new guidelines. It may be that it reverts to specific licenses for them, no longer general licenses..

(It also used to be that there was a limit on the amount of money you as family could take into Cuba. People were searched before boarding (so my friend tells me) and any amount over was confiscated. Who knows if that will revert under the new guidelines.)

 

The cruise lines seem that they will be authorized to be the sponsoring agency of a P2P group tour. They may not be willing or able to simply provide transportation to/from Cuba the same way the airlines may be able to, i.e. for any category.

How could the cruise line guarantee the US government that you were visiting relatives on a full time schedule if you are not under the direct supervision of a cruise line staff member?

 

Apparently there is a new FAQ that suggests otherwise.

 

When President Donald Trump announced his new policy for the island in Miami on June 16, OFAC said that the only category of authorized travel by U.S. travelers that would be affected were individual people-to-people trips. Trump said such trips would be prohibited because travelers have used that category to disguise trips that are purely for tourism, which the U.S. prohibits.

But in its new “Frequently Asked Questions” publication, OFAC says: “The new policy will also impact certain categories of educational travel as well as travel under support for the Cuban people.” It didn’t elaborate.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article163602943.html
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