April 26, 1999

Clarification of Eligibility for Permanent Residence
Under the Cuban Adjustment Act

WASHINGTON - In a memorandum to all INS officers last week, Commissioner Doris Meissner clarified that Cubans - along with their spouses and children - who arrive at other than designated ports of entry into the United States are eligible for parole, as well as eventual adjustment of status to that of permanent resident, under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA). A designated port of entry includes airports, seaports and land ports located at the border.

The memorandum is not a change in INS policy. It is a clarification that the policy applies to Cubans arriving at other than ports of entry. There has been a question about their eligibility for parole and for permanent residence under the CAA because of the changes in the Immigration Act of 1996.

"This policy clarification, effective immediately, helps define in specific terms those Cubans who are eligible for parole and adjustment of status under the Cuban Adjustment Act, regardless of how they arrived in the United States," stated INS Commissioner Doris Meissner.

Under the CAA, a Cuban national who is paroled may, one year after the grant of parole, apply for permanent residence in the United States. The fact that a Cuban national arrived in the United States at a place other than a designated port of entry will not make him or her ineligible for permanent residence under CAA (unless the individual is ineligible on other grounds such as having a criminal record).

This action removes a significant bar to permanent residence status, if the Cubans are otherwise eligible for adjustment under the CAA. A Cuban national who is in the United States without having been admitted or paroled by INS must first surrender into INS custody, and receive a grant of parole, and wait one year before applying for permanent residence under the CAA. With the grant of parole, the Cuban national will be eligible to apply for employment authorization.

- INS -

Last Modified 4/28/99