The U.S. Embassy in Havana announced this week that it would fully resume interviews for all immigrant visa categories in January 2023.

Key Points:

  • The U.S. Embassy in Havana plans to resume immigrant visa processing on Jan. 4, 2023. This includes processing for immediate relative, family preference, diversity visa and K fiancé(e) visa categories.
  • Immigrant visa applicants scheduled for January 2023 appointments in Havana will begin receiving appointment notices on or after Nov. 10, 2022.
  • The U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, will continue to process Cuban immigrant visa applicants scheduled for appointments through December 2022; immigrant visa applicants whose appointments were originally scheduled in Georgetown will complete processing in Georgetown.
  • The U.S. Embassy in Havana will process diversity visa cases for applicants living in Cuba beginning in January 2023; however, Havana will not be an option when diversity visa selectees pick an interview location. Selectees should choose Georgetown for their interview location, and their cases will automatically be reassigned to Havana, unless they were already scheduled at Georgetown.
  • In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Havana’s consular section will continue to provide essential American Citizens Services and limited emergency nonimmigrant visa processing.

Additional Information: More information is available on the U.S. Embassy in Havana’s website.

BAL Analysis: The U.S. Embassy in Havana’s upcoming resumption of full immigrant visa services for Cuban nationals is welcome news as these services have been suspended since 2017. This resumption is part of the broader expansion of the Embassy’s functions to provide safe, legal and orderly immigration options for Cuban nationals, the department said. BAL will continue to monitor these developments and will provide more information as it becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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