US to resume immigrant visa processing at embassy in Havana
MIAMI - The United States will once again allow Cubans to apply for immigrant visas at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
The U.S. suspended services in 2017 after diplomats at the embassy became sick with what was termed 'Havana syndrome'. Cuba has denied it targeted embassy personnel and Havana syndrome has been reported in several parts of the world since then.
Over the past five years, Cubans who wanted to enter the U.S. had to apply for visas through third countries. Critics said the process was too costly and took too much time.
State Department officials said visa processing in Havana will begin early next year.
The move comes amid the biggest flight of Cubans from the island in decades. Nearly 221,000 Cubans were encountered by migration enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022. That was a 471% increase from the year before, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
U.S. Border Patrol said there's been nearly a 300 percent increase in migrants arriving in Florida by boat.
They said in October there were 54 landings, involving 850 migrants, compared to only 14 landings in October 2021.
Over the last few months, Border Patrol said they've seen a rise in the migrants, primarily from Haiti and Cuba.
Cubans intercepted on their way to Florida have said they were fleeing worsening economic and political conditions.