CUBA · UNITED STATES · IMMIGRATION
Key Facts
- Power Index Cuba ranks 14th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 22.5 points (October 2026 edition).
- What is happening US courts ordered USCIS to end a hold on benefit applications from 39 countries, Cuba included, and return them to the normal queue.
- Why it matters Held applications include green cards, asylum claims and work permits, so Cuban families in Florida and elsewhere waited with no decision.
- The numbers The hold covered 39 countries and began with memos dated 2 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.
- Who is who USCIS is the Homeland Security agency that decides green cards, work permits and asylum; a federal judge in San Francisco ordered a restart on 24 August.
- What to watch The government appeal in the Rhode Island case, and whether USCIS decides held Cuban cases quickly once they return to the queue.
- What it means for you Check your case status online and keep every deadline, because the orders concern the hold and are not final.
Cubans whose US immigration cases were frozen are meant to be back in the normal queue. Federal courts ordered the restart, and the agency says it will follow.
US federal courts have ordered the immigration agency USCIS to restart benefit cases it froze for nationals of 39 countries, including Cuba. The agency says it will follow the orders while the litigation continues.
This matters to Cuban families and employers in places like Miami, because frozen files include green cards, asylum claims and work permits. No new USCIS announcement dated 3 November was found, so this report sets out where the restart stands today.
What the Hold Was
USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security agency that decides green cards, citizenship and work permits, issued two policy memos. They are PM-602-0192 of 2 December 2025 and PM-602-0194 of 1 January 2026.
The memos froze applications from nationals of 39 countries named in two presidential entry proclamations, plus the Palestinian Authority. Cuba is on the partial-restriction list of the proclamation of 16 December 2025.
A hold meant officers could not decide a case, so applicants waited. That included Cubans seeking a green card under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which lets many of them do so.
What the Courts Ordered
On Friday, 5 June, a federal court in Rhode Island vacated the hold policies in the Dorcas case. USCIS said it would comply pending litigation, and the government has appealed.
On Tuesday, 7 July, a federal court in San Jose, California, blocked the hold on work permits for named plaintiffs. Cuba is among the nationalities in that case.
On Monday, 24 August, a San Francisco federal judge certified a class of applicants from the 39 countries in Red Eagle Law. The preliminary injunction orders USCIS to decide covered applications in the normal course.
USCIS has said it will comply with that order. The order grants no benefit, and a decision on each case can still be a denial.
How This Differs From 2025
In March 2025 the Department of Homeland Security ended the humanitarian parole programme for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Parole is temporary permission to be in the United States, granted case by case.
That ended programme is a separate matter from the nationality-based hold that the 2026 orders now block. The hold covers benefit applications of any kind from the listed countries.
What It Means for You
If a green card, asylum or work permit request has stalled since December 2025, check its status with your receipt number. The orders concern the hold and not filing deadlines, so renewals must still be filed on time.
Employers in the United States who rely on Cuban workers with pending work permits may see decisions move again. Anyone whose case stays stuck should ask an accredited lawyer about next steps, such as a court action to compel a decision.
More on this route is in Cuban Green Card Approvals Fall to 139 and Some Cuban Migrants Can Reopen US Cases Free. Background is in the Cuba hub, Cuba and the United States and Cuba Politics Explained.
What Is Not Known
No USCIS statement dated 2 or 3 November was found, and no figure on held or decided Cuban cases was found. How quickly USCIS is working through the backlog is not known.
The government appeal in the Rhode Island case could change the picture, and the orders are preliminary rather than final. Whether any individual Cuban case has been decided since the orders is not known.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Cuban immigration cases still on hold in the United States?
Courts have ordered USCIS to end the hold and decide cases in the normal course. USCIS says it will comply while the litigation continues.
Which applications were held?
Benefit applications from nationals of 39 listed countries, including green cards, asylum claims and work permits. The hold started with memos of 2 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.
Does the court order guarantee approval?
The order only returns cases to the normal queue. USCIS can still deny an application.
What should Cubans with a held case do?
Check the case status with the receipt number and keep every filing deadline. Ask an accredited lawyer if the case stays stuck.
Sources: US District Court, Northern District of California, Hedayati v. Edlow, order of 7 July 2026; US District Court, Northern District of California, Red Eagle Law v. Edlow, order of 24 August 2026, and the USCIS notice on it (record of 28 August 2026); US District Court, District of Rhode Island, Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, order of 5 June 2026, and the USCIS notice (record of 12 June 2026); Federal Register, termination of parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, 90 FR 13611 (25 March 2025); Presidential Proclamations 10949 (4 June 2025) and 10998 (16 December 2025) (all accessed 3 November 2026).
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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