CUBA · UNITED STATES · IMMIGRATION
Key Facts
- —The country Cuba, the island 90 miles (145 km) south of Key West, has its own route to a US green card under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act.
- —Why it matters Among the few Cuban cases decided in April to June 2026, most ended in denial, and the pile of undecided cases has more than doubled in two years.
- —Why now The quarterly immigration figures for April to June 2026 drew wide coverage from Saturday 17 October and Monday 19 October 2026.
- —What happened US immigration authorities approved 139 Cuban Adjustment Act cases and denied 447 between April and June 2026, an approval share of 23.7% of decided cases.
- —The numbers Approvals were 49,965 in the same quarter of 2024, and 342,360 Cuban Adjustment cases were still pending at the end of June 2026.
- —What it means for you Cubans with open cases should track their status and meet every deadline, while US readers see one of the oldest legal immigration routes narrow sharply.
- —Still open Whether decisions pick up after a federal court order of Monday 24 August 2026, and what caused the drop, which the figures alone do not show.
- —Power Index Cuba ranks 14th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 22.5 points (October 2026 edition).
Cuban green card approvals under the Cuban Adjustment Act fell to just 139 between April and June 2026, according to quarterly figures from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that Cuban and Latin American outlets reported from Saturday 17 October 2026. In the same quarter the agency denied 447 cases, so fewer than one in four decided cases, 23.7%, ended in approval.
For US readers this is a measure of how the federal immigration system now treats one of the oldest legal paths to permanent residence, which runs through the same agency that handles family and employment green cards. It also matters to the many Cuban families in the United States whose open applications can carry work permits, and who now wait far longer for an answer.
We have followed this route in recent weeks, including the Cuban I-220A lawsuit in Miami and the Dignity Act proposal in Congress. The new numbers show how those debates look in the agency’s own caseload.
What the Quarterly Numbers Show
USCIS decided 586 Cuban Adjustment cases between April and June 2026, approving 139 and denying 447. That is 23.7% approved and 76.3% denied, or about 3.2 denials for every approval.
In January to March 2026 the agency decided only 95 of these cases, approving 50 and denying 45, an approval share of 52.6%. The share therefore fell by about 29 points in one quarter, while the number of decisions rose more than sixfold.
An approval share is not a personal chance of success. CiberCuba stresses that it describes only the cases decided in the quarter and cannot predict how the pending cases will end.
How Cuban Green Card Approvals Fell Since 2024
In April to June 2024 USCIS approved 49,965 Cuban Adjustment cases and denied 662, out of 50,627 decisions. A year later, in April to June 2025, it approved 10,432 and denied 757, out of 11,189 decisions.
Against the 2024 quarter, the 2026 approvals are down about 99.7%, and against the 2025 quarter about 98.7%, by our arithmetic from the published counts. The independent Cuban outlet 14ymedio put the approval share of decided cases at 98.7% in 2024 and 93.2% in 2025, against 23.7% in 2026.
Denials did not rise in absolute terms, since the counts were 662, 757 and 447 in the three quarters. What changed is that decisions of every kind dried up, so denials now make up most of a very small total.
The drop is specific to this route, according to 14ymedio’s reading of the same quarterly statistics. The approval share for family-based cases slipped from 86% to 81.7% between January to March and April to June 2026, and for employment-based cases from 93.9% to 93%.
A Backlog Above 342,000 Cases
At the end of June 2026, 342,360 Cuban Adjustment cases were pending, against 145,707 in June 2024 and 277,836 in June 2025, 14ymedio reported. That is an increase of about 135% over two years by our arithmetic.
New filings fell sharply over the same period, to 6,279 in April to June 2026 from 72,541 a year earlier, a drop of about 91%. The pile still grew because so few cases were decided.
CiberCuba and americateve cite a median processing time of about 16.3 months in the quarterly report, and UnoTV describes the typical time as moving from under five months to more than 16. A separate USCIS statistic cited in early October put the median for fiscal 2026 through July at 11.8 months, against 3.3 months in 2023, and it covers a different period.
Policy and Court Background
Several moves by the Trump administration and the courts overlap with this period, but the coverage cautions that the figures alone do not prove a cause. UnoTV says USCIS memos of 2 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 together put applications from people from 39 countries on hold, and CiberCuba and 14ymedio list Cuba among them.
14ymedio reports that a federal judge in Rhode Island struck down the suspension on Friday 5 June 2026, in the last month of the quarter. It says the pause helps explain the drop, though the statistics cannot measure its separate effect.
A federal court in the Northern District of California blocked both memos on Monday 24 August 2026 and ordered USCIS to resume normal decisions, UnoTV reported, citing a USCIS alert. USCIS said it strongly disagrees with the ruling but will comply while review is possible, and the August order came after the April to June quarter, so it is not in these numbers.
CiberCuba also points to a USCIS memo of Thursday 21 May 2026 that called adjustment of status a discretionary benefit and said people temporarily in the United States should generally use consular processing abroad. The outlet adds that the quarterly data cannot show that this memo caused the drop.
A Cato Institute study by David Bier, published on 21 April 2026, put the fall in Cuban green card approvals at 99.8% and the rise in arrests of Cubans by immigration agents at 463%, a figure we covered in our reporting on ICE arrests of Cubans. 14ymedio adds that approvals were about 10,000 a month in October 2024 and only 15 in January 2026.
How the Cuban Adjustment Act Works
The 1966 law lets certain Cuban-born people and Cuban citizens apply for permanent residence after at least one year of physical presence in the United States, if they were inspected and admitted or paroled. Applicants file Form I-485, and an open application can carry a work permit valid for up to five years, according to UnoTV citing the official USCIS page.
The law remains in force, so the fall in approvals is not a repeal. CiberCuba notes that an I-220A release order is not automatically the parole the law requires and that a pending asylum claim does not by itself meet the requirements, so those cases need individual review.
What It Means for You
Cubans with a pending Form I-485 can check their case on the USCIS Case Status Online tool with the receipt number and keep their address current. UnoTV, citing the USCIS policy manual, says the maximum time to answer a request for evidence is 12 weeks and cannot be extended, and the time to answer a notice of intent to deny is 30 days.
UnoTV adds that a denial of adjustment generally cannot be appealed, but a person can ask USCIS to reopen or reconsider with Form I-290B, usually within 30 days, or 33 if the decision came by mail. The request can also be renewed before an immigration judge if the person faces deportation proceedings, and a lawyer or accredited representative matters because the deadlines are short.
For readers following Cuba from the United States, our pillars on how Cuba is governed and Cuba’s role in Latin America give the wider context. Travelers planning a trip can read our Havana city guide.
What Is Not Known
USCIS’s own statistics page could not be opened from our servers, so the figures rest on 14ymedio, UnoTV and CiberCuba, which agree on every number they share. Details such as the 2025 totals, the family and employment shares and the monthly counts for October 2024 and January 2026 come from 14ymedio alone.
The statistics do not show how many denials involved I-220A release orders, parole questions or pending asylum claims. They also do not establish why approvals fell, since the coverage itself warns against tying the drop to any single memo.
It is not known whether decisions will pick up after the August court order, because the July to September figures are not yet published. Those figures will show whether the April to June quarter was a low point or a new normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Cuban Adjustment Act cases did USCIS approve between April and June 2026?
USCIS approved 139 cases and denied 447 out of 586 decisions. That is an approval share of 23.7% of decided cases.
Does 23.7% mean only a quarter of Cubans will get a green card?
No, because the share describes only the cases decided in that quarter. It cannot predict the outcome of the 342,360 cases still pending.
Is the Cuban Adjustment Act still in force?
Yes, the 1966 law remains in force and still allows eligible Cubans to apply. The fall in approvals is not a repeal of the law.
Why did Cuban green card approvals fall so far?
The sources do not establish a cause, and they note that several policy moves and court orders overlap with the period. The count of decisions fell from 50,627 in April to June 2024 to 586 in April to June 2026.
What should Cubans with a pending case do?
They should check their case status online, keep their address current and answer any request for evidence within 12 weeks. A lawyer or accredited representative can advise on denials, which usually cannot be appealed but can be reopened within about 30 days.
Sources: 14ymedio, 17 October 2026; UnoTV, 19 October 2026; CiberCuba, 19 October 2026; americateve, 20 October 2026; USCIS immigration and citizenship data.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief