Legal visit to Cuba, how to prove in N400 application?

[Alanaloria 0]

My husband and I traveled to Cuba LEGALLY last year with our Dance group. We had a flight out of Miami, filled out some paperwork for the OFAC, and a travel agency took care of all of this for us. During his citizenship interview, they demanded to see documentation proving this trip was legal, but I don't know what I can send them. I only have the forms I filled out for the travel agency, who took care of the rest. I have tried contacting them and am waiting for a response. Anyone else have any ideas? Do I need a lawyer?

[almost_umrican 54]

did you ever got anything in writing from USCIS ? i hope they are not signalling towards human trafficking/income to tax paid or whatever or it could be as simple as showing them entry stamps when you guys got back. Travel agencies can be fishy too.i would suggest you to start accumulating proofs boarding passes, itineraries, entry, arrival stamps or any visas etc. Also, i am assuming this is going to be a very minor thing.good luck to you and keep us in loop.

[tamcloud 92]

If your dance company went to perform/teach, you should have had work visas, which might be sufficient; at the very least, there should have been a contract between your company and the sponsoring organization. Contact the artistic director, or person in your company that arranged the contract, or the travel agency and see if they can provide supportive documentation for you. If no visas were filed, you may have difficulties. I'm a former member of an international touring company and we needed visas whenever we performed outside of the country, even for the jobs in Canada. What forms did you provide the travel agency? Do you have copies of the paperwork done for OFAC?

Edited December 1, 2015 by tamcloud

[Alanaloria 0]

Thanks!

He just has his interview for citizenship and everything went well except for this. They said they would send us an official letter asking for more information, so if we can send them what they need it will be approved.

They know he travelled to Cuba because of the stamps in his passport. The issue is that it is illegal to travel to Cuba, except under special exceptions from the OFAC (which we had, but I don't know how to prove that).

[tamcloud 92]

Thanks!

He just has his interview for citizenship and everything went well except for this. They said they would send us an official letter asking for more information, so if we can send them what they need it will be approved.

They know he travelled to Cuba because of the stamps in his passport. The issue is that it is illegal to travel to Cuba, except under special exceptions from the OFAC (which we had, but I don't know how to prove that).

Sorry, I edited my post as you were replying. Do you have copies of the paperwork to/from OFAC?

[Alanaloria 0]

I am in contact with the travel agency as well as the director of our dance company. I know that they did all the paperwork for us to get the license, but we don't have any evidence of this ourselves. I don't think it was a work visa because we were not working/teaching, we were training with a Cuban dance company. They just sent me a copy of some papers from the OFAC which I haven't seen before, so I hope that will solve most of the problem. I also have a letter from the Director stating that we are members of the Dance Company. I'm trying to think of what other documentation I could collect.

[newacct 688]

They are talking about the embargo. There is a US embargo on Cuba, and US persons are not allowed to spend money in Cuba (effectively, this means can't visit Cuba) unless they fall into one of a dozen categories of exceptions and have a license for that. Until last December, you needed to apply for a specific license before going. Since last December, the US government issued "general licenses" so you don't need to apply for one specifically; you just go if you fall into one of the categories. They want evidence that this was complied with.

[Alanaloria 0]

Exactly. We went before the general licenses were available, and our dance company handled the specific license we needed, but now I don't know how to prove that we had the license. They don't give you a visa in your passport or a special form or anything...

[Ms Hogan 296]

OK but the person being interviewed isn't American. So why are THEY not allowed to travel to Cuba? That's the part I'm confused about. Other countries could travel to Cuba without concern. I would understand them questioning YOU but your spouse was not a U.S. citizen at the time. That seems strange to me. i don't completely understand.

[kovacs 20]

OFAC claims dominion over permanent residents, as well. If someone does not agree, I imagine they can surrender their green card.

The Cuban Assets Control Regulations are enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and affect all U.S. citizens and permanent residents wherever they are located, all people and organizations physically located in the United States, and all branches and subsidiaries of U.S. organizations throughout the world. The regulations require that persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction be licensed in order to engage in any travel-related transactions pursuant to travel to, from, and within Cuba, or that the transactions in question be exempt from licensing requirements. Transactions related to travel for tourist activities are not licensable. This restriction includes travel to Cuba for tourist activites from or through a third country, such as Mexico or Canada. U.S. law enforcement authorities enforce these regulations at U.S. airports and pre-clearance facilities in third countries. Travelers who fail to comply with Department of the Treasury regulations may face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States.

OK but the person being interviewed isn't American. So why are THEY not allowed to travel to Cuba? That's the part I'm confused about. Other countries could travel to Cuba without concern. I would understand them questioning YOU but your spouse was not a U.S. citizen at the time. That seems strange to me. i don't completely understand.