Passport Service in Cuba Reestablished
HAVANA TIMES — Starting today Cubans can once again apply for passports and identity cards as the system failure has been repaired, informed the Ministry of Interior. It was a week that the service was unavailable. The good news comes as many travelers prepare for trips during the upcoming summer season.
The following is the official note from the authorities:
PUBLIC NOTICE
As a result of work done by a multidisciplinary team of specialists of the Ministry of Interior, identity card and passport services were restored.
Starting early Thursday measures were taken to provide an efficient response to the logical increase in demand, with the resumption of work in our offices.
We reiterate our apologies for the inconveniences caused by the suspension.
ID Card Office and Immigration
Ministry of Interior
May 15, 2014
Depending on the visa requested, US visa costs around the world are standardized. Costs associated with medical and educational certificates are determined by the Castros. The extended time spent waiting for a visa interview in the USINT is a function of demand. There are a limited number of people who conduct these 45 minute to 1 hour interviews. Given the nearly 80,000 approved visa requests per year, it is reasonable to wait up to 18 months for an interview. The US has agreed to approve 20,000 visas for Cubans. In 2013, that number grew to more than 30,000 actually approved. The US receives the highest number of visa requests in the world. Cubans seek to migrate to the US by more than double their requests for any other country. Migration data is regularly available from both the US Dept. of Homeland Security, INS Dept. and Cuba’s ONE (Oficina Nacional de Estadistica e Informacion de Cuba).
There’s no passport needed for any Cuban who can get to dry land in the U.S..
Some questions that should be addressed and posted more frequently when Cuban emigration is discussed because it is pertinent to how and why people leave and have left Cuba .
What is the waiting time for the emigration process to be completed at the U.S. Interests Section after one gets his/her Cuban passport ?
How much does that process cost the Cubans who don’t receive much cash from their work. ?
How many months pay is the total ?
How many Cubans are accepted yearly by the U.S. ?
How many went to the U.S. yearly BEFORE the revolution ?
Does anyone have some reliably-sourced information on these questions ?