AAAS - The Right to Travel: Assistance with Visa and License Requests

Programs: Science and Policy

http://shr.aaas.org//rtt/assistance.htm

AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

The Right to Travel

Assistance with Visa and License Requests

US Citizens and Residents Traveling to Cuba
Cuban Citizens Traveling to US
Contact Information

PLEASE NOTE: Information contained on this website is current as of July 2002. Travel regulations may have changed. Readers are encouraged to contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control directly for the most current regulations.

Main | About the Clearinghouse | US and Cuba Travel Policies | News | Frequently Asked Questions

US Citizens and Residents Traveling to Cuba

How to travel under a General License

As noted in the US and Cuba Travel Policies section of the Clearinghouse, almost all cases of professional scientists and researchers traveling to Cuba will fall under the category of travel called the "General License." A General License could be thought of as a general authorization that allows individuals who meet certain criteria eligible to travel to Cuba and make travel-related expenditures. If you are full time professional scientist who is traveling to Cuba to do full time research or to attend a conference, and there is substantial likelihood that your work will be publicly disseminated, you are eligible to travel under a General License and your travel is legal.

Under a General License, you will not need to contact OFAC prior to your trip. You will not need to receive any documents or written authorization from OFAC. Travel to Cuba under a General License only requires a passport and a visa. When making travel arrangements through an OFAC licensed Travel Service Provider, such as Marazul Tours, you will not need to provide the agent with any specific information. You will simply need to affirm that you qualify to travel under a General License.

How to apply for a license to organize a meeting in Cuba

If your organization is interested in organizing a scientific or academic meeting in Cuba, you will need to apply for a Specific License. In your letter of application, you should include the purpose of the meeting, as well as the estimated cost of any expenses related to organizing the meeting (conference facilities; translation; local transportation). In addition to requesting permission to engage in such expenses, you may also request that all attendees that have paid registration to the meeting or have confirmed participation be allowed to travel to Cuba.

How an Academic Institution or Scientific Society can apply for a Specific License

OFAC will issue long-term Specific Licenses to US academic institutions and scientific societies. Each request will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The license will authorize the institution's students and employees to travel to Cuba and spend money on the island for transactions relating to educational activities.

All institutions or societies that are interested in traveling to Cuba are encouraged to apply for a Specific License. One reason is that the organization will have written confirmation from OFAC that all travel related expenditures are legal. Another advantage of an organization applying for a Specific License is that the application can be written so that all employees of the organization will be covered under the license to engage in travel related expenditures.

To apply for this Specific License, you should write a letter to the OFAC with the following information:

1. A statement requesting a Specific License for the academic institution or scientific society that would authorize students and employees (whichever applies) to engage in travel-related transactions. You will not need to include the names of individual prospective travelers.

2. A basic description about the organization. Academic Institutions should include their accreditation by national or regional associations.

3. Contact information including the name and phone number for a person who will serve as a main contact in case OFAC has questions about the application.

When individual students or staff travel to Cuba, each individual should carry a letter from the organization (on official letterhead) that states the following information:

1. the institution's license number and;

2. a statement that the student is enrolled at the institution or that the individual is an employee of the organization.

Click here to see a sample letter of application to obtain a Specific License for your institution.

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Centro Gallego

AAAS Granted 2-Year License

On August 21st 2000, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted AAAS a 2-year group license for multiple visits to Cuba. The license covers all participants in our US-Cuba exchange programs who fall in the following categories:

Full-time employees of AAAS
Members of the AAAS Board of Directors
Officers and directors of foundations who fund AAAS programs in Cuba
Collaborators from partner institutions that participate in our exchanges

How Students at an Unlicensed Institution Can Apply for a Specific License

If your educational institution does not have a license, a student may still apply for a Specific License. The license will allow undergraduate and graduate students to engage in travel-related transactions for three types of activities:

Participation in a structured educational program by an undergraduate or graduate student, for example a study abroad program.
Noncommercial academic research that will be used to qualify for a degree and will be accepted for credit.
Participation in a formal course of study at a Cuban academic institution.

To apply for this Specific License, you should write a letter to the OFAC with the following information:

1. A description of the research: In general, OFAC prefers to grant licenses to individuals conducting research that is of a noncommercial nature, is specifically related to Cuba and will be used to qualify the individual as a professional (e.g. graduate school) or used toward obtaining a degree (e.g. undergraduate degree).

2. Information about your current academic status (e.g., Junior, Senior, Graduate Student), what degree you are working toward and information about how the research in Cuba is related to fulfilling the degree requirement.

3. Proof of your current enrollment at a College or a University: You may use a photocopy of your current Student ID to satisfy this requirement.

4. The proposed dates of travel to and from Cuba.

5. Biographical and Contact Information: Your letter should include the name, address and telephone number of each traveler. You should also identify one individual as the contact person that OFAC can call if there are questions about the license application.

Students and faculty should encourage their academic institution to apply for an institutional Specific License.

Where to mail your license application

License requests should be addressed to:

Steven Pinter Chief of Licensing
Office of Foreign Assets Control
US Department of the Treasury
2nd Floor Annex
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC, 20220

How to Apply for a Visa to Travel to Cuba

To apply for a travel visa to Cuba, you will need to contact the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, DC. You may write directly to the Interest Section. The letter must contain information about the trip including the dates of travel and basic information of the propose of the trip such as the Cuban institution that will be visited, the type of research that will be conducted or the topic of the conference/meeting/seminar that will be attended. You will also need to enclose a photocopy of the first two pages of your passport.

You should contact the Interest Section at least two months in advance of your trip. Your visa application will be expedited if you have already made contact with a Cuban partner/hosting institution. If you have not made contact with a Cuban institution, but you would like to travel to Cuba to conduct research, the Interest Section can help you identify a hosting institution to contact directly, but understand that your application may take longer to process.

Mail application to:

Ms. Olga Fernandez Rios
First Secretary
Cuban Interest Section
2630 16th St, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 202-797-8519
Fax: 202 797-8521
E-mail: olgaferios@yahoo.com

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Cuban Citizens Traveling to US

Letter of Invitation

To invite a Cuban scientist to the United States, the scientist should receive an official letter of invitation from the sponsoring US institution. The letter could be addressed to the scientist directly or to the head of the scientist's department. If you are in contact with a specific scientist, the best thing would be to ask that individual where the letter should go. If you are interested in having a specific scientist come to the US that you are not in contact with, the consensus on the best way to handle the invitation letter is to send the letter to the individual with an offer to also write to the individual's supervisor.

When writing the letter, you should be aware that it is going to be read by a diverse audience including Cuban officials and US Consular officials who will each be looking for different elements to appear in the letter.

The letter should be brief; you can say everything you need in three sentences. The first should be a statement of invitation to the scientist with the proposed travel dates. A useful phrase is to invite the Cuban scientist to "consult" on your particular project. The second sentence should briefly outline what is expected, what obligation the Cuban scientist will be expected to fulfill. Cubans applying for visas are going to encounter a very common presumption at the US Interest Section that their application for a visa is a pretext for immigration to the US This is a hurdle that all citizens from poorer/underdeveloped nations face when applying for a visa to visit the US By outlining an obligation that the Cuban is being asked to fulfill, you are directly addressing this presumption. The third sentence should be a statement that all costs of travel for the Cuban scientist will be covered by the sponsoring US Institution

Obtaining a Visa from the State Department to Enter the US

The Cuban scientist will initiate the visa process by contacting the US Interest Section in Havana.

The visa process can take as little as 14 calendar days, but usually requires more time. Applications for Cubans who work at the ministerial level will take a month. The State Department may approve the visa very close to or on the day that travel is planned, which makes it impossible for the Cuban to actually use the visa as they may have missed the scheduled flight, or was waiting to make travel arrangements until the visa was approved.

Each visa application is determined on a case by case basis. There are several checks to determine if the person is eligible for a visa. The visa may be valid for a single entry or multiple entries. Once an individual receives the visa, it is valid for entry into the US for one year.

Certain Cuban officials can expect their visa application to be denied. The US State Department will consider Cubans serving in the highest rank of the institution to have an affiliation with the Communist Party. Their visa application is very likely to be denied.

It can be very costly for Cubans to apply for a visa to enter the US In addition to paying a $50 fee to the Cuban government to obtain a passport, Cuban citizens must also pay the application fee to the US government to obtain the visa. The total application fee is $71 (the application fee is $45 plus a $26 processing charge). US citizens are licensed to send money to help defray these costs. A general license allows a an authorized remittance forwarding service for a small fee.

Obtaining an Exit Permit from the Cuban Government

Aside from a visa, Cubans must also obtain an exit permit (permiso de salir) issued from the Cuban government. Your Cuban partner will be familiar with the specific procedures of his or her institution for obtaining the exit permit. The procedure can take time as several different departments and governmental agencies may need to sign off on the permit. Whenever possible, the letter of invitation should be sent at least two months in advance of the proposed travel dates so that enough time is allowed for any possible delays in the approval process of the exit permit.

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Contact Information

Office of Foreign Assets Control: License requests should be addressed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20220, Phone: 202-622-2480; Fax: 202-622-1657. Factsheets are located online at http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/

Department of State, Office of Cuban Affairs: (202) 647-9273, e-mail: cubanaffairs@state.gov

US Interests Section in Havana (of the Embassy of Switzerland): Calzada between L & M Streets, Vedado, Havana. Phone: [011] (53-7) 33-3551 through 33-3559. Fax/General: 33-3700. Principal Officer: Vicki J. Huddleston, Consul General: Patricia Murphy. http://usembassy.state.gov/havana/

Cuban Interest Section in Washington: 2630 16th St, NW, Washington, DC 20009, Phone: 202-797-8518, 8519, 20; Fax: 202 797-8521; Email: cubaseccion@igc.apc.org. Cuban Consulate: 2639 16th St, NW, Washington, DC 20009, Phone: 202-797-8609, 8610, 15; Fax: 202 986-7283 Web site: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Library/2958/index.html

Center for Constitutional Rights, 666 Broadway New York, NY 10012; Phone: 212-614-6464; Fax: 212-614-6499; Email: ccr@igc.apc.org. You may contact CCR if you experience problems with US Customs or if you are required to furnish information to OFAC upon your return from Cuba. In July 1999, CCR published an Advice for Travelers to Cuba

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CONTACT THE CLEARINGHOUSE

If you have any additional questions or comments, please contact us at cuba@aaas.org. We are extremely interested in learning if you have encountered any problems either in applying for a license or bringing a Cuban scientist to the US We are also interested in learning if any of your practices have proved to be effective or if you have any additional advice that may benefit other institutions or organizations interested in Cuba travel.

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