Cuban beneficiaries of the 2025 Visa Lottery have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressing their regret that the Travel Ban that partially restricts the entry of Cubans to the U.S. hinders their legal immigration process within the established timeframe, which expires this September 30.

In the letter, dated June 14, the affected individuals essentially complain that the Travel Ban has disrupted their process. “They tell you that they are not issuing visas, but they let you go to the interview. Some have gone thinking that this does not apply to everyone, but it does apply to everyone, and our process ends on September 30. In fact, it ends even earlier. Once there are no visas left from the 55,000 they grant each year and this is the last one for Cuba because we have been excluded from the 2026 lottery,” explains one of the people who has contacted Marco Rubio in writing.

Essentially, they are asking the former senator Rubio to advocate for them to be allowed to complete the visa application process initiated under the 2024 Diversity Visa program before the deadline expires, emphasizing that the signatories participated in the lottery while meeting all legal requirements. They also urge him to intervene, noting that the process includes background checks and the submission of criminal records from all the countries where they have resided, and that the interruption of the immigration process is due to current policies, not any shortcomings on the part of the applicants.

They also explain that Cuba is no longer eligible for future rounds of the Diversity Visa program, meaning there are no further opportunities for them. They remind that there are no internal mechanisms on the Island to resolve the situation through local means.

Additionally, it should be noted that the U.S. Embassy in Havana continues to deny visas to anyone who has worked for state institutions. “There was a case of a young woman who graduated in 2020, who only had to complete her Social Service, and she was denied due to possible affiliation with the Communist Party of Cuba,” one of those affected by the Travel Ban told CiberCuba.

“For them, working with the State is a possible affiliation with the PCC, and if by chance you worked in Health, Education, or Communications, they deny you outright because of the PCC,” he insists.

“They require official documentation to determine if we are from the PCC or if we have a criminal record. They have their mechanisms for verification. It isn’t fair to go to an interview, pay so much money with minimal hope… But knowing that the requirements are no longer being met and that the Travel Ban affects us, it is unjust. Since June 9, everyone has been denied, and we are given a paper that justifies the denial under section 212 (f) (Travel Ban).”

Regarding the Visa Lottery program, it explains that the travel restrictions for Cubans impact them because it applies to those studying or working. “In our case, it’s for education. For example, if you have only completed ninth grade, don’t even bother going to the interview. For them, that doesn’t count. You need to have at least a 12th-grade education or a technical degree equivalent to 12th grade or higher,” this testimony insists.

“That’s where the issue lies: there are people with master’s degrees and engineers who are denied despite their qualifications. The program had already turned into a lottery within another lottery. We were going in with a 99.99% chance of losing and a 0.01% chance of winning because of the PCC. Now we have a 0.00% chance of getting a visa,” the same person emphasizes.

In this regard, he clarifies that the fiscal year for the visa lottery ends on September 30. “If previously the hope of obtaining a visa was almost nonexistent, now with the Travel Ban, we have been completely excluded. And for each visa applicant, it’s 330 USD, whether you are approved or not. We knew that from the beginning. We knew there would be expenses, but it is unfair that we are not allowed to complete the process with full transparency. We are going to pay and have no opportunity for a visa,” he concludes.

Those who have already gone through the interview have received a document explaining that the denial of the visa due to the Diversity lottery “cannot be appealed.”