Stopover in Spain may delay U.S. trip for released Cuba prisoners

Found this interesting note in the Cuban Colada blog written by Renato Perez of The Miami Herald. You can read a related story by Varela in tomorrow’s Progreso Weekly.

“Freed prisoners hoping to migrate to the United States will find the trip easier and faster if they don’t come to Miami via Spain, according to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

“Family members of several dissidents were told by the USINT that the prisoners who have gone to Spain cannot apply for political asylum in the U.S. because, in effect, they’ve used up their right to asylum.

“Their trip to Spain has turned them from refugees into ordinary migrants.

Instead, they will have to petition for residence, a process that takes a longer time – as long as 18 months, according to the BBC news service – and requires a sponsor in the U.S. The application itself must be done through regular channels.”

For the entire note, visit Cuban Colada

Alvaro F. Fernandez