CAA Cuban Adjustment Act
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 lets a Cuban national who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States apply for a green card after one year of physical presence, with no petitioner, no priority date and no queue. It is the most generous adjustment provision still on the books. Its weak point has always been the entry requirement: it needs an inspection, admission or parole.
- Срок
- permanent
- Продление
- Not applicable. Residence is unconditional - there is no two-year conditional card even where the qualifying relationship is a recent marriage - and the card renews on Form I-90 every ten years.
- Работа
- Yes, without restriction once residence is granted. While the I-485 is pending, USCIS advises filing Form I-765 in category (c)(9), either with the I-485 or while it is pending; an employment authorisation document based on a pending I-485 may be valid up to five years. A person paroled under INA 212(d)(5) may alternatively seek a work permit under category (c)(11), but an EAD based on parole cannot exceed the authorised parole period.
- Члены семьи
- The Cuban applicant's spouse and unmarried children under 21 apply in their own right under the Act rather than as classic derivatives, which is why the timing rules above matter. There is no requirement that the relationship pre-date the Cuban relative's adjustment.
- Путь к грин-карте
- The Act is itself the path, exercised by filing Form I-485. There is no petition, no sponsor and no visa number, so the only questions are the entry, the year of presence, admissibility and discretion. Naturalisation follows five years after residence is granted, or three where the applicant is married to a U.S. citizen.
- Срок рассмотрения
- The USCIS national median for a Cuban Adjustment Act based Form I-485 was 11.0 months for FY2026 through 30 June 2026, up from 7.0 months in FY2025, on the USCIS historical processing time table. The live processing times tool reports current figures and moves monthly.
- Годовая квота и очереди
- None. Cuban Adjustment Act cases are not subject to a numerical limit and carry no priority date, so nothing appears for them in the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.
Кто подходит
- A native or citizen of Cuba who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States after 1 January 1959, has been physically present for at least a year at the time of filing, and is physically present when filing
- The spouse of a Cuban native or citizen who meets the Cuban Adjustment Act requirements, regardless of how long the marriage has existed and regardless of whether it began before or after the Cuban spouse adjusted
- The unmarried child under 21 of such a Cuban native or citizen, on the same terms
- A spouse or child qualifies even if the Cuban relative used a different green card category to become a permanent resident, provided the Cuban relative meets the Act's requirements
Требования
- Native or citizen of Cuba, or the qualifying spouse or unmarried child under 21 of one
- Inspected and admitted, or inspected and paroled, into the United States after 1 January 1959. Evidence includes a passport and Form I-94
- Physical presence in the United States for at least one year at the time Form I-485 is filed. The year need not follow the parole - a person already present a year when DHS paroles them may apply immediately after being paroled
- Physical presence in the United States at the time of filing
- Admissible for lawful permanent residence, or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or another form of relief
- A favourable exercise of discretion
- A spouse or child derivative must apply with the Cuban relative's I-485, while it is pending, or after it is approved while the relative remains a permanent resident
Как подать
- 1
Establish the entry. Produce the Form I-94, the parole document, or the passport stamp showing inspection and admission or parole after 1 January 1959. This is the requirement that decides most cases.
- 2
Count the year of physical presence. It must be complete by the date Form I-485 is filed, and it does not have to fall after the parole.
- 3
File Form I-485 with evidence of Cuban nationality, evidence of the entry, and evidence of one year of physical presence.
- 4
File Form I-765 in category (c)(9) at the same time or while the I-485 is pending, if you need to work.
- 5
Attend biometrics and the interview.
- 6
If a ground of inadmissibility applies, file Form I-601 and, where relevant, Form I-212.
- 7
A spouse or unmarried child under 21 files their own I-485, either with the Cuban relative's, while it is pending, or after approval while the relative remains a permanent resident.
Сборы и формы
| Form I-485, applicant 14 or older, paper | $1,440 |
| Form I-485, online | $1,390 |
| Form I-485, applicant under 14 filing with a parent's I-485, paper | $950 |
| Form I-485, Cuban Adjustment Act abused spouse or child | $0 - fee exempt |
| Form I-765 with an I-485 filed on or after 1 April 2024 | $260 |
| Form I-601 waiver of grounds of inadmissibility, if needed | $930 when collected for USCIS at a consulate |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | not applicable - there is no immigrant visa to be issued |
Что изменилось в 2025 и 2026 годах
- The Cuban Adjustment Act itself has not been repealed or amended. What has changed is the supply of qualifying entries: the parole programmes that produced most recent Cuban Adjustment Act cases have been curtailed, so the population of Cubans with a qualifying inspection and admission or parole is no longer growing as it was.
- 21 May 2026 - USCIS policy memorandum PM-602-0199 treats adjustment of status as an extraordinary discretionary relief and directs officers to weigh failure to depart as expected and conduct inconsistent with the purpose of admission or parole. Cuban Adjustment Act applicants adjust by definition, and many arrived on parole, so the memorandum applies squarely.
- 8 May 2026 - USCIS policy guidance reaffirming deferred action as an extraordinary use of prosecutorial discretion, relevant to Cubans without a qualifying entry.
- 20 July 2026 - the public charge final rule rescinding the 2022 regulations, effective 18 September 2026, expressly confirms that the statutory public charge exemption for Cuban Adjustment Act applicants survives the removal of the regulatory exemption list at 8 CFR 212.23. Cuban Adjustment Act applicants therefore remain exempt from the public charge ground.
- 25 March 2025 - the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans were terminated by Federal Register notice. A preliminary injunction in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, 1:25-cv-10495-IT (D. Mass.), was lifted by the Supreme Court on 30 May 2025, and DHS is terminating CHNV parole and revoking the associated C11 work authorisation. New CHNV parole requests are not processed. The Cuban Family Reunification Parole process was separately terminated by notice of 15 December 2025.
- The interaction between a terminated parole and Cuban Adjustment Act eligibility is not addressed on any primary source. The USCIS Cuban Adjustment Act page, last reviewed 8 July 2025, contains no carve-out for CHNV parolees, CBP One entrants or people whose parole was later terminated, and the reading that a completed parole is a historical fact that later termination does not undo is inference rather than an explicit USCIS statement. Treat it as unverified.
- 1 January 2026 - annual inflation adjustment to the H.R. 1 fees. The parole fee and the parolee work permit fees can matter to a Cuban waiting out the one-year presence requirement on parole.
- 29 June 2026 - DHS final rule on the alien registration form and evidence of registration.
Где чаще всего ошибаются
- No inspection, no Act. A Cuban who crossed without being inspected, admitted or paroled cannot use the Cuban Adjustment Act at all, however long they have been present.
- Counting the year from the wrong date. The one year of physical presence must be complete when the I-485 is filed. A person paroled today who has already been here a year may file immediately; a person paroled today who arrived yesterday waits a year.
- Losing the parole document. The Form I-94 or parole notice is the evidentiary core of the case and reconstructing it later is painful.
- A spouse or child filing after the Cuban relative has lost permanent resident status. The relative must still be a permanent resident when the derivative files after approval.
- Assuming the Act insulates against discretion. It does not. Since 21 May 2026 officers are directed to treat adjustment as extraordinary relief and to look for unusual or outstanding equities where adverse factors exist. The public charge ground, by contrast, does not apply - the statutory exemption survives the September 2026 rescission.
- Relying on a parole-based work permit that expires with the parole. Filing the I-485 and requesting an EAD in category (c)(9) gives a document that can be valid up to five years.
Также в категории Mechanism
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