Question : What are the steps I must take to legally (pending there are legal steps) travel to Cuba?

Question

My fiancee wants to go to Cuba for our honeymoon. She went when she was a teenager, and had no problem getting in, because her father is a Cuban citizen. He came to America and used a green card (he was legal folks) but never applied for citizenship, and although she was born in Puerto Rico, (part of the United States right?) they had no problem letting her in. Unfortunately, I was born in New York, and have a feeling that I'll be stopped. What steps must I take before travelling, to make sure that nothing bad occurs? I don't want to ruin our honeymoon because I'm some white dude from New York.

In a nutshell, I'm looking for a list of laws and regulations regarding travel to Cuba, and information on what I can and can't do while spending our week there. Are there ways around the US laws? I'd be married to a 2nd generation Cuban, can I use that to get in? What about the status of future children in case of a return?

I don't really want to be the only one rafting from Miami to Cuba...

Answer 1

If your wife has any immediate family still on the island..mother,father,brother, sister,grandparents, etc then you can legally go there through a family visa. If not, then you are probably going to have to go through another country. You can go through Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas. They will not stamp your passport in Cuba if asked not to ( a tip is not frowned upon either) I left a link with the different visas available so you can see if you can qualify for any of them. And Cuba may be like a prison in the sense that the people are oppressed and cannot leave when they want to, but it is a beautiful country and you will have a wonderful time.

Answer 2

If you are American, you shouldn't have any problem entering Cuba. You just have to go through a third country - most people choose Canada. Upon returning to the US, say you were visiting Canada but probably leave the Cuba destination out. Many Cuba tours are available through Canada as more than 1 million Canadians visit the island every year.

BTW Cuba is not a big prison. Cubans are very friendly, hard-working people who are very well educated. They don't have much money so tips are very much appreciated in the resorts. Cuba is about the safest travel destination you could ever choose. Go with an open mind and forget all the propaganda the US gov't spouts.

Answer 3

You probably want to look for another place to honeymoon. I wouldn't want to press my luck on getting caught and having my passport revoked and getting fined $10,000. You won't be stopped going to Cuba, they could care less. Your problem will be returning to the US since the US has a complete embargo against Cuba and has not had diplomatic relations with them since July 1963. If you decide you want to try and go you will have to apply for permission from the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets and Control.


http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/

Answer 4

I do not think you can go there legally. But you can fly to Mexico and then go from there. Cuba is a terrible country and is basically just a big prison. People are tortured and killed when they try to leave. USA USA people are tortured and killed when they try to leave. That makes the country a prison.