Cubans welcome new U.S. visa policy, government largely silent

Cubans welcome new U.S. visa policy, government largely silent
By Marc Frank
HAVANA | Fri Aug 2, 2013 3:59pm EDT

(Reuters) - Cubans are cheering a U.S. visa policy that gives them five
years to travel to the United States, while Cuba's government and
state-run media have largely remained silent about the new travel measure.

They still are allowed to remain in the United States for only six
months, but the change in U.S. policy, which took effect on Thursday,
allows them to make multiple U.S. visits over the five years instead of
repeatedly applying and paying the $160 fee for the privilege.

Havana retiree Antonio Fernandez, who has visited his children and other
family members in the United States, welcomed the new policy, which he
said would allow more contact between divided Cuban families.

"I am in the process of applying for a visa at this very moment,"
Fernandez said.

"And I know well how many steps and how much money you have to pay. This
measure will eliminate these problems," he said.

Cuba liberalized travel restrictions earlier this year, making it easier
and less expensive for residents to travel and return home.

The new Cuban travel measures extend to 24 months the amount of time
Cubans can be out of the country without losing rights and they can seek
an extension of up to 24 additional months.

More than 900,000 Cubans traveled abroad in 2012, according to the
government and more than 46,000 emigrated, the highest number since 1994.

Cubans and Cuban-Americans had increasingly complained about the
difficulty and cost for Cubans seeking to obtain a U.S. visa, although
Cuban applications for U.S. visas increased by some 30 percent after
Havana lifted its restrictions in January.

In the only comment so far on the new visa change, an article in
Friday's edition of Granma, the Communist Party daily, carried a
headline that read, "New Tool, Same Policy."

"This new visa policy does not imply a significant change in the hostile
policy of the United States toward Cuba," the article said, quoting
local commentators who characterized it as a pragmatic step by the
United States to reduce costs to process Cuban visa requests.

Former Cuban diplomat Ramon Sanchez-Parodi told Granma that Washington's
new policy would "save (the United States) expenses, time and financial
and human resources."

Sanchez-Parodi said the measure also gave "the impression - and only the
impression - of a more flexible policy toward Cuba."

Each week, hundreds of Cubans line up outside the U.S. Interests Section
in Havana to apply for a visa.

The office serves as a lower-level diplomatic mission between the two
ideological foes who do not have full diplomatic ties. The United States
maintains a more than half-century-old trade embargo against the
Caribbean island.

Rosa Maria Rodriguez, a retiree who lives in Santiago de Cuba, some 550
miles east of Havana, said the new visa policy would mean she would no
longer have to make repeated trips to the Cuban capital to apply for a visa.

"Can you imagine how much money and work I will save?" she said.

On Thursday, there was a sense of growing excitement among Cubans lined
up outside the Interests Section as news of the visa policy spread
through the crowd.

Some Cubans left the premises with stoic expressions, others in tears
after being denied a visa, but many emerged thrilled.

A woman, who walked out with her visa in hand and asked that her name
not be used, said, "people are ecstatic in there."

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Jackie Frank)

Source: "Cubans welcome new U.S. visa policy, government largely silent
| Reuters" -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/02/us-cuba-usa-visas-idUSBRE97113P20130802