Cuban Medical Workers Apply to Enter U.S.

In August 2006, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would allow certain Cuban medical professionals located outside Cuba to apply for parole or asylum into the U.S.   As word of this program has spread across the Cuban medical community posted in foreign countries by the Cuban government to provide humanitarian relief, many have been deserting their posts and attempting to enter the U.S.    

Since the introduction of new Cuban Medical Professional Parole program, approximately 360 physicians, dentists and physical therapists have applied.  Of this number, about 160 have been admitted into the U.S.    

Critics of the program content that the Bush administration is sabotaging the healthcare of poorer countries where these doctors are posted, such as Bolivia , Pakistan and Venezuela .  However, over the years, at least 600 doctors in Cuba who had received U.S. permission to emigrate were denied exit visas by the Cuban government.  As a result, the new program allows Cuban health workers to apply at U.S. embassies in third countries for permission to live and work in the U.S.  

While the goal of the program is to approve application requests within a few months, delays are common due to background checks.  

45 Cuban physicians posted in Venezuela have fled to Colombia and applied at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá .  If their applications are denied, they must leave Colombia within 30 days. However, returning to Cuba is not possible as defectors face eight years in prison.

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