Cuban Doctors Face Problems in Bringing Their Families to the US
Two years ago the US implemented a measure allowing physicians who defected from Cuba to seek asylum in the US. Upon receiving legal permanent resident (LPR) status, the physicians can then petition for their families to join them in the US. However, while the US has approved the petitions for the physicians’ families to come to the US, the Cuban government is preventing these family members from leaving the country.
The Cuban government has posted physicians in foreign countries such as Bolivia, Pakistan and Venezuela in order to provide humanitarian relief. Many times, these physicians then apply at US embassies for asylum in the US under the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program. While many of these asylum applications are approved and the physicians are then able to immigrate to the US, their families left behind in Cuba are not able to join them in the US since the Cuban government is denying them exit visas.
The Cuban government’s stance is that these are the family members of deserters, and they therefore cannot be allowed to leave Cuba. In addition, these family members face harassment in other forums, such as being bullied in school or the workplace for being the child or spouse of a defector. Defectors from Cuba are barred from returning for seven years, and they are therefore prevented from even visiting their families.
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