Desperate Cubans seek U.S. visas in Colombia after Havana embassy cutbacks

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban actress Aniet Hernandez lost all hope that she and her two children would ever join her husband in Miami when the Trump administration slashed staffing at the U.S. embassy in Havana in September and stopped almost all visa processing.

People wait for their turn to enter the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, January 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

“When I heard the news, I thought my marriage was over, that my family was being destroyed,” said the 35-year old, whose husband emigrated four years ago to seek “a better future”.

A few weeks after its announcement, the United States said it would process Cuban family reunification requests at its Bogota embassy instead, sparking both relief and frustration on the Communist-run island.

Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is an approximate three hour flight from Havana, and Colombia requires Cuban visitors to obtain visas.

So Hernandez is now one of hundreds of Cubans seeking visas at the Colombian embassy in Havana in order to fly to Bogota for two to three weeks for interviews at the U.S. embassy - an extra layer of cost and bureaucracy in an already complex affair.

“This whole process is quite stressful,” said Hernandez.

The once-quiet villa that houses the Colombian embassy in the plush Miramar suburb of Havana is a hub of activity as Cubans line up outside from dawn until dusk, sheltering from the sun and rain under umbrellas and trees.

Colombian consul Luis Fernando Cordoba said his team was working much longer hours than usual and getting back-up to cope with higher demand for visas.

“These are people who have spent two to three years without their families so we want to give them support,” Cordoba said. “It’s a delicate situation.”

Given the average state wage in Cuba is $30 per month, those waiting outside the embassy said the requirement of at least $2,000 in a bank account for the Colombian visa was onerous.

Their families in the United States had lent them that money as well as shouldered other costs, they said.

Those included around $170 for the Colombian visa, plus flights to Bogota and multi-week hotel stay, with the risk it might all be a waste of time if the United States denied them immigrant status.