Long title | An Act to adjust the status of Cuban refugees to that of lawful permanent residents of the United States, and for other purposes. |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | CAA |
Nicknames | Cuban Refugees Adjustment Status Act |
Enacted by | the 89th United States Congress |
Effective | November 2, 1966 |
Citations | |
Public law | 89-732 |
Statutes at Large | 80 Stat. 1161 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality |
U.S.C. sections amended | 8 U.S.C. ch. 12, subch. II § 1255 |
Legislative history | |
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The Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), Public Law 89-732, is a United States federal law enacted on November 2, 1966. Passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the law applies to any native or citizen of Cuba who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States after January 1, 1959 and has been physically present for at least one year; and is admissible to the United States as a permanent resident.
Cubans in Cuba can legally migrate to the U.S. through various migration programs that include immigrant visa issuance, refugee admission, the diversity lottery, and the Special Cuban Migration Program (SCMP), otherwise known as the Cuban lottery.
Immigrant visas are issued to the parents, spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens as soon as the immigrant visa petition is approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Immigrant visas are also available to a range of persons who can qualify for family or employment-based visas under the preference system that controls numerically limited immigration to the United States.
The preference system allows U.S. citizens to bring their siblings and their adult married children to the United States. Lawful permanent residents of the United States can petition for their spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children. The waiting period for preference visas varies by category.
Those who have been persecuted in Cuba, or who fear persecution (on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion), may apply for U.S. resettlement through its in country refugee processing unit at the United States Embassy in Havana.