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Travel to Cuba post Trump Announcement

Travel to Cuba post Trump Announcement

Old Jul 20, 2017, 9:46 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by VidaNaPraia
Yeah, and now everybody that blogs thinks they can use that category.
It actually may open you up to having to apply to the Cuban government for a visa as a journalist, (rather than a simple tourist card for ....tourists) which brings additional scrutiny during the visa process and also when in Cuba.
I do more than "blog." I work for a firm that publishes travel guidebooks. I did apply for a journalist's visa and was granted one. No worries, VNP.
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Old Jul 21, 2017, 12:31 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by SJOGuy
I do more than "blog." I work for a firm that publishes travel guidebooks. I did apply for a journalist's visa and was granted one. No worries, VNP.
Thats sounds good SJOGuy!
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Old Jul 31, 2017, 4:36 pm
  #18  
 
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Any new guidance if individual travel for non P2p or educational purposes will continue to be allowed or if you will have to seek approval from OFAC prior to flying?
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Old Jul 31, 2017, 6:02 pm
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by Juanefny
Any new guidance if individual travel for non P2p or educational purposes will continue to be allowed or if you will have to seek approval from OFAC prior to flying?
Guidelines are supposed to be published 90 days from the June 16th announcement.
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Old Aug 1, 2017, 12:03 pm
  #20  
 
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postponing trip

Originally Posted by VidaNaPraia
No one can yet say whether Cuba will go back to the "old" system of not stamping US passports on that route. (Aduana is currently stamping all passports, which they did not previous to the relaxing of the rules by Obama.) Of course, if your passport is stamped, it is obvious to CBP on return where you have been, regardless of the route. No one can say if that would put you at risk of an eventual audit.
I have read on other travel forums that the Mexican airlines are also requiring those with US passports to fill out an affidavit, just as if they traveled direct from a US airport.
Thanks for the information! I'm afraid I'll have to postpone the trip then. Not feeling like spending 15 days in the educational tours with all the stuff planned - not my ideal vacation.
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Old Aug 2, 2017, 10:41 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by bizgc
Thanks for the information! I'm afraid I'll have to postpone the trip then. Not feeling like spending 15 days in the educational tours with all the stuff planned - not my ideal vacation.
I don't think you fully understand the actual situation. Educational tours may not be your only option.
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Old Aug 7, 2017, 7:29 pm
  #22  
 
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When I flew Southwest back in May, they asked me at the counter when checking in for my reason for travel. (we weren't checking bags). When we got to our stopover (before cuba) that is where we had to purchase the "visa" before we boarded the next plane. My passport was NOT stamped and did NOT say anything to the agent about it (since it was legal for US citizens to travel there). They stamped my "visa" that I purchased in FL though before leaving cuba.
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Old Aug 15, 2017, 11:20 am
  #23  
 
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Other option

Originally Posted by bizgc
Thanks for the information! I'm afraid I'll have to postpone the trip then. Not feeling like spending 15 days in the educational tours with all the stuff planned - not my ideal vacation.
Hi,

I traveled to Cuba a year ago with an P2P tour departing out of Miami, I had a great time, those were holidays even in the educational tour. <promotional portion removed by moderator >
I know, new regulations are crazy but with this guys we even stay at private homes, we had so much fun!

Last edited by l etoile; Aug 15, 2017 at 12:06 pm Reason: removed link
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 8:25 am
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by Janejacob
Hi,

I traveled to Cuba a year ago with an P2P tour departing out of Miami, I had a great time, those were holidays even in the educational tour. <promotional portion removed by moderator >
I know, new regulations are crazy but with this guys we even stay at private homes, we had so much fun!
DIY trips started with the first direct flights in mid-September 2016 (this post is in August 2017), so maybe that was not yet a possibility for you.

However, it's not so much fun to pay 4 times the price of the same trip DIY. Details are currently pretty easy to arrange if you do some reading/research.

Flights to Cuba (coach) are about U$300 from the US east coast, maybe $400 from west coast. Private home stays (casa particulares) are 30/night.
Private guides are not expensive and easy to arrange. Dinners are 10 or so per person, other meals cheaper. Transportation and entrance fees are not expensive. Maybe U$1200 to 1500 per week for a solo traveler; with a companion, some expenses can be split, so less.

Where's the huge profit going?

Even if the "P2P/educational" OFAC travel category is not in play after the new guidelines, the "support for the Cuban people" may still be a possibility.
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Old Aug 24, 2017, 8:05 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by VidaNaPraia
"support for the Cuban people"
How can one "support the Cuban people" - volunteer work?? I'm trying to advise someone who is both a french and US citizen who was unaware of the US requirements (they live in France) and is scheduled to fly out on Monday US to HAV.

EDIT: Just googling - I found the following:
-Visiting museums and historical sites
-Volunteering with local organizations
-Eating in locally owned restaurants
-Learning to cook Cuban food
-Taking dance lessons
-Touring a tobacco farm and learning how to roll cigars

Is the above really valid?? people are paying $4K for tours when they can just do the above??

Last edited by ermintrude; Aug 24, 2017 at 8:27 pm Reason: Edit
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Old Aug 25, 2017, 7:58 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by ermintrude
How can one "support the Cuban people" - volunteer work?? I'm trying to advise someone who is both a french and US citizen who was unaware of the US requirements (they live in France) and is scheduled to fly out on Monday US to HAV.

EDIT: Just googling - I found the following:
-Visiting museums and historical sites
-Volunteering with local organizations
-Eating in locally owned restaurants
-Learning to cook Cuban food
-Taking dance lessons
-Touring a tobacco farm and learning how to roll cigars

Is the above really valid?? people are paying $4K for tours when they can just do the above??
Google for the official OFAC categories. You will see that, while the "people to people /educational" category has specific examples, the "Support" category is really not defined well. And until OFAC audits a number of people's itineraries, or the category is more clearly defined in the new guidelines, it is really not possible to comment accurately on your examples above. They do, however, to my eye, fit more into the "People to People/Educational category" than the "Support" category. Visiting a state owned and run museum, for example, does not support individual Cuban citizens to be independent of the goernment. These (above) all seem to be untested/unaudited examples random visitors have decided fit P2P, perhaps based on tour group itineraries they have seen.

For the interim, I personally would define "Support" as anything that puts money into the pocket of a Cuban citizen and/or any conversation/relationship with Cubans that advances entrepreneurship and freedom of action.

The value of the tours is that they have relationships already set up with artists, farmers, teachers of various arts classes, professors, etc. That is what you are paying for., IMO. Making the contacts needed to set this kind of stuff up on your own is difficult and time consuming, and likely impossible to do from off the island. There are so-called "marketplaces" popping up online recently to help with this need for contacts, but most are US based and therefore may not fit the support of CUBAN people wording.

Right now, all your friends can do is try to follow the best of their own thinking as to what qualifies, do not ever utter the word "tourism", keep "proof" for 5 years as required, and hope that no one resident outside the US will ever get audited.
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Old Aug 25, 2017, 8:22 am
  #27  
 
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VidaNaPraia thanks for your detailed response. I'll pass your advice on. Cheers
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Old Sep 2, 2017, 7:46 am
  #28  
 
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Just an update that my friend - dual French/US just went to/from Cuba from the USA (on a US passport) without incident. On her return to the US, immigration apparently only asked if she enjoyed her trip and didn't ask any questions regarding the reason for her visit. Obviously they have 5 years to audit her; but it appears to me that "support the Cuban people" as long as reasonably documented is currently fine. BTW all her US friends that she went with received the same treatment.
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Old Sep 2, 2017, 8:03 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by ermintrude
Just an update that my friend - dual French/US just went to/from Cuba from the USA (on a US passport) without incident. On her return to the US, immigration apparently only asked if she enjoyed her trip and didn't ask any questions regarding the reason for her visit. Obviously they have 5 years to audit her; but it appears to me that "support the Cuban people" as long as reasonably documented is currently fine. BTW all her US friends that she went with received the same treatment.

Let's be clear. This is no surprise. (But reassuring nevertheless.)
"Immigration"/CBP does not currently have a mandate to take any action in this matter.
The "they" who "have 5 years to audit her" is OFAC, another agency altogether. "They" do not currently have funding to staff audits of travelers. (And last year "they" did one audit only, of a large business.)
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