United States visa requirements for Cuban citizens
Cuban citizens need a visa for the United States, but tourist, business, student and exchange visas have been suspended since 9 June 2025, with some exceptions.
- Consular fee
- 185 USD
- Minimum passport validity
- 6 months beyond the stay, with exemptions
Why is this passport validity required? →
Last verified: 8 October 2026
What border control in the United States can ask for
A Cuban needs a visa for the United States, but at present cannot obtain a tourist or business one. Since 9 June 2025 the Department of State has partly suspended visa issuance to Cuban nationals, and Presidential Proclamation 10998 kept that suspension in place from 1 January 2026. It covers B-1/B-2 visitor visas, student and exchange visas (F, M and J) and almost all immigrant visas. In 2025 immigrant visas for spouses, children and parents of US citizens were excepted; the 2026 list of exceptions no longer includes them. Still excepted, among others, are dual nationals applying with the passport of a country not subject to a suspension, participants in certain major sporting events and lawful permanent residents. Visas issued before those dates are not revoked by this measure.
Application details verified on 8 October 2026. Sources: travel.state.gov, US Department of State: "Suspension of Visa Issuance to Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States" (Proclamation 10998, partial suspension from 1 January 2026 for Cuba and 18 other countries, visas affected and exceptions) and "Suspension of Visa Issuance to Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats" (partial suspension from 9 June 2025 and the exceptions then in force). Checked 8 October 2026.
Verified practical details
The visa is applied for at a consulate or embassy, although tourist, business, student and exchange visas are suspended for this passport except in some cases. Here are the practical details we've verified:
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands: different entry rules
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have their own visa waiver programme, the G-CNMI VWP, with a list of eligible nationalities that is not the ESTA list. Since 30 November 2024, anyone travelling under that programme needs its own electronic authorisation, the G-CNMI-eTA, which replaced the paper form I-736 and is checked before boarding. Travellers entering under the general visa waiver programme still use their ESTA.
Source: cbp.gov, Carrier Liaison Program, publicación 3923-1124 de 25/11/2024 (comprobado 18/09/2026)
Fee
185 USD
Application (MRV) fee for the B1/B2 nonimmigrant tourist or business visa, according to the Department of State. Depending on nationality, a reciprocity issuance fee may be added, and the July 2025 budget law added a USD 250 visa integrity fee on issuance, still unevenly applied.
Required documents
- A passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay. If your nationality is on CBP's exemption list, it need only cover the stay itself (CBP, Carrier Liaison Program, 18 December 2025)
- A valid nonimmigrant visa or, if your country takes part in the Visa Waiver Program, an approved ESTA authorisation before you board
- To travel under the Visa Waiver Program your passport must be an e-Passport: embedded chip, machine-readable zone and a printed digital photograph. The programme covers stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business (DHS)
- An approved ESTA does not guarantee you entry: CBP states plainly that the authorisation does not determine admissibility, which the officer decides at the port of entry
Health insurance
Not mandatory for this destination.
When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓Transit rules
The United States has no visa-free transit, and it is the misunderstanding that costs travellers most: there is no international transit zone where you can wait without entering the country. Since 2 August 2003, anyone transiting the United States needs a C-category nonimmigrant visa. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries need an ESTA or a visa to transit as well. In practice, even if you are only changing planes you must clear immigration and customs, and collect and re-check your baggage.
More United States rules
They don't depend on your passport, so they are on the United States page:
Official portal: https://travel.state.gov. Destination data verified on 10 August 2026. Sources: usa.gov/visa-waiver-esta and esta.cbp.dhs.gov (ESTA); dhs.gov/visa-waiver-program (list of the 42 programme countries); Federal Register 2025-20304, 19 November 2025 (ESTA fee of 40.27 USD from 1 January 2026); usa.gov/visa-waiver-esta (up to 72 hours to learn the outcome); cbp.gov press release "CBP Reminds Travelers to Allow 72 Hours for ESTA" (apply at least 72 hours before the flight); cbp.gov, "Money and Other Monetary Instruments" (cash declaration); 19 CFR 148.43 (alcohol and tobacco exemptions for non-residents); 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7), on govinfo.gov (exclusion from the programme after breaching a previous admission); uscis.gov, "Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility" (3-year, 10-year and permanent bars) (checked 29 September 2026).
Travel insurance for the United States
It isn't listed as mandatory for this entry, but without insurance, medical care during the trip can get expensive.
See IATI's international site →IATI sells its policies according to the country you live in. Where do you live?
If your country isn't listed, try IATI's international site.
This is an affiliate link: if you buy through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Things to see and do in the United States
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Seeing the featured activities here needs advertising cookies. In the meantime, you can open them directly:
Browse activities on GetYourGuide →This is an affiliate link: if you buy through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
This pair in context
In the other direction, citizens of the United States need an electronic visa to enter Cuba. See the United States → Cuba page.
Of the 13 passports from the Caribbean that VisaRadar tracks, for travel to the United States 12 need a visa and 1 cannot enter. Same result as Cuba: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic and Grenada.
A passport from Cuba ranks 151 of 199 in the VisaRadar passport ranking and reaches 52 of 198 destinations without applying for a visa in advance.
Counts from the same requirements matrix behind this page's verdict, using the UN M49 subregions.
Frequently asked questions
Do Cuban citizens need a visa for the United States?
Yes, but tourist, business, student and exchange visas for this passport have been suspended since 9 June 2025, with some exceptions.
What minimum passport validity is required?
A passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay. If your nationality is on CBP's exemption list, it need only cover the stay itself (CBP, Carrier Liaison Program, 18 December 2025)
What currency is used in the United States?
US Dollar (USD).
Can a Cuban get a US tourist visa today?
No, with limited exceptions. Since 9 June 2025 the US has not issued B-1/B-2 visas to Cubans, and Proclamation 10998 keeps the suspension in place from 1 January 2026.
Are relatives of US citizens still excepted?
In 2025 spouses, children and parents were excepted for immigrant visas, but the list of exceptions in force since 1 January 2026 no longer includes them.
I have a visa issued earlier. Is it still valid?
The measure does not revoke visas issued before it took effect. Entry is always decided by the border officer.
Related pages
See United States requirements for other passports →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.