Cubans in the U.S.: The Cuban Adjustment Act, Parole and the I-220A

Published 5 November 2026

Key takeaways

The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 lets a Cuban native or citizen apply for a green card after one year of physical presence in the U.S., if they were inspected and admitted or paroled. No family or employer petition is needed.
It forgives a lot: overstays and unauthorized work do not bar it, and the public charge, labor certification and documentation grounds do not apply. Criminal and fraud grounds still do.
Everything turns on the word “paroled.” A visa entry or an I-94 parole counts. A release on Form I-220A does not, according to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The parole programs that brought many Cubans here — wet foot/dry foot, family reunification parole and CHNV — have all ended, and a travel ban now blocks immigrant visas for Cubans at consulates.
Spouses and children of any nationality who live with a qualifying Cuban can apply too.

For sixty years the Cuban Adjustment Act has been the most important immigration law in South Florida. It gives Cubans something no other nationality has: a path to permanent residence that depends on how they arrived and how long they have been here, not on a sponsor or a waiting line. But the law has a narrow gate, and the programs that used to open it have closed one after another. This guide explains who qualifies today, what the law forgives and what it does not, and why the paper you received at the border matters so much.

What the law says

The Act, Public Law 89-732, is printed as a note to 8 U.S.C. §1255. It allows the government, in its discretion, to grant permanent residence to any native or citizen of Cuba who “has been inspected and admitted or paroled” into the U.S. after 1 January 1959 and has been physically present for at least one year, if the person is admissible. It applies “notwithstanding” section 245(c), the provision that normally blocks people who overstayed or worked without permission.

The law has a built-in end. A 1996 statute provides that it will be repealed only when the President determines, under the LIBERTAD Act, that a democratically elected government is in power in Cuba, and applications pending on that date would still be decided.

The requirements at a glance

Requirement	What it means in practice
Cuban native or citizen	A Cuban birth certificate or passport. Someone born outside Cuba must prove Cuban citizenship; a consular birth record is not enough.
Inspected and admitted or paroled after 1 January 1959	Entry with a visa, or parole by an immigration officer. Entry without inspection, or release on an I-220A, does not count.
One year of physical presence	At least one year in the U.S. when the I-485 is filed. The year can come before the parole.
Present in the U.S. when filing	The application is made inside the country, to USCIS.
Admissible, or eligible for a waiver	Crimes, fraud, prior removals and security grounds still apply.
Favorable discretion	USCIS can deny an eligible applicant; positive factors matter.

These are the requirements USCIS lists on its Cuban Adjustment Act page. The application is Form I-485, filed with the evidence of Cuban nationality, the entry or parole document and proof of a year in the country. A work permit can be requested at the same time on Form I-765 under category (c)(9).

“Admitted or paroled”: the question that decides most cases

A Cuban who entered on a tourist visa and stayed, who came on a student or work visa, or who was paroled at an airport or a land port and received an I-94 marked as parole, generally meets this requirement. USCIS also says that if DHS paroles someone who has already been in the U.S. for a year, that person can apply right away; the year does not have to follow the parole.

The hard cases are the many Cubans who crossed the southern border in recent years and were released with a Form I-220A, an order of release on recognizance. The Board of Immigration Appeals held in Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez (2023) that a release on conditional parole under INA §236 is not the humanitarian parole under §212(d)(5) that the Act requires, and it repeated that rule in Matter of Roque-Izada, 29 I&N Dec. 106 (BIA 2025). Board decisions bind immigration judges, so under them an I-220A holder who never received a separate parole cannot use the Cuban Adjustment Act. The rule is being challenged in federal court (see “Where things stand”).

What the I-220A holder can do instead depends on the person: an asylum claim filed on time, a petition from a U.S.-citizen spouse or adult child, or defense in removal proceedings. Those are separate cases with their own rules, and a lawyer should look at all of them together.

What the Act forgives — and what it does not

Because the Act overrides section 245(c), a Cuban who overstayed a visa, fell out of status or worked without authorization can still adjust. USCIS also lists three grounds of inadmissibility that do not apply to Cuban adjustment applicants: public charge, labor certification and the documentation requirement. That means no affidavit of support is required, and receiving public benefits is not held against the applicant under the public charge rule.

Every other ground still applies. Criminal convictions, immigration fraud or false claims to U.S. citizenship, a prior deportation and certain health and security grounds can make a person inadmissible. Some can be waived with Form I-601 or I-212; some cannot. USCIS can also deny an otherwise eligible case as a matter of discretion.

Family members

The Act covers the spouse and children of a qualifying Cuban “regardless of their citizenship and place of birth,” as long as they live with the Cuban in the U.S. A Venezuelan or Nicaraguan spouse, for example, can apply with the Cuban spouse, while the Cuban’s case is pending, or after it is approved while the Cuban is still a permanent resident. The family member must meet the same requirements: admitted or paroled, one year of presence, and admissible. The date the marriage took place does not matter, and the Cuban spouse or parent does not have to use the Act personally. A spouse or child who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty does not need to live with the Cuban.

The “rollback” of the green card date

When a Cuban adjustment case is approved, the law records the start of permanent residence as of 30 months before the application was filed, or the date of the person’s last arrival, whichever is later. Someone who arrived three years before filing therefore receives a green card dated two and a half years in the past. That earlier date counts toward the residence time needed for citizenship.

How Cubans have arrived: the programs that ended

Wet foot/dry foot. The policy under which Cubans who reached U.S. soil were generally allowed to stay ended on 12 January 2017, along with the Cuban Medical Professional Parole program (White House statement).
CHNV parole. The program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with U.S. sponsors was terminated by a Federal Register notice of 25 March 2025; parole not already expired ended on 24 April 2025. The notice said people who had since filed for another status, including adjustment, were not the removal priority.
Cuban Family Reunification Parole. DHS terminated the program, including legacy cases, in a notice of 15 December 2025. Parole ended on 14 January 2026, except for people who had filed an I-485 before 15 December 2025, whose parole lasts until that case is decided.

For a Cuban who received one of these paroles, the parole itself is usually the entry that makes the Act available. Anyone whose parole has been terminated or who has been placed in removal proceedings should get legal advice before filing, because the case may then belong in immigration court rather than with USCIS.

Where things stand (as of 26 October 2026)

I-220A lawsuit in Miami. A case brought by Cubans released on I-220A forms, Bello-Rubio v. Noem in the Southern District of Florida, asks the court to treat that release as parole. The government’s renewed motion to dismiss was pending, with its reply due 30 October; no court has ruled for the plaintiffs (CubaHeadlines).
Bond hearings go to the Supreme Court. On 1 October the Court agreed to decide whether people who entered without inspection and were later arrested inside the U.S. can be held without a bond hearing (JURIST). Many I-220A holders are in that position.
Travel ban. Under Proclamation 10998, in force since 1 January 2026, Cuba is under a partial suspension that covers immigrant visas, with no exception for spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens. The State Department applies it at consulates. Adjustment inside the U.S., including under the Cuban Adjustment Act, is not covered.
Re-review of approved cases. On 14 August 2026 the First Circuit let USCIS resume re-reviewing benefits already approved for nationals of travel-ban countries, including Cuba, who entered on or after 20 January 2021. USCIS’s holds on pending applications remain vacated (Fragomen).
Deportations. About 8,500 Cubans were deported from the start of the current administration to 5 August 2026, according to ICE data analyzed by Human Rights Watch (PolitiFact). Many are sent to third countries, most often Mexico (Florida Trib).

This box is reviewed and updated regularly. The date above shows when it was last checked.

What to do now

Find your entry document. Your I-94, the parole stamp in your passport or your parole notice decides whether the Act is available. An I-94 can be printed from CBP’s website. If all you have is an I-220A, say so to your lawyer at the first meeting.
Count your year. File only after a full year of physical presence, and keep proof: leases, pay stubs, medical and school records.
Gather proof of Cuban nationality: a Cuban birth certificate and passport, even an expired one.
Get your criminal records if you have ever been arrested, anywhere. Certified dispositions are required, and some offenses cannot be waived.
Check for a court case. If you have ever received a Notice to Appear, look up your case on the EOIR case portal. If you are in proceedings, the application may have to go to the judge.
Avoid notarios. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative may give legal advice on these applications.

Getting help

A Cuban adjustment case is usually simple when the entry was clean and complicated when it was not. Our directory lists green card lawyers, deportation defense lawyers and asylum lawyers in Miami. For related guides, see humanitarian protection: asylum, TPS and parole and your rights in an ICE encounter.

Primary sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Cuban adjustment cases depend on the exact entry document, any criminal or immigration history, and court decisions that are still changing. Check the official sources linked above, and speak to a licensed immigration attorney about your own case.

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