Ley de Ajuste Cubano - ruta LPR 1 año

Escenarios de ejemplo

Los escenarios de ejemplo se muestran en inglés.

• Eligible to apply for LPR under the CAA.

  The CAA (Pub. L. 89-732; 8 USC sec. 1255 note) permits a native or citizen of Cuba who was inspected-and-admitted or paroled and has been physically present for at least 1 year to adjust to LPR at the Attorney General's discretion, with NO persecution or refugee showing required. Having been paroled and present 14 months, the applicant meets the threshold and files Form I-485. The I-485 filing fee ($1,440 effective 1 Apr 2024) applies; no CAA fee exemption exists. Citizenship is not conferred by the CAA; it follows later via INA sec. 316 = 8 USC sec. 1427 naturalization after the LPR clock runs (5 years from LPR date, or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen under INA sec. 319).

• May adjust derivatively under the CAA despite not being Cuban.

  The CAA extends to the accompanying spouse and child of a qualifying Cuban native/citizen regardless of the dependent's own nationality, provided the qualifying relationship and the residence/admission conditions are met. The Spanish spouse therefore adjusts derivatively to LPR via the CAA. As with the principal, citizenship is not granted by the CAA; the spouse naturalizes later under INA sec. 316, or under INA sec. 319 = 8 USC sec. 1430 if married to a U.S. citizen at the relevant time.

• Not yet eligible to naturalize; needs 5 years of LPR.

  CAA-derived LPR counts toward naturalization on the same terms as any other LPR, but the ordinary INA sec. 316 = 8 USC sec. 1427 requirement is 5 years of continuous residence as an LPR (with 30 months' physical presence). With only 3 years since LPR and no U.S.-citizen spouse (which would invoke the INA sec. 319 3-year track), the applicant must wait until the 5-year clock is satisfied. The CAA's 1-year presence accelerated only the LPR step, not the citizenship clock, which runs from the LPR date.

• Potentially eligible now under the 3-year spouse track.

  A CAA-derived LPR is an LPR for all naturalization purposes. If the applicant has been an LPR for 3 years, has lived in marital union with a U.S.-citizen spouse for the entire 3-year period, and the spouse has been a citizen throughout, the INA sec. 319(a) = 8 USC sec. 1430(a) three-year spouse track is available (subject to good moral character, English/civics, 3-months' state residence, and the other conditions). The CAA origin of the green card does not change this.

• Not eligible for CAA adjustment absent inspection-and-admission or parole.

  The CAA requires that the Cuban native/citizen have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U.S. A person who entered without inspection and was never paroled does not meet that threshold and cannot adjust under the CAA, notwithstanding the two-year presence. The person would need to obtain parole or another qualifying admission, or pursue a separate adjustment ground, before the CAA could apply. This reflects that the CAA accelerates adjustment but does not waive the inspection/parole entry condition.

• Naturalization likely barred for lack of good moral character during the statutory period.

  Although the CAA gave the applicant LPR with minimal front-end conditions, naturalization is the generic INA sec. 316 = 8 USC sec. 1427 process and requires good moral character during the statutory period, subject to the per-se and conditional bars of 8 CFR sec. 316.10 and INA sec. 101(f) = 8 USC sec. 1101(f). A disqualifying conviction within the lookback can bar naturalization regardless of the CAA origin of the green card. The CAA confers no exemption from the good-moral-character requirement at the citizenship stage.