Can an American travel to and from Cuba?
Thank You
Not legally.
However, some people sneak in through Mexico or other South American countries. Still illegal, at least until (or if) the trade embargo is lifted.
Technically yes. The US goverment cannot dictate where you can travel to. Or at least back when the embargo was put into place it was felt that literally saying “you cannot travel to Cuba” would not survive a challenge to the Supreme Court. So Congress passed the “Trading with the Enemy” act which technically allows any American to travel to Cuba BUT forbids the use of US currency there. Obviously, if you cannot use dollars to buy hotel rooms and meals, you really can’t go there.
On a practical note, there are ways around that, but as they’re illegal I won’t go into detail. Apparently the Bush administration is tweaking law enforcement in these areas, so it might not be as “safe” as it used to be. Cuba itself, however, is freakishly safe - any place that has cops with machine guns every half block and orders to keep the tourists safe must be.
Source: http://travel.state.gov/cuba.html
Also see
Search Google News under “Cuba travel ban” and read the news hits about the Bush Administration’s efforts on going after practically any American who travels to Cuba without a license.
For practical purposes you can easily travel to Cuba via Mexico. In fact many Universities sponsor international study programs that result in American students being sent off to Cuba. So obviously this isn’t something you need to get a second identity set up in order to pull off. If a Cuban vacation is something anyone is planning it is only a airports away.
Interesting. Although I’m a US citizen, my credit card is from a Japanese bank and any balances are paid in yen. If I just used my credit card for purchases, would I be in the clear?
Assuming you can find a place in Cuba - other than a hotel - that takes credit cards, you’d probably be OK. But seriously, this is a country that has maybe one ATM on the entire island. A place where the whole country is working under the table. US dollars would work far far better than any credit card. Trust me. The doctor that drives tourists around on his off days won’t take Visa or JCB. No bar or restaurant takes Visa or JCB. Just US dollars.
it used to be relatively easy and legal to join a prepaid group tour with an educational or cultural exchange purpose. but the u.s. has been cutting back on permits for such groups, and aggressively going after people who travel on their own. there are apparently still ways to go and cover your tracks, but you face a steep fine and maybe worse if you get caught.
http://havanajournal.com/travel_comments/1349_0_6_0_C/
http://www.treas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/sanctions/t11cuba.pdf
“Persons subject to US jurisdiction” is a little dicey.
There are several different bases for claiming jurisdiction under international law, but a crime has to be committed for any of them to apply.
In other words, the Treasury is probably saying “anyone we can get our hands on”.
For example, I’m a UK citizen living in the States. I can go to Cuba via some other country, but if I come back here and U.S. Customs figures out what I’ve been up to I may be in hot water. Since I’ve returned to the U.S., I have effectively granted the United States jurisdiction.
OK, how about this wrinkle?
I am a U.S. citizen, but I’ve been a resident of Canada for the last 12 years. All of my income and banking is in Canadian funds with Canadian banks.
I guess apart from possibly a stamp in my U.S. passport*, there’s not really any way for the U.S. gov to know about it. But even if they did know about it, would it be legal in their eyes?
*I think it’s safe to assume that the U.S. and Cuba don’t share the data from “machine readable” passports.
Cuban officials don’t stamp the passports of US citizens. Instead, they give you an index card with the stamp on it that you keep in your passport and return upon leaving (air) or throw away upon leaving (boat).
Don’t forget that if you come back to the USA by air after visiting Cuba via a third party country, your immigration declaration form will ask you to list all countries you’ve been to since leaving the United States. I’ll leave it up to you to look up the consequences of lying on an immigration form.
American citizens can travel to and from Cuba directly and legally under some circumstances. A friend of mine signed on as a courier for a relief agency sending medical supplies and got US State Dept. permits to travel directly. He carried several boxes of medical supplies and distributed them to various clinics in Cuba (all the while escorted by a Cuban government “guide”). Note that this was a legitimate program and not any sort of dodge. He is not a doctor or in any way specially qualified, but simply signed on as a courier.
He did get a few worried looks from the US Customs agents on his return when he got off a direct flight from Havana with a US passport and a box of cigars to declare. They thought they were stuck with some rule-dodging tourist who had boarded the wrong flight until he dug out all his paperwork.
I also know at least two separate groups of dancers and artists who have gone to Cuba on cultural exchanges sanctioned by the US State Dept., so my friend’s experience is by no means unique.
I merely want to add that I too personally know someone who led a group of US citizens on an approved tour of Cuba for educational purposes.
It’s not illegal if the US government approves of it ahead of time.