Cuban Adjustment ActPub. L. 89-732Español
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Requirements

How the Adjustment Act Works Today

Requirements, family members, the rollback date, and who decides, according to the statute, the regulations, and USCIS guidance

Updated 12 min read15 sources cited

Between the 1966 sentence and a green card there is a federal regulation, an administrative guide from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and six decades of interpretation. The law requires, in essence, five things: being a native or citizen of Cuba (or the spouse or child of one), having been "inspected and admitted or paroled" after January 1, 1959, having been physically present in the United States for at least one year, being eligible to receive an immigrant visa, and being admissible. Even when all are met, approval is discretionary1. This page explains, in general terms, how each requirement is applied today and who decides.

Where the rules are

The statute. It is the note to 8 U.S.C. § 1255, with the current text after the amendments of 1976, 1980, 2000, and 20061. Its full text is on The text of the Act.

The regulation. Section 245.2 of title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) devotes several paragraphs to "the Act of November 2, 1966": when an application is properly filed, what happens if the applicant travels, how an approval is recorded, and what remedies exist against a denial2. Some paragraphs mention forms that USCIS no longer lists for this law, such as the I-485A; its public page points to the I-48523.

USCIS guidance. The USCIS Policy Manual, its official repository of standards, does not yet have a chapter of its own on the Adjustment Act. In volume 7, on adjustment of status, part P (Other Adjustment Programs) has only two chapters drafted, 5 (Liberian refugees) and 9 (Amerasians); the others are listed as "Reserved"4. Guidance on the law remains in chapter 23.11, "Cuban Adjustment Act Cases," of the former Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM). USCIS retired the AFM in May 2020 and links what remains of it, as PDFs, from that same part of the Policy Manual while it moves the content over; if the two conflict, the Policy Manual prevails45. Volume 12 of the Policy Manual, on naturalization, does contain specific standards for those who became residents under this law6.

The USCIS public page "Green Card for a Cuban Native or Citizen," last reviewed on July 8, 2025, summarizes the requirements and the documentation3.

The requirements, one by one

USCIS lists seven: properly filing Form I-485; being a native or citizen of Cuba; having been inspected and admitted or paroled after January 1, 1959; having been physically present in the United States for at least one year when filing; being in the country when filing; being admissible or able to obtain a waiver; and deserving a favorable exercise of discretion3.

Being a native or citizen of Cuba

The AFM includes someone born in Cuba, whether or not they keep Cuban citizenship; someone born at the Guantánamo naval base, "regardless of any claims to other nationalities"; someone who naturalized as a Cuban; and someone born outside Cuba to a Cuban parent who met all the requirements of Cuban law to acquire that citizenship5.

As evidence, USCIS mentions for those born in Cuba a Cuban passport, current or expired, showing Cuba as the place of birth, or a birth certificate from the Cuban civil registry. For those born abroad, a current Cuban passport, a certificate of nationality, or a citizenship letter. The consular certificate documenting the birth abroad of a child of Cubans is not enough, even if it says the person is a Cuban citizen3. That standard comes from a 2017 memorandum that vacated an earlier decision, Matter of Vazquez5. The question can resurface years later: USCIS may deny U.S. citizenship if it concludes that the person was not a Cuban citizen when they became a resident6.

Inspected and admitted or paroled

Without this requirement the application is not even considered properly filed2. The AFM reads it broadly: any inspection and admission or any parole will do, "regardless of the classification of admission or purpose of parole"5. It is enough, therefore, to have entered with a tourist visa, as in one of the AFM's own examples, or with a parole granted for any reason5. Parole is the temporary, discretionary permission to enter the country that, by statutory definition, is not an admission7. If the government grants parole to someone who has already been in the country for a year, that person may file immediately: the year does not have to be counted from the parole3.

The law says nothing about the place of arrival. A memorandum of April 19, 1999 from the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Doris Meissner, established that the ground of inadmissibility for arriving at a place other than a port of entry does not apply to these applicants. The same memorandum warned that a person who was in the country without inspection could not rely on the law unless they first surrendered to the authorities and were released while their admissibility was decided, and it cited as the basis the parole authority in section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and, for the conditions of that release, section 2368. Which forms of release count as parole, and the situation of those who received Form I-220A, are covered in Parole and I-220A and in Case law.

One year of physical presence

The law asks for "at least one year"; until 1980 it was two1. USCIS requires that the year be completed when the application is filed and that the person be in the country that day3; the AFM speaks of a year "aggregate," that is, adding up the periods of presence5. Volume 12 of the Policy Manual acknowledges that the statute does not say when the year must be completed, but that the regulation requires meeting the requirements when the application is filed. Hence a rule with late consequences: USCIS denies naturalization to anyone who obtained residence under this law after November 18, 2020 without having accumulated the year before applying6.

The regulation also provides that if someone admitted or paroled leaves temporarily without intending to abandon their residence and is admitted again or paroled, that departure is not counted in fixing their "last arrival"2. The AFM suggests looking at the length and purpose of the trip, the time the person had been in the country, and their family and work ties5.

Being admissible

The law requires that the applicant be "eligible to receive an immigrant visa" and "admissible"1. According to USCIS, all the grounds of inadmissibility in section 212(a) of the INA apply except three: public charge (212(a)(4)), labor certification (212(a)(5)), and documentation requirements (212(a)(7)(A))3. The AFM bases the first on Matter of Mesa, a 1967 INS decision59, and the 1999 memorandum explains the reasoning: Congress knew that many Cubans depended on public assistance, and applying that ground to them would have defeated the purpose of the law8. To those three is added the ground of having arrived outside a port of entry, by the same memorandum8. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public charge rule that took effect on September 18, 2026 removed from the regulations the list of exemptions (8 CFR 212.23), which included the Adjustment Act, but DHS wrote in it that the statutory exemptions created by Congress for certain Cuban applicants "continue to exist"10.

The other grounds in section 212(a) do apply: health-related, criminal, and security grounds, and those arising from prior removals, among others37. At the interview, the AFM asks for attention, among other matters, to possible membership in the Communist Party, a ground of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(3)(D) that has an exception for involuntary membership, and to criminal convictions in Cuba5. For some grounds there are waivers: USCIS points to Form I-601 and, for someone previously removed, Form I-2123. The AFM specifies that the waiver is requested with Form I-601 and not Form I-602, which is reserved for refugees and asylees5, a detail that reflects the legal difference between these applicants and refugees. Nor may someone who was in the United States on a J-1 or J-2 exchange visa subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement rely on the law, unless they have fulfilled it or obtained a waiver3.

Discretion

The law says that the status "may be adjusted" by the government "in his discretion"1. The AFM states that the application may be denied if the negative factors outweigh the positive ones, but it asks adjudicators to keep in mind, when weighing them, "the nature of the CAA and the political situation in that country," citing Matter of Mesa5.

No quota, no petitioner, and none of the 245(c) bars

For the general route to adjustment, the regulation requires that an immigrant visa be "immediately available" when the application is filed. For the 1966 law it requires nothing of the kind: only inspection and admission or parole and the year of presence2. The AFM speaks of "the lack of a petition requirement for CAA cases": no relative or employer needs to file a petition5. And according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the 1976 reform exempted these adjustments from the numerical limits of the preference system11.

Because the law applies "notwithstanding the provisions of section 245(c)"1, the bars that subsection now imposes on the general route do not apply either. The AFM lists who can, for that reason, apply for residence under this law: crewmen, transit passengers without a visa, those who stayed longer than authorized, those who worked without authorization, and those who entered without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program5.

Spouses and children

The spouse and children of the Cuban may become residents under this law whatever their nationality, but they must meet the other requirements themselves (inspection and admission or parole, one year of presence, admissibility, discretion) and live with the Cuban35. "Child" is an unmarried person under twenty-one with one of the relationships the law lists (born in wedlock, a stepchild, or an adopted child, among others)12.

USCIS adds several clarifications35.

  • The family member may file their application together with the Cuban's, while it is pending, or after it is approved, as long as the Cuban remains a resident. Their residence cannot be approved before the Cuban's.
  • It does not matter how long the relationship lasts, or whether it began before or after the Cuban became a resident.
  • It does not matter by what route the Cuban became a resident either: it is enough that they meet the requirements of the law.
  • The spouse receives permanent residence without conditions, even if the marriage is recent: the restrictions of section 216 of the INA do not apply5, which in the ordinary family route make residence conditional for someone who married less than 24 months earlier13.

Abused spouses and children

Since 2000, a spouse or child who has suffered abuse or extreme cruelty at the hands of the Cuban does not need to show that they live with that person, and since 2006 the spouse keeps the right for two years after the Cuban's death or after a divorce connected to the abuse1. According to the AFM, the person must have lived with the Cuban at some point and must show the abuse with "any credible evidence"; they do not need to file a self-petition (Form I-360), and their case is protected by the confidentiality rules of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The divorce must have occurred in the previous two years and the application must be filed within that period; after the Cuban's death, there are also two years to file. The AFM adds that if the Cuban loses residence because of a domestic violence incident, the spouse or child may file within the following two years. These rules on death, divorce, and loss of status apply only to abused spouses and children5.

The rollback date

When an application is approved, residence is not dated from the day of approval but from thirty months before the application was filed or the date of the last arrival in the United States, whichever is later1. The AFM gives two examples, summarized in this table5.

Entry Application Date of residence Why
Parole on March 1, 1986 June 3, 1992 December 3, 1989 A full thirty months before the application
Tourist visa on January 10, 1990 April 3, 1992 January 10, 1990 Thirty months back would fall before the arrival

Non-Cuban spouses and children receive the same full rollback date, even if that makes them residents before the date of their marriage or relationship to the Cuban; the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals so decided in Silva-Hernandez v. USCIS (2012), according to the AFM5. Those who arrived through the port of Mariel between April 1 and October 10, 1980, some 125,000 according to USCIS, had a special rule: if they filed before February 1, 1987, their residence was dated from the day of their parole in 19805. That story is told in The Mariel exodus.

The rollback date has practical effects. USCIS takes it as the date of residence for purposes of naturalization6. By contrast, the five-year period the government has to rescind the residence of someone who was not entitled to it (section 246 of the INA) runs from the actual date of approval, not the rollback date, according to a 1977 decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) cited in the AFM5.

The application

The application is filed on Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. The USCIS page lists the usual documentation for the Cuban applicant: photographs, identity document, birth certificate, proof of Cuban nationality or birth, proof of the year of presence, copies of the passport and of the arrival record (Form I-94) or the admission or parole stamp, the medical exam (Form I-693) when applicable, police and court records if any, any waivers that apply and, if relevant, documentation of a prior J visa3. For family members, proof of the relationship, proof that the Cuban is a native or citizen of Cuba, the Cuban's receipt or green card, and proof that they live together are added3.

While the application is pending, the applicant may request a work permit (Form I-765, category (c)(9)), which can last up to five years, and a travel permit (advance parole, Form I-131); a person with parole may also request the work permit based on it, limited to the duration of the parole3. The interview is left to USCIS's discretion5.

There is no administrative appeal from a denial. A person who is not an arriving alien (the category is explained below) may renew the request for residence before an immigration judge if the government starts removal proceedings; a parolee may do so in the circumstances set by the regulation2.

Before an immigration judge

As a general rule USCIS decides, unless jurisdiction belongs to an immigration judge under the regulations of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)2. Those regulations distinguish two situations14.

  • If the person is in deportation or removal proceedings and is not an arriving alien, the judge has exclusive jurisdiction over their application for adjustment.
  • If the person is an arriving alien, the judge has no jurisdiction, except in one narrow situation: the person filed the application with USCIS while in the United States, left and returned with a travel permit to continue it, USCIS denied it, and the government put the person in removal proceedings. Outside that situation, the application belongs to USCIS even if proceedings are open.

Who is an arriving alien is defined by the regulation itself: a person who presents themselves or attempts to come into the United States at a port of entry, and a person who is interdicted in international or United States waters and brought into the country, whether or not at a port of entry. It adds that the person remains one "even if paroled"15. For that reason, someone who received parole when presenting at a port of entry or after being interdicted at sea remains, under the regulation, an arriving alien, and the line between the immigration judge's jurisdiction and USCIS's depends on how each person entered. How these rules have developed in BIA decisions is told in Case law.

Every case depends on its facts; this page is not a substitute for advice from an immigration attorney or an accredited representative.

Notes and sources

  1. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, "8 U.S.C. 1255: Adjustment of status of nonimmigrant to that of person admitted for permanent residence," note "Cuban Refugees: Adjustment of Status," text current through Public Law 119-138 (November 3, 2026), accessed November 11, 2026. https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/t8/s1255/ back back back back back back back back

  2. Code of Federal Regulations, title 8, § 245.2, paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3)(iv), (a)(4)(iii), (a)(5)(iii), and (b), 2025 annual edition; text unchanged in the eCFR as of November 9, 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title8-vol1/xml/CFR-2025-title8-vol1-sec245-2.xml back back back back back back back

  3. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card for a Cuban Native or Citizen," last reviewed July 8, 2025, accessed from the web.archive.org copy of November 11, 2026. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-a-cuban-native-or-citizen back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back

  4. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Policy Manual, volume 7, part P, "Other Adjustment Programs," chapter index and notice about the AFM, accessed from the web.archive.org copy of November 1, 2026. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-p back back

  5. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Adjudicator's Field Manual, chapter 23.11, "Cuban Adjustment Act Cases," subsections (a) through (o), accessed November 11, 2026. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-afm/afm23-external.pdf back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back

  6. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Policy Manual, volume 12, part D, chapter 2, "Lawful Permanent Resident Admission for Naturalization," section D, subsection 6, "LPR Status Obtained through Cuban Adjustment Act," accessed from the web.archive.org copy of October 29, 2026. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-2 back back back back

  7. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, "8 U.S.C. 1182: Inadmissible aliens," subsection (d)(5)(A), accessed November 11, 2026. https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/t8/s1182/ back back

  8. Doris Meissner, Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, memorandum "Eligibility for permanent residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act despite having arrived at a place other than a designated port of entry," April 19, 1999, reproduced in appendix 23-4 of the USCIS Adjudicator's Field Manual. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-afm/afm23-external.pdf back back back

  9. Matter of Mesa, 12 I&N Dec. 432 (Deputy Associate Commissioner, September 6, 1967), Interim Decision 1788, Executive Office for Immigration Review. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/intdec/vol12/1788.pdf back

  10. Department of Homeland Security, "Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility," final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 45324, July 20, 2026, effective September 18, 2026, section "Certain Cubans and Haitians" and amendment removing 8 CFR §§ 212.20 through 212.23. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/20/2026-14539/public-charge-ground-of-inadmissibility back

  11. Congressional Research Service, "Cuban Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends," report R40566, June 2, 2009, page 2, note 6. https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20090602_R40566_5c818df5cf6f61aac828f7e487dfe38f29f6dce4.pdf back

  12. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, "8 U.S.C. 1101: Definitions," subsection (b)(1), accessed November 11, 2026. https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/t8/s1101/ back

  13. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, "8 U.S.C. 1186a: Conditional permanent resident status for certain alien spouses and sons and daughters," subsection (h)(1), accessed November 11, 2026. https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/t8/s1186a/ back

  14. Code of Federal Regulations, title 8, § 1245.2(a)(1), 2025 annual edition; text unchanged in the eCFR as of November 9, 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title8-vol1/xml/CFR-2025-title8-vol1-sec1245-2.xml back

  15. Code of Federal Regulations, title 8, § 1.2, definition of "Arriving alien," 2025 annual edition; text unchanged in the eCFR as of November 9, 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title8-vol1/xml/CFR-2025-title8-vol1-sec1-2.xml back