I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2684 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a Cuban family 

reunification parole program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

Mr. DIAZ-BALART (for himself, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Ms. SALAZAR, and 

Mr. GIMENEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish 

a Cuban family reunification parole program, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cuban Family Reunifi5 cation Modernization Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘CFRM Act of 

6 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2684 IH

1 (1) The Cuban Family Reunification Parole 

2 (CFRP) program, initiated by President George W. 

3 Bush in 2007, allows United States citizens or law4 ful permanent residents to apply for their family 

5 members in Cuba to join them in the United States. 

6 (2) The CFRP program has been stalled since 

7 September 2017, when the State Department re8 duced the staff in Havana in response to severe 

9 brain injuries suffered by several members of the 

10 U.S. diplomatic community and their families. 

11 (3) The United States embassy website cur12 rently states that, ‘‘Due to staff reductions at the 

13 U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, USCIS has sus14 pended operations at its field office in Havana.’’ 

15 Most Cuban nationals who apply for U.S. entry 

16 must travel to a third country, with all Cuban appli17 cations and interviews for immigrant visas handled 

18 by the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, re19 quiring applicants to incur additional costs such as 

20 airfare and lodging. 

21 (4) Cuban diplomats and other high-level Com22 munist Party operatives applying for diplomatic or 

23 official visas may remain in Cuba throughout the 

24 visa application process. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2684 IH

1 (5) According to press reports, the United 

2 States Navy housed approximately 50,000 migrants 

3 at one time on the naval station in Guantanamo 

4 Bay, Cuba in 1994. 

5 (6) The United States State Department hires 

6 local Cuban nationals at the United States embassy 

7 in Havana, Cuba some of whom have, according to 

8 accounts, intimidated those attempting to meet with 

9 personnel of the United States. The use of such re10 gime-provided Cuban nationals at the United States 

11 embassy in Havana, Cuba should be minimized to 

12 the greatest extent possible. 

13 (7) The regime in Cuba holds an egregious 

14 human rights record marred by repression of speech, 

15 religious belief, labor rights, as well as arbitrary de16 tentions, inhumane prison conditions, beatings, and 

17 other acts of repudiation. 

18 (8) The regime in Cuba places severe restric19 tions on basic human rights and liberties resulting 

20 in an oppressive environment with widespread fear 

21 of reprisal for expressing opposition to the regime. 

22 (9) According to U.S. State Department Report 

23 004246 of March 2021, ‘‘nearly all Cubans wishing 

24 to travel to the United States must apply for their 

25 visas outside of Cuba,’’ and further that ‘‘the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2684.IH H2684

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2684 IH

1 partment recognizes the necessity to leave Cuba to 

2 apply for a U.S. visa is a barrier many Cubans are 

3 unable or unwilling to surmount.’’. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that no applicant should be discriminated against 

6 on the basis of race, age, disability, religion, sexual ori7 entation, gender identity, or sex characteristics, and that 

8 discrimination based on race, political opinion, religious 

9 belief, or association with a targeted group and hate 

10 crimes and other forms of discrimination against vulner11 able communities, including LGBTQ people, are human 

12 rights abuses. 

13 SEC. 3. CUBAN FAMILY REUNIFICATION PAROLE PROGRAM. 

14 Chapter 2 of title II of the Immigration and Nation15 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et. seq.) is amended by inserting 

16 after section 214 the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 214A. CUBAN FAMILY REUNIFICATION PAROLE PRO18 GRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Pursuant to the authority 

20 established under section 212(d)(5), the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security shall establish a Cuban family reunifi22 cation program under which the Secretary may grant pa23 role to a qualified beneficiary on whose behalf a petition 

24 has been approved. 

25 ‘‘(b) PETITION PROCESS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2684 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner may submit an 

2 application to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 for a qualified beneficiary to be paroled into the 

4 United States prior to the date on which an immi5 grant visa is available for such beneficiary. 

6 ‘‘(2) INTERVIEW.—The Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security, in consultation with the Department of 

8 State, shall conduct an interview of a qualified bene9 ficiary to ensure that such beneficiary— 

10 ‘‘(A) is eligible for the Cuban family reuni11 fication program; 

12 ‘‘(B) is admissible to the United States; 

13 ‘‘(C) has passed a medical examination; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) has passed criminal and national se16 curity background checks required by the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security for admission into 

18 the United States. 

19 ‘‘(3) IDENTITY VERIFICATION.—To be eligible 

20 for the Cuban family reunification program, a quali21 fied beneficiary shall provide— 

22 ‘‘(A) a passport issued by the government 

23 of Cuba, as applicable; and 

24 ‘‘(B) other documents required by the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security to demonstrate 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2684 IH

1 that the qualified beneficiary is eligible for pa2 role under the Cuban family reunification pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLA5 TORS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a qualified 

6 beneficiary who has committed a gross violation of 

7 internationally recognized human rights, as de8 scribed under section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign As9 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)). 

10 ‘‘(c) TRAVEL DOCUMENTS.—The Secretary of State 

11 shall issue necessary travel documents for the qualified 

12 beneficiary to travel to the United States and seek parole 

13 from the Department of Homeland Security at a port of 

14 entry of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF PAROLE.—Parole granted under 

16 this section shall be for a 2-year period for a qualified 

17 beneficiary who is a Cuban national. 

18 ‘‘(e) WORK AUTHORIZATION.—A qualified bene19 ficiary is eligible to apply to the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security for work authorization. 

21 ‘‘(f) FEES.—The Secretary of State may require pay22 ment of a reasonable fee as a condition of participation 

23 in the Cuban family reunification program. 

24 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY PROCESSING.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2684 IH

1 ‘‘(1) TERMINAL ILLNESS.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security, in coordination with the Sec3 retary of State, shall take all reasonable measures to 

4 prioritize a petition for a qualified beneficiary to be 

5 paroled into the United States if the petitioner— 

6 ‘‘(A) has a terminal illness; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the petitioner can provide documenta8 tion of such illness to the Secretary of Home9 land Security. 

10 ‘‘(2) MINOR CHILDREN.—The Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security, in coordination with the Sec12 retary of State, shall take all reasonable measures to 

13 prioritize a petition for a qualified beneficiary to be 

14 paroled into the United States if such qualified ben15 eficiary— 

16 ‘‘(A) is a minor child; and 

17 ‘‘(B) has a custodial parent who is the 

18 beneficiary of an immigrant visa and such visa 

19 will expire prior to the date of the interview 

20 under subsection (b)(2) for the minor child. 

21 ‘‘(h) PROCESSING IMMIGRATION PETITIONS AND AP22 PLICATIONS AT UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, GUAN23 TANAMO BAY, CUBA.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision of law, beginning not later than 120 days 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2684 IH

1 after the date of the enactment of the Cuban Family 

2 Reunification Modernization Act of 2021 and ending 

3 on the date specified in paragraph (7), the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec5 retary of State and the Secretary of Defense, may 

6 operate a facility to process immigration petitions 

7 and applications for Cuban nationals, including con8 ducting in-person interviews as necessary for such 

9 petitions and applications, at the United States 

10 Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (hereinafter 

11 referred to as the ‘U.S. Naval Station’). Provided, 

12 That the Secretary of Defense certifies that oper13 ating consular services at the U.S. Naval Station 

14 would not hinder ordinary operations or pose a 

15 threat to national security. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—A Cuban national shall 

17 be permitted to enter the U.S. Naval Station only 

18 with an appointment notice from the Department of 

19 Homeland Security or the Department of State. 

20 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT OF CUBAN NATIONALS.—In 

21 carrying out the requirement under paragraph (1), 

22 the United States Government shall not employ a 

23 Cuban national recommended by the Communist re24 gime in Cuba. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2684 IH

1 ‘‘(4) PORT OF ENTRY.—The U.S. Naval Station 

2 shall not be considered to be a port of entry into the 

3 United States. 

4 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—Beginning on the date that is 

5 60 days after the enactment of this Act, funds au6 thorized for the processing of immigration petitions 

7 or applications at the United States Embassy in Ha8 vana, Cuba are authorized to fund the processing of 

9 immigration petitions or applications at the U.S. 

10 Naval Station. 

11 ‘‘(6) OPERATION AND SECURITY OF UNITED

12 STATES NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, 

13 CUBA.—If the Commander of the U.S. Naval Station 

14 finds that the operation and security of the U.S. 

15 Naval Station is impaired by a high number of 

16 Cuban nationals attempting to access consular serv17 ices described in paragraph (1), without an appoint18 ment, the Commander of the U.S. Naval Station 

19 may cease operating a facility to provide consular 

20 services until such facility and services may be pro21 vided without impairing the operation and security 

22 of the U.S. Naval Station. 

23 ‘‘(7) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in 

24 this paragraph is the date that is 60 days after the 

25 date which the Secretary of State determines that 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2684 IH

1 other accommodations have been made to allow for 

2 the regular and timely processing of immigration pe3 titions or applications on the island of Cuba. 

4 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) PETITIONER.—The term ‘petitioner’ 

6 means an individual who is a citizen or lawful per7 manent resident of the United States and who has 

8 an approved Form I–130, Petition for Alien Relative 

9 (or any successor form), for a qualified beneficiary. 

10 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED BENEFICIARY.—The term 

11 ‘qualified beneficiary’ means an individual— 

12 ‘‘(A) who is a Cuban national living in 

13 Cuba, or a minor child, who may or may not be 

14 living in Cuba, of a Cuban national parent; and 

15 ‘‘(B) who is the beneficiary of a petition, 

16 filed by the petitioner, for status as a lawful 

17 permanent resident by reason of a relationship 

18 described in section 203(a). 

19 ‘‘(3) MINOR CHILD.—The term ‘minor child’ 

20 means an individual under the age of 21 years old.’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS