Cuban Green Card Approvals Plunge To 23.7% As Trump Administration Tightens Immigration Rule

The approval rate for Cuban nationals seeking permanent residency in the United States fell sharply to 23.7 per cent in April-June 2026, down from 52.6 per cent in the previous quarter, according to federal immigration data. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 139 of the 586 Cuban applications it decided during the three-month period, while denying 447. The figures come as US President Donald Trump’s administration steps up scrutiny of legal immigration applications and expands the discretion available to immigration officers. However, the data alone do not establish that the administration’s policy changes caused the decline.

The fall is particularly significant because Cuban nationals have a dedicated route to permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. The law allows eligible Cuban natives or citizens who have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the US, and have been physically present in the country for at least one year, to apply for a green card. Applicants must still meet the relevant legal requirements, and approval is not automatic.

Immigration Rules Face Greater Scrutiny

On May 21, USCIS issued a policy memorandum stating that adjustment of status — the process through which eligible immigrants already in the US apply for permanent residency — is a matter of discretion and should be treated as an exceptional route rather than a substitute for the regular consular visa process. The guidance said people temporarily present in the country should generally return to their home countries to pursue consular processing, except in extraordinary circumstances. The administration has argued that the approach would align immigration procedures with the law and reduce the misuse of existing pathways.

The policy has drawn criticism from immigration and refugee advocacy organisations, which argue that requiring some applicants to leave the US could expose vulnerable people to danger or disrupt established lives. A separate legal challenge filed in federal court in Massachusetts on October 5 contests the May memorandum and an August policy concerning the rejection of certain applications without first requesting additional evidence.

USCIS Decisions On Cuban Applications Increase

The number of Cuban adjustment-of-status cases decided by USCIS increased from 95 in January-March to 586 in April-June. Over the same period, new applications received fell from 15,312 to 6,279, according to the agency’s data. The approval rate for Cuban applicants was also markedly lower than those recorded in other major categories: family-based approvals stood at 81.7 per cent and employment-based approvals at 93 per cent during the same quarter.

The figures cover cases decided between April and June and do not establish how individual applications were assessed or why they were denied. They also predate the August guidance, meaning they cannot measure its effect. USCIS’s next quarterly report, covering July-September 2026, should provide a further indication of whether the trend continues.