Over the years, 1000s of US citizens have participated in our tours and programs in Cuba on an unlicensed basis. Some of our clients have received added attention at US Immigration and some have received a Treasury Department "Requirement to Furnish Information" letter or "Prepenalty Notice", but none of our clients have ever been fined. However, some have settled out of court for up to $1000. Until the Bush administration, all previous US administrations refused to appoint judges to hear these cases and if OFAC couldn't coerce payment, they just quit pursuing the matter.

NOTE: OFAC, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets, is responsible for administering these Cuba sanctions. Even though OFAC also has many anti-terrorism responsibilities, they continue to spend over 15% of their time and manpower on Americans traveling to Cuba.
Website: http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/index.shtml

In the fall of 2003, the US Government appointed judges to hear these cases and some cases have now worked their way through the system. While some cases have been dismissed, many were settled out of court and some cases resulted in fines being levied. Appeals may occur and the ultimate outcome may be uncertain, but the possibility of fines for unlicensed travel does exist.

Note from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR):
There has been a sharp increase since January 2001 in U.S. government actions, threatening and attempting to fine persons who have visited Cuba and allegedly spent money there without a U.S. license.The NLG has long opposed these restrictions and related enforcement actions as being illegal and unconstitutional. We suggest that anyone who has received a letter along these lines from the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), should be sure to respond timely, and seek legal advice.A network of lawyers who are willing to provide such representation and have received basic training in this area has been established. To either obtain a referral or to become part of that network, contact:

Matthew Scott Cuba Travel Program Coordinator

Contact Information

Center for Constitutional Rights is a non-profit organization. If you need help finding an individual attorney for legal advice, please call the Center's Cuba Travel Project Coordinator Marc Krupanski at (212) 614-6470.

The National Lawyers guild is "An organization of lawyers, law students, legal workers and jail house lawyers... in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests." For more information visit: http://www.nlg.org/cuba/default.htm.

National Lawyers Guild (NLG)

Response to "Requirement to Furnish Information" and Response to "Prepenalty Notice"
http://www.nlg.org/cuba/Cuba_travel_alert_7.htm

Medical Insurance
While we no longer offer medical insurance to US citizens, you can view information on the Asistur Website at http://www.asistur.cu/insurances.php or contact them by e-mail at seguros@asistur.cu.

At last check, for US citizens up to the age of 70, the daily cost for emergency medical insurance was $5 CUC (up to $5000 medical coverage, $1000 repatriation). For people over 70 an additional charge will apply. Asistur will require name, passport number and arrival/departure dates. Upon arrival in Cuba you will have to go to the local Asistur office. In Old Havana, it's located at Paseo del Prado #254.

Tourist Visas
US citizens traveling to Cuba for tourism purposes qualify for a 30-day tourism visa, extendable locally in Cuba with Immigration for another 30 days (with presentation of corresponding stamps purchased from the bank in Cuba). Some airlines and charter companies include them in ticket prices, in other cases they are available for $15-20 at the departure airport. If you arrive in Cuba without one, you will have to purchase your visa from Cuban Immigration for $25. If seeking a business or student visa, you should contact the nearest Cuban Consulate or the Cuban Interests Section in Washington for details.

Passports
If your travel is not approved by the U.S. (licensed travel, general license, fully hosted, etc), Cuba, as a courtesy, will stamp your visa, not your passport upon entry. To be safe, you may remind the Immigration official before you hand over the passport. The stamp is a small square that usually appears on page 16, but is generally recognizable by US Immigration officials.