The U.S. will resume issuing visas to Cuba

The U.S. Embassy in Cuba will resume visa and consular services Wednesday, the first since a series of unexplained deteriorating cases of diplomats in 2017 led to a reduction of the U.S. diplomatic presence in Havana.

The embassy confirmed this week that it will begin processing immigration visa applications, with priority given to permits for Cubans to reunite with their relatives in the United States.

Other visas, such as those based on the results of the immigrant visa lottery, will also be issued.

This renewal comes amid the largest flow of migrants from Cuba in decades, which is putting pressure on the Biden administration to open more legal avenues for Cubans and begin a dialogue with the Cuban government despite historically tense relations.

The embassy is expected to issue at least 20,000 visas a year, though this is just a drop in the sea of migration tide fueled by the island’s intensifying economic and political crisis.

Visa and consular services on the island were discontinued in 2017 after embassy staff suffered several medical incidents, allegedly related to sonic attacks, that remained largely unexplained.