Fast-track visas for Cuban doctors
A U.S. program for those who defect has received hundreds of responses.
By PABLO BACHELET
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON | Hundreds of Cuban doctors and medical personnel who
defected in other countries have applied for fast-track entry into the
United States under a six-month-old special program.
More than 100 already have arrived in the United States under the
program, and hundreds more are hiding in places such as Bolivia and
Venezuela, awaiting U.S. background checks to ensure that they are
medical professionals.
After a slow start, the program, intended for Cuban medical personnel
who defect while they are working abroad, has received so many
applicants that Cuban-American activists are scrambling to assist the
new arrivals. There are reports that Cuban authorities are visiting
family members of doctors stationed abroad to warn them of reprisals if
their relatives flee.
"It's a hugely successful program," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "The word is getting out, and
obviously we get an increased number every week."
Cuba has an estimated 40,000 doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical
personnel working in 69 countries, including about 15,000 in Venezuela.
They usually work with the poor for modest salaries, earning income for
the Havana government while extending its influence and improving its
image abroad. Havana isn't known to have complained publicly about the
U.S. program.
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, said last month that 366
medical professionals who defected had applied for the U.S. program, 160
had been approved and 55 had arrived. Twenty-five were rejected.
Gonzalez said that the latest numbers are much higher.
To reach Pablo Bachelet, send e-mail to pbachelet@mcclatchydc.com.
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