Getting to Cuba the Legal Way

To legally visit Cuba, a U.S. citizen generally must either A) spend no money there, or B) qualify for licensing by the U.S. Treasury Department. Government officials, journalists, Cuban-Americans, educators, students, charity workers and select others can qualify but may be required to submit applications for case-by-case consideration. Those who qualify are generally limited to $100 in total spending per day.

The U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council’s estimates 43,000 Cuban-Americans and 17,000 “qualified” visitors went to Cuba legally in 1996. Since last year’s ban on all nonstop commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba, Americans--traveling legally or illegally--enter Cuba via a third country. Cuban customs officials typically do not stamp American passports, so there is no official evidence of a visit.

The most recent tightening of U.S. restrictions on Cuba--which began in 1960 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower--came in February 1996 after the Cuban military shot down two private U.S. planes on a propaganda mission near Cuba. After the incident, President Clinton dropped his opposition to Congress’ Helms-Burton bill, which allows Americans to sue foreign companies whose Cuban dealings tie them to properties seized in the 1959 revolution.

The U.S. Treasury Department also restricts American spending in North Korea. U.S. passports are not valid for travel to Libya, Lebanon or Iraq.