MIAMI – Many Cuban Americans have been waiting for several years to reunite with family in Cuba.
"These are Cuban American citizens who want to bring their relatives to the United States under existing laws," U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., said Friday.
In 2017 the State Department decided to partially shut down the American Embassy in Cuba following the alleged health attacks on embassy workers.
Since the partial shutdown, Cubans are forced to go to third countries to follow the process.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., is pushing a bill in Congress that would force the State Department to start processing applications within 30 days of the bill becoming a law.
The bill, which is co-sponsored by Shalala, also gives the government the option to process the application by video conferencing.
"Castigating Cuban families for what an oppressive and dictational regime has done for decades is not the answer," Mucarsel-Powell said.