Approval rate for Cuban green card cases fell to 23.7% in spring quarter, Newsweek reports

What the data show

Cuban applicants seeking permanent residence in the United States saw the steepest drop in approval rates of any group tracked in the latest quarterly U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services figures, Newsweek reported on Thursday. ^[1]

Of 586 Cuban adjustment cases decided from April through June 2026, the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, 139 were approved and 447 were denied, an approval rate of 23.7%, according to Newsweek's reading of the USCIS data. In the January to March quarter, 50 cases were approved and 45 denied, a rate of 52.6%, the outlet said. ^[1]

The earlier figure matches a September analysis by the American Immigration Council, which put the Cuban approval rate at 52.6% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, down from 97.2% in the same quarter a year before. ^[2]

New filings also fell. Cuban receipts dropped from 15,312 in January to March to 6,279 in April to June, Newsweek reported. The number of cases decided rose, so the count of approvals went up from 50 to 139 even as the share approved fell by more than half. ^[1]

Broader green card picture

Approval rates fell in three of five major green card categories in the quarter, according to Newsweek. The family-based rate slipped to 81.7% from 86%, and the employment-based rate edged down to 93% from 93.9%, while asylum-based and refugee-based rates rose slightly. ^[1]

USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler told Newsweek that "the Biden administration failed American citizens by undermining basic vetting" and said the agency is screening all applicants more thoroughly. ^[1]

Adam Klein, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official quoted by Newsweek, called the Cuban decline the most striking figure but said he would be cautious about attributing the changes to any single cause. Newsweek did not tie the Cuban numbers to a specific policy, and the agency's statement did not address Cubans directly. ^[1]

Policy changes behind the scrutiny

Most Cuban applicants adjust status under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which lets Cuban nationals who were inspected and admitted or paroled apply for permanent residence after at least one year in the United States, CiberCuba reported in an explainer. ^[6]

In an April commentary, David Bier of the libertarian Cato Institute wrote that USCIS suspended benefit requests in February 2025 for parolees who arrived under the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela program, and in December 2025 paused adjustment cases for Cubans and 18 other nationalities, later widened to 40 nationalities. Cato charted a 99.8% fall in Cuban green card approvals; the Latin Times, describing that analysis, said monthly approvals went from more than 10,000 in October 2024 to 15 in January 2026. ^{[3] [4]}

WLRN reported at the time that USCIS has defended the reductions as a national security measure and that a federal judge in Maryland ordered the agency to resume processing for some plaintiffs from affected countries. ^[5]

Two newer rules raise the risk of outright denials. A May 21, 2026, memo treats adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit, and an August 5 policy alert lets officers deny applications without first sending a request for evidence or notice of intent to deny, CiberCuba reported. A Florida federal court accepted the government's position in August that the May memo does not apply to Cuban Adjustment Act cases, according to the same report, but the August evidence rule does apply to Form I-485 filings. ^{[6] [7]}

Longer waits and a legal challenge

Cases are also taking longer. CubaHeadlines, citing USCIS statistics, reported a median processing time of 11.8 months for Cuban Adjustment Act applications in fiscal 2026 through July 31, up from 3.3 months in 2023. ^[8]

A coalition of unions, university faculty groups, an immigrant legal aid organization and six green card applicants sued USCIS on Oct. 5 in federal court in Massachusetts, challenging both the May memo and the August policy alert under the Administrative Procedure Act, CiberCuba reported. As of mid-October, the court had not ruled on preliminary relief and both policies remained in effect. ^{[6] [7]}

What is not known

The published figures do not break down the reasons for the 447 denials, and the January to March total of 95 decided Cuban cases is a small base for comparison. Fourth-quarter data, covering July through September 2026, would be the first full quarter after the August rule on denials without notice took effect. ^{[1] [7]}