OFAC Publishes Cuba Family Travel Q&As

The Treasury Department's Foreign Assets Control today published a series of Questions and Answers regarding the implementation of the General License issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 11, 2009 that permits certain visits to family in Cuba.

OFAC has also published an unofficial Spanish translation of the Guidance On Implementation Of Cuba Travel And Trade-Related Provisions Of The Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009.

As a result of a provision in the recently enacted FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, OFAC's March 11, 2009 general license reinstated the authorization for family travel to Cuba that existed prior to the June 16, 2004 amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.

The general license authorizes persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to travel to Cuba to visit close relatives for an unlimited period of time once every 12 months and to engage in travel-related transactions at the "maximum per diem rate" in effect at the time of travel, as established by the State Department. The current per diem rate for Cuba travel is $179 per day.