Was just completing the new electronic application process now required for visas to USA under the Visa Waiver Program.
In the Q's & A's was the following.......in a sense nothing new ...entry is always up to the US official but interesting all the same
Q Am I allowed to visit the United States after I've been to Cuba?
A Entry (even with a valid visa) is determined by U.S. Immigration officials at the port of entry. You may wish to take supporting documents about the purpose of your trip.
I never "stay within the lines" if I discover no one else is paying any attention to them, so my response ought be taken as an expression of that guiding principle I live by.
Assuming that you most certainly cannot fly directly from Cuba to the US, why would you think you might have problems flying INTO the US from any other departure point after you have left Cuba?
Methinks US Customs only cares about where you are departing from enroute to the US. Unless you create the "Cuba" issue by announcing your itinerary that includes Cuba, why ought there be any issue at all?
Assuming that at some later point the Barack Nation discovers some portion of your trip routed itself through Cuba, what, exactly, do you think might be the price you might have to pay? Speaking just for me, I can't imagine anything more than a "wag of the finger".
In practice(and from experience) I aggree with you Pelo - it's still significant though - even if only symbolically - that the USA find it necessary to specifically refer to Cuba on their OZ Embassy website.
If you did not earn your money in the USA, you are free to roam, even in Cuba, Customs does not care if you go to Cuba, it's OFAC and it has to do with the jurisdiction of the money earned and spent in Cuba. So if you have nothing to do with the US the only thing that matters is that you not bring in Cuban goods.
Now if you are a Us citizen, permanent resident, student, temprary worker or are in the US under any other legal visa you can be fined for spending money in Cuba. If this is the case I think #3 has been offering to put money in escrow to pay for anyone's fine that gets caught, so you have nothing to worry about anyway.
John is referrring to the new pre-authorization requirement for persons entering the US without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. That Cuba is mentioned on the website and there was advice to bring documentation about the purpose of the trip is interesting. It suggests uncertainty about whether the Cuban Asset Control Regulations apply to foreigners in transit, a subject that has been debated here before.
I doubt the ESTA will involve a shift in policy about the applicability of the CACRs to visitors in transit. Even under the Bush Administration the only section of the CACRs that was consistently enforced as to foreign tourists was the prohibition against the importation of Cuban products. The admonition that admission is subject to the discretion of the individual CBP officer is always true and is not a new concept.
I am sure John will have an uneventful flight.
In this case, to admit Cuba travel on the US Immigratiuon/Customs declaration re-entering the US on the return can increase the possibility of US Custom's search - and regardless of citizenship and regardless of country of purchase all Cuban made goods would be subjet to seizure ever since post-9/11.
I would not call the US system a catch-all, for sure not. I have checked bags back from Havana to LA (via Mexico City) - torn the bag tags off before going thru Custom's, and haven't had any problems.
But I think I will try to avoid completing the ESTA form from a computer in Cuba, in any event.