US expected to ease Esta ban for Cuba visitors

President Trump’s final act against Cuba was to place the island on Washington’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism” (SST). His successor, Joe Biden, has left the designation in place.

As a result, says the US State Department, British visitors to America who have visited Cuba since 1 March 2011 cannot use the swift, cheap and easy Esta system. Instead they must spend $160 (£141) on a full visa – and attend an interview at the US Embassy in London or the Consulate-General in Belfast, for which appointments are hard to obtain.

Confusion has reigned, with several leading travel firms insisting the backdated sanctions apply only from the “designation date” of 12 January 2021. Many travellers with evidence of a visit to Cuba in their passport before that date have reported that they have been allowed to enter the US without a problem.

But the State Department insists: “Any visit to an SST on or after March 1, 2011, even if the country was designated yesterday, renders the applicant ineligible for Esta.”

As a result, some passengers have been turned away from departure airports because they are regarded by the airlines as inadmissible to the US.

Now, though, The Independent understands that US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) is likely to announce this month – possibly within a matter of days – that visits in the decade before 2021 will no longer disqualify a traveller from using the Esta scheme.

US government sources have said that discussions in Washington are at an advanced stage and that CBP is pressing for the 12 January 2021 date to be used. While negotiations continue, front-line staff are taking “a relaxed approach” to British visitors who were in Cuba before 2021.

The former president’s aim was to cause maximum damage to the Communist republic by deterring visitors. But it is also having an impact on US tourism, with some visitors choosing to visit Cuba in preference to America.

The Caribbean’s largest island is classed alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism. With the US mid-term elections out of the way, it is thought President Biden may remove Cuba from the list.