Those affected have 15 days to prove that they have a valid temporary residence permit in the country.
14ymedio, Florida, May 1, 2025 — Thousands of Cubans who entered through the CBP One program received a work permit cancelation notice from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) this Wednesday.
“We have issued a notification explaining our intention to revoke the prior approval of your case,” the federal agency told migrants who entered through the program implemented by the Biden government. The message, which can be read in the applicant’s profile on the USCIS website, indicates the reference used when managing their work permit.
On April 18, thousands of migrants who legally entered the US using the CBP One application began to be notified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that their form I-94 (temporary stay permit or parole) was cancelled, so most of them assumed that the same thing would happen with the work permit.
USCIS explains that those affected have up to 15 days to prove that they have a valid temporary residence permit in the country and thus be able to keep their work permit. This situation leaves the thousands of Cubans who hope to obtain permanent residence through the Adjustment Act without the right to work in the US.
“I was waiting until the last moment for my work permit not to be canceled,” says Marcos, a Cuban from Santiago living in Tampa. He entered the US in January 2023 and applied for permanent residence last December. “Although I have already applied for a work permit along with my residency, those permits are taking a long time,” he says.
“If my company realizes that the work permit with which I was hired was canceled, they will sack me tomorrow,” he adds with concern. “I only think about how to pay my rent and my monthly debts, because jobs don’t seem too easy to find here in Florida.”
Just as desperate is Yoandry, who has only been in the US for seven months and also lives in Tampa. “There are many obstacles to working without papers here in Florida; something always appears but it is unstable,” he says. “For now I have to wait one year and a day to apply for residency, but until then if I don’t find work under the table I don’t not know where I will live. The rent alone costs me $1,000.”
Just as desperate is Yoandry, who has only been in the US for seven months and also lives in Tampa
The CBP One program began operations in January 2023. More than 930,000 people have appeared in these two years of validity at the ports of entry for the authorities to process their cases, according to official data. During the procedure, foreigners received a temporary residence permit.
Of the total number of beneficiaries of the program — which for December alone, the last month available, was about 44,000 — 110,970 were Cubans. Through this system, 1,450 migrants could enter each day through seven border crossing points.
CBP One was created by the Biden administration to stop illegal border crossings and manage the organization of entry points, but in recent months, and following the election victory of Donald Trump, who had promised to eliminate it, the number of applicants has decreased.
In the first week of April, the Trump administration demanded that migrants who entered with CBP One leave the country “immediately,” through an e-mail warning that the immigration police have the means to locate those who do not comply with the request and hide from the authorities.
“It’s time for you to leave the United States,” the text said bluntly from the beginning. “You are here because the Department of Homeland Security has granted you an entry permit for a limited period of time.” Invoking section 1182 of the US Code and Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the institution informed that it was going to exercise its right to revoke the permit “immediately.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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