General travel framework for the 12 authorised categories
The umbrella regulation defining the 12 categories of authorised travel-related transactions to Cuba by US persons. Tourism is NOT one of the categories — every trip must qualify under one of the named categories below.
Read this section first before reading any of the 12 individual categories — it defines key terms (full-time schedule, recordkeeping, related transactions) that apply across all of them.
Status: Permanent regulation (subject to Treasury amendment) ·
Scope:
travelframework
Professional research and professional meetings in Cuba
Authorises travel for professional research in any field and attendance at professional meetings — provided the research is not for personal recreation and the schedule is full-time.
Used by academics, journalists travelling for non-news-gathering research, and professionals attending Cuban government or industry conferences (e.g. ZEDM-related, biotech, agriculture).
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelresearchprofessional
Educational activities and people-to-people exchanges
Authorises educational travel sponsored by US academic institutions and (under certain conditions) people-to-people educational exchanges. Trump-era amendments (2019) ended individual people-to-people travel and now require all such travel to be under the auspices of a US sponsor organisation.
Used by US universities running study-abroad and faculty-led courses in Cuba; also the legal home for licensed group educational tour operators.
Status: Permanent regulation (with 2019 amendments) ·
Scope:
traveleducationpeople-to-people
Support for the Cuban People
Authorises travel-related transactions and other transactions intended to provide support to the Cuban people. The traveller must engage in a full-time schedule of activities that enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society, or promote independent activity — and must avoid transactions with prohibited entities on the Cuba Restricted List.
By far the most common category for individual US travellers post-2017 (the only individual self-organised category that survived the Trump-era restrictions). Staying in casas particulares and eating at paladares is the canonical compliance pattern. Retain a written full-time schedule for 5 years.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelindividualcasa-particularpaladar
Family visits to close relatives in Cuba
Authorises Cuban-American and US-permanent-resident travel to visit close relatives in Cuba.
The Cuban-American family-visit category. Frequency restrictions tightened under the Trump administration and partially relaxed under Biden (May 2022); current rules are the post-2022 framework.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelfamily
Humanitarian projects
Authorises travel and related transactions for designated humanitarian projects (medical, disaster relief, etc.).
Used by NGOs, faith-based humanitarian groups, and US medical-relief organisations.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelhumanitarian
Religious activities in Cuba
Authorises travel and related transactions for religious activities by religious organisations.
Used by US churches, synagogues, and faith-based delegations — historically a major travel channel.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelreligious
Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions
Authorises travel for participation in public performances, athletic competitions, clinics, workshops, and exhibitions.
Used by US sports federations, music ensembles, and exhibitors at Cuban trade fairs (FIHAV).
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelculturalathletic
Journalistic activity
Authorises travel for full-time journalists employed by news-gathering organisations.
Used by US news organisations covering Cuban politics, economy, and culture. Cuba's MINREX-issued journalist visa is a separate Cuban-side requirement.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
traveljournalismmedia
Official business of the US government, foreign governments, and intergovernmental organisations
Authorises travel by US government employees on official business and by representatives of intergovernmental organisations.
The US Embassy Havana, USDA, and other US-government missions operate under this authority.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelgovernmentdiplomatic
Authorised export transactions
Authorises travel-related transactions necessary to support authorised exports — covering the agricultural-export industry under TSRA and certain humanitarian exports.
Used by US agricultural exporters (chicken, soy, corn, dairy via ALIMPORT) and pharmaceutical exporters travelling to negotiate or service contracts.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelexportsTSRA
Activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes
Authorises travel and related transactions for the activities of private foundations or research/educational institutes that have an established interest in international relations.
Used by US foundations (Ford, Open Society, Brookings) and policy think-tanks running Cuba-focused programs.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
travelfoundationsresearch
Telecommunications and internet-based services
Authorises a broad range of telecommunications and internet-based services to support the free flow of information into, out of, and within Cuba — including internet connectivity infrastructure, internet-based platforms, and remittance-related telecoms.
The compliance home for Google, AirBnb, Stripe, and other US tech platforms operating Cuba-related services. Note: ETECSA's status on the Cuba Restricted List complicates direct telecom infrastructure investment.
Status: Permanent regulation (Obama-era 2015 amendment, expanded subsequent years) ·
Scope:
telecomsinternetplatforms
Authorised exports of certain goods (independent Cuban entrepreneurs)
Authorises exports of certain goods from the US to independent Cuban entrepreneurs (cuentapropistas, MIPYMES) for use in their independent economic activity, provided the goods are not destined for state-sector use.
The legal channel for US suppliers selling tools, vehicles, computers, restaurant equipment, and other inputs to Cuba's MIPYME sector. Aligns with the CACR's policy direction to support the independent (non-state) economy.
Status: Permanent regulation (Obama-era expansion, narrowed under Trump, partially restored under Biden) ·
Scope:
exportsMIPYMESprivate-sector
Authorised agricultural and medical exports under TSRA
Authorises commercial sales of US agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Cuba on a cash-in-advance or third-country financing basis, under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
The single largest channel of legal US-Cuba commerce — chicken, soy, corn, and other ag exports routed through ALIMPORT under TSRA cash terms. The cash-in-advance restriction is the binding commercial constraint.
Status: Permanent statutory framework ·
Scope:
exportsagricultureTSRAmedical
Remittances to nationals of Cuba
Authorises remittances from the US to Cuban nationals subject to per-quarter and per-recipient limits — relaxed by the Biden administration in May 2022.
FINCIMEX (the GAESA-controlled Cuban remittance gateway) is on the Cuba Restricted List, which forced Western Union to suspend US-Cuba remittances in 2020 and reroute through non-FINCIMEX channels in 2023. Compliance teams must check the receiving-bank chain.
Status: Permanent regulation (with 2022 Biden-era expansion) ·
Scope:
remittancesfamilyhumanitarian
Certain remittances by persons subject to US jurisdiction
Authorises additional categories of remittances (donative, humanitarian, support for the Cuban people, support for MIPYMES, emigration-related).
The CACR section under which donor-style remittances to Cuban civil society and MIPYMES are authorised. Distinct from the family-remittance limit framework in § 515.570.
Status: Permanent regulation ·
Scope:
remittanceshumanitarianMIPYMES
Authorising Certain Transactions Related to a Vessel Owned by a Blocked Cuban Entity
Periodically issued narrow GLs authorising specific wind-down or maintenance transactions involving Cuban-owned blocked vessels (oil tankers servicing the Venezuela-Cuba corridor, GAESA-owned commercial assets).
Compliance teams should diary any narrow Cuba GL expiration date as a hard cut-off for blocked-counterparty exposure on a named vessel.
Status: Time-limited (typically 30-90 days from issuance) ·
Scope:
maritimewind-downvessels
Interaction between CACR general licenses and the State Department's Cuba Restricted List
OFAC FAQs clarify that even where a CACR section authorises a category of activity (e.g. travel under § 515.574), the transaction must still avoid all named entities on the State Department's Cuba Restricted List — including most GAESA-owned hotels, marinas, rum/cigar houses, and FINCIMEX.
The single most-asked compliance question on the Cuba program. Even a § 515.574 'Support for the Cuban People' traveller cannot stay at a Cuba-Restricted-List-named hotel.
Status: Ongoing guidance — list updated periodically ·
Scope:
complianceGAESACuba-Restricted-List