Cuba License
Casa de las Américas' library in El Vedado, Havana.
La Casa de las Américas is a premier academic and cultural organization that promotes,
researches, supports, awards and publishes the work of writers, sculptures, musicians, and other artists and students of literature and the arts.
To the extent possible, the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) supports full-time University of Chicago faculty and students interested in academic research and exchange with Cuba. The CLAS holds a specific license from the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that permits the Center to authorize undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in a degree program at the University of Chicago to engage in travel-related transactions for certain academic activities in Cuba. Under certain conditions, the license also extends to full-time permanent faculty and staff at the University of Chicago. The current license expires on February 28, 2008. Students, faculty, and staff interested in learning more about the Center's license should read below under the heading University of Chicago Institutional License. Full-time faculty at the University of Chicago interested in learning more about authorized travel to Cuba for individual faculty research should read below under the heading General License.
Please note: in addition to obtaining authorization from the United States to engage in travel-related transactions for academic research in Cuba, travelers must also obtain a visa from the Cuban government. For more information, please contact the Consular Office of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington DC at (202) 797-8609 or by mail at 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009.
The University of Chicago Institutional License for Travel to Cuba
The Center for Latin American Studies holds a specific license from the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that permits the Center to authorize undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in a degree program at the University of Chicago to engage in travel-related transactions for certain academic activities in Cuba. Under certain conditions, the license also extends to full-time permanent faculty and staff at the University of Chicago. The current license expires on May 15, 2009. Faculty should also scroll down to learn about the General License.
The University's license permits the Center to authorize students enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program to engage in travel-related transactions and such additional transactions that are incident to at least one of the following authorized activities:
- Participation in a structured educational program as part of a course offered at the University of Chicago, provided the program constitutes a full term of study and no shorter than 10 weeks in duration in Cuba (currently, there are no such programs offered by the University of Chicago.
- Noncommercial academic research in Cuba specifically related to Cuba for the purpose of obtaining a graduate degree.
- Participation in a formal course of study at a Cuban academic institution, provided the formal course of study in Cuba will be accepted for credit toward the student's undergraduate or graduate degree at the licensed institution and provided that the course of study is no shorter than ten weeks in duration.
The University's license permits the Center to authorize full-time permanent faculty and staff to engage in travel-related transactions and such additional transactions that are incident to at least one of the following authorized activities:
- Teaching at a Cuban academic institution by an individual regularly employed in a teaching capacity at the University of Chicago, provided the teaching activities are related to an academic program at the Cuban institution and the duration of the teaching will be no shorter than 10 weeks.
- The organization of and preparation for teaching at a Cuban academic institution, as described above.
The University's license also permits the Center to sponsor a Cuban scholar to teach or engage in other scholarly activity at the University of Chicago, including payment of a stipend or salary.
Students, faculty, and staff interested in engaging in such travel-related transactions should complete an Application to Engage in Travel-Related Transactions in Cuba under the University of Chicago's Specific License, and submit the application to:
Josh Beck
Associate Director
Center for Latin American Studies
The University of Chicago
5848 South University Avenue
Email: jpbeck@uchicago.edu
Tel: (773) 702-9741
General License
Under what is called the "General License" provisions, travel to Cuba is permitted for full-time professionals whose travel transactions are directly related to professional research in their professional areas, provided that the research:
The regulations also authorize attendance by full-time professionals at professional meetings or conference in Cuba organized by an international professional organization, institution or association that regularly sponsors meetings or conferences in other countries, provided that:
For more information on the United States government's regulation on travel to Cuba, please refer to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
