With a license

Licenses allowing persons from the U.S. to spend money in Cuba are granted to certain classes of people for particular purposes.

A general license does not require paperwork and may apply to the following:

• Professional journalists on assignment in Cuba
• Full-time professionals conducting academic research or attending professional conferences
• Persons on official government business

A specific license requires paperwork and State Department approval on case-by-case basis. You may be approved for a specific license if you fall into a certain class of persons. Note that a specific license may be granted to an institution (i.e. university, church) under whose auspices an individual may then travel without applying separately to the State department, or a specific license may be applied for and granted to an individual. Some of the classes of persons who may be granted a specific license are:

• Persons visiting immediate family in Cuba
• Full-time graduate students conducting academic research to be counted toward a graduate degree
• Undergraduate or graduate students participating in a study abroad program of at least 10 weeks in length
• Professors/teachers employed at a US institution travelling to Cuba to teach
• Persons engaging in religious activities
• Freelance journalists
• Persons engaging in humanitarian projects
• Persons engaging in non-profit cultural exhibitions

You cannot travel to Cuba for purposes of tourism. However, even U.S. citizens whose primary interest is tourism can get authorization to travel under the auspices of a program whose activities are sufficiently religious, educational, cultural, or otherwise exempt to qualify for a license. It is even possible for an individual with a credible background in, say, freelance journalism or academics, to craft a "mission" for their visit which successfully gets them a permit. Further details and forms are available from the U.S. Dept. of State.