The United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has approved 42 new travel and remittance service providers this year signaling a change in the Obama administration’s policy. No new travel and remittance service providers were approved in 2009.

OFAC’s list of authorized providers of air, travel and remittance forwarding services to Cuba has been updated four times so far this year, compared to just twice in 2009 and only once in 2008.

This indicates President Barack Obama’s change in policy which provides more readily for U.S. travel to Cuba. Moreover, there has been an effort by OFAC to address a backlog of applications for new licenses that have been pending for months.

The Obama administration has made it much easier for Cuban Americans to travel to the island nation, and the penalties issued under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”) have been minimal since President Obama took office early last year.

According to press releases issued by OFAC, 11 new approvals for service providers were issued on March 8, while 24 were issued on March 31. In addition, there were two new approvals on April 19 and five on May 14. The list of authorized air, travel, and remittance service providers now lists 224 companies licensed to offer these services to Cuba.

While there were numerous changes to existing licenses in 2009 to address the opening of new branches and the updating of addresses, there were no new authorized service providers.

According to a variety of industry experts more than 20,000 people each month are now applying for licenses to travel to Cuba, compared to less than 9,000 before the Obama administration eased the family travel restrictions.

Some Cuba travel industry experts have stated that most of the companies authorized this year have been in the Cuba travel business for several months, and that many are operating jointly with already licensed companies.

As part of the requirements to be approved for listing as an authorized air, travel and remittance services providers to Cuba, OFAC requires applicants to have fully established companies. This includes having office space and telephones in place. However, it should be noted that companies are barred from conducting business pertaining to Cuba pending approval of their license application.

Although the CACR has been relaxed during the Obama Administration, it should not be disregarded. OFAC is still very serious about enforcing the CACR. If you wish to travel to Cuba or engage in any financial transactions which may in some way pertain to Cuba, it would be wise to consult an attorney familiar with the CACR and how OFAC operates.

The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC litigation. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 at 202-351-6161 or ferrari@ferrari-legal.com.