7/28/2003: 1951 Chevy Truck-Raft

[chrisinhouston]

Saw this in the local news today. Our fair and impartial immigration dept is hard at work!


Two on floating truck get chance for visas
Associated Press

HAVANA -- Two of the people who converted a 1951 Chevy pickup into a boat in a failed bid to reach American shores were granted interviews giving them a chance to get U.S. visas, one of the men said Wednesday.

Ariel Diego and Luis Grass received letters from the U.S. Interests Section inviting them to interviews on Dec. 3. Such interviews do not guarantee being granted a visa.

"At least this is an option we have," Diego told journalists. "The possibility still exists."

The U.S. Coast Guard sent the group back to Cuba in July after a U.S. Customs plane spotted their unusual truck-boat floating south of Key West in the Florida straits. The craft came within 40 miles of the U.S. coast.

Under U.S. immigration policies, Cubans who reach U.S. shores are allowed to stay while those caught at sea are usually returned.