Among the 553 Cubans seeking to come to the United States are senior government or military officials, who the Castro government reportedly views as defectors, said officials at the U.S. mission in Havana.

Cuban authorities require citizens with visas to also get an exit visa before leaving the country.

"Although the government allows the departure of people classified as immigrants or who have refugee status in other countries, thousands of citizens who received documents to travel abroad were denied authorization to leave last year," says a report issued last week by the U.S. State Department.