President Barack Obama has ended the longstanding policy that grants residency to Cubans who arrive in the US without visas.
The 20-year-old policy allows Cuban migrants who reach US soil to become legal permanent residents after a year.
In exchange, Havana has agreed to start accepting Cubans who are turned away or deported from the US.
Many Cubans in the US say Washington is rewarding a regime which has failed to address human rights concerns.
But President Obama is trying to continue the thawing of relations with Cuba in his final days of office.
He said: “With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws.”
In a statement on state television, the Cuban government praised the move as “an important step in advancing relations” between the US and Cuba.
It is unclear where relations between the two countries will go now.
Mr Obama’s successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has taken a much tougher stance and could reverse the change.
Until now, the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy has applied solely to Cubans, tens of thousands of whom reached US soil last year, including by land.
