At the end of August, Luis Paradela made history when he joined Reno 1868 FC of the USL Championship, becoming the first Cuban athlete to sign a professional contract in the U.S. on a P-1A Athlete.



Since the 22-year-old didn’t defect from a Cuban national team camp, he can still represent his country at the international level. Paradela will be Cuba’s featured striker in their upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches against the United States on October 11th in Washington D.C., and in the Cayman Islands on November 19th.



According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, a P-1A Visa applies to individual or professional athletes who “are coming temporarily to the United States solely for the purpose of performing at a specific athletic competition.”



Paradela arrived on loan from Guatemalan side Universidad de San Carlos, meaning Reno didn’t have to go through the Football Association of...