SEATTLE (AP) -- A Cuban soccer player in town for two CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer matches has started the process to defect to the United States, immigration officials said Wednesday.

The Cuban team played in Seattle last weekend, losing 4-1 to the United States on July 7, and 3-1 to Costa Rica on Saturday.

Forward Maikel Galindo was interviewed Monday by immigration officials in Seattle, who have placed him in immigration proceedings, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

"When he goes before the judge, he will explain to the judge whether or not he wants to stay in this country and what the basis of his claim is," Kice said Wednesday.

The judge at that hearing will determine whether Galindo can stay in the United States. If he is ordered deported, he can appeal through the federal court system.

The other Cuban player who failed to suit up Tuesday, backup goalkeeper Odelin Molina, didn't approach immigration officials, Kice said.

Galindo isn't being detained, she said. She was unsure whether a date has been set for his hearing before an immigration judge, but a copy of his notice to appear has been sent to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a division of the Justice Department near Washington, D.C.

Galindo's name couldn't be found in the Justice Department's database Wednesday, said Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the review office. That may be because the charging document or notice to appear hadn't arrived from the Northwest, she said.

Komis said she was familiar with the case because she received an e-mail about the Cuban soccer player earlier Wednesday.

"I don't know how long it will take to schedule," she said, adding that immigration cases that involve detention get scheduled first.

Until his hearing, he is free to travel anywhere in the United States, said Mike Milne of the ICE in Seattle.

"I am not confirming or denying that he has defected," Milne said.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press