Immigration Update: USCIS Is Revising Form I-131 to Remove Past Special Parole Program Selections — Comments Close December 22
Published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2026. Comments are due December 22, 2026. Nothing changes for a Form I-131 filed today.
What changed
On October 23, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a notice at 91 FR 66868 (FR Doc. 2026-21684) covering Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records. The notice is filed under OMB Control Number 1615-0013 and Docket USCIS-2007-0045.
It is a revision of an approved information collection, not a new rule and not a new form edition. In the notice, USCIS states that the form "is being revised to remove the selections for certain special parole programs" that "were available in the past."
The notice also addresses people who already hold parole under one of those programs. It states that individuals in the United States on parole under one of the special parole programs or processes "may still use Form I-131 to request a new period of parole on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons" or significant public benefit based on their personal circumstances.
The public comment period runs through December 22, 2026.
Two points of precision, because both matter:
This notice published on October 23, 2026. It is not an announcement made today.
A Paperwork Reduction Act notice opens a comment period; it does not by itself put a revised form into effect. Any new Form I-131 edition would follow separately.
What applicants should know
1. If you are filing Form I-131 now, file on the current edition. Nothing in this notice changes a filing made today, whether for advance parole, a re-entry permit, or a refugee travel document.
2. If you were paroled under one of the earlier special parole programs, re-parole is still requested on Form I-131. USCIS says so in this notice: case by case, on urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit grounds, based on your own circumstances. Removing a checkbox from a form is not the same as removing the ability to ask.
3. If your filing is still weeks away, re-check the form edition date and the instructions on the official USCIS Form I-131 page before you file. A revision notice is the normal first step toward a new form edition, and USCIS rejects filings submitted on a retired edition.
4. The docket is open until December 22, 2026. Anyone affected by the change can file a comment.
The notice does not name which specific parole programs are being removed from the form, and USCIS has not published a new edition date. Treat anything beyond the language above as not yet established.
How we can help
Our consultants are former U.S. diplomats who spent their careers adjudicating visa and travel-document cases from the government's side of the counter. If you hold parole and are weighing whether to request a new period, or you have an I-131 filing coming up and want to be sure it goes in on the right edition with the right supporting record, we can walk through your specific situation and what the evidence needs to show.
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Professional visa consultations with former U.S. diplomats: visaexpertdiplomats.com
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