U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed removing discontinued parole-program choices from Form I-131, including options used by people who entered through CHNV and the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program. The revision would update the form, not terminate anyone’s immigration status.
The agency published the proposal in the Federal Register on October 23, 2026. It identifies the notice as 2026-21684 and the information collection as OMB 1615-0013.
The proposal falls under the Paperwork Reduction Act. It would delete form references to programs that have already ended, rather than create a new immigration rule or a new end to parole. The affected program choices are being removed from the form; applications for individual relief remain a separate question.
People with expired parole still have individual routes to assess
Free toolDS-160 Form Filling Online Helper ToolA person who has maintained physical presence in the United States for at least one year after entering with parole can apply for permanent residence using Form I-485. Expiration of the parole does not erase the fact that the person was admitted under that status.
A separate route is individual re-parole, requested through Form I-131. The agency considers each request on its own and grants re-parole only for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Approval is not automatic.
As of October 2026, the re-parole fee is $1,050. The charge took effect October 16, 2026, and is collected when parole is granted, not when the application is filed. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act established the fee, and it is not subject to exemptions.
People who have not yet reached a year of physical presence may consider asylum or other defenses in immigration court. An asylum request generally must be filed during the first year after entry, unless an exception applies. Former parolees who entered through an official port of entry also retain protection from expedited deportation.
Those routes do not restore a group program. They depend on individual circumstances, and the form revision does not decide eligibility for them.
Earlier court orders affect how some parole terminations proceed
The four-country process covered citizens or nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, plus their immediate family members. A person needed a confirmed U.S.-based supporter to request travel authorization and consideration for temporary parole of up to two years. An estimated more than 500,000 people from those countries entered under the program before its termination.
Parolees received class-of-admission codes CHP, HHP, NHP and VHP. They could apply for employment authorization in category C11 on Form I-766. The agency’s program flyer describes the process.
The Department of Homeland Security canceled the process on March 25, 2025, and announced that individual parole periods still in effect would be terminated April 24, 2025, if they had not already expired. It also announced that C11 employment authorization would be revoked on that date.
A federal district court in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction on April 14, 2025, staying parts of the termination notice in Svitlana Doe, et al., v. Noem, et al., No. 25-cv-10495. The Supreme Court lifted that injunction on May 30, 2025, allowing the terminations to proceed.
A separate Massachusetts court order issued in January 2026 blocked the early termination of granted paroles and their work authorizations. That order remained in effect in October 2026. In the ongoing Doe v. Noem case, plaintiffs sought partial summary judgment in June 2026; the court had not ruled.
The Cuban family-reunification program began in 2007. It allowed Cuban family members of U.S. citizens or permanent residents to travel while awaiting visa availability, and ended December 15, 2025. The earlier court order concerning granted parole and work authorization is distinct from the proposed form revision: one concerns termination actions, while the other concerns which program choices appear on Form I-131.
Comments remain open through December 22
The public comment period on the form review runs through December 22 on Regulations.gov. People weighing an individual immigration option are advised to consult an attorney before deciding how to proceed.
Applicants can review the agency’s guidance on parole changes. Processing times and fees can change; verify current information at uscis.gov.
