USCIS Releases Details on DACA-Related Travel in Proposed Revisions to Form I-131

"On November 27, 2012, USCIS published a request for comments on the Federal Register for its proposed changes to Form I-131, Travel Document Application.  Form I-131 has traditionally been used by three categories of foreign nationals to apply for permission to travel internationally: 1) Legal Permanent Residents or Conditional Permanent Residents seeking re-entry into the U.S., 2) Asylees or Refugees seeking travel documents to re-enter the U.S., and 3) Foreign Nationals seeking to be paroled back into the U.S.  In the parole category, USCIS has proposed changes to the existing Form I-131 to include a category for individuals who have received a grant of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  Actual proposed changes to Form I-131 include extending the form from 3 pages to 5 pages.  While the substance of the proposed changes to the form remains largely cosmetic (compare the current Form I-131 to the proposed draft Form I-131), the most significant aspects of the proposed changes reside not on the actual Form, but on the Form Instructions.  Today’s Part 1 article discusses the proposed DACA-Related travel document application instructions.  We’ll follow up with a Part 2 article to discuss the legal issues raised in the instructions regarding “admission” and “departures.”" - Ann Cun, Dec. 12, 2012.