The Justice Department is rewriting the two cancellation-of-removal applications used in immigration court, in a 30-day notice placed on public inspection on October 23 and scheduled for Federal Register publication on October 26 (FR Doc. 2026-21775), Immigration Analytics reported, citing the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) notice.
Source: Immigration Analytics, Oct. 23, 2026 — EOIR-42B form changes: signature at filing, Part 7 cuts
Form EOIR-42B is the application long-term residents without a green card file to ask an immigration judge to cancel their deportation; its companion, Form EOIR-42A, is for green card holders. Under the proposal, applicants will sign and affirm both forms at the time they file them — moving the sworn signature in Part 9 to filing day — EOIR will remove Part 7 fields it calls irrelevant to the immigration judge's exercise of discretion, and Question 21 will be broadened to cover the different visas an applicant may have used to enter the country.
Source: Immigration Analytics, Oct. 23, 2026 — EOIR-42B form changes: signature at filing, Part 7 cuts
Cancellation is a main defence in immigration court for people with deep roots in the United States. A green card holder can qualify after five years as a permanent resident and seven years of continuous residence, with no aggravated felony conviction. A person without status needs 10 years of continuous physical presence, good moral character, and proof that removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or child, and Congress caps that second form of relief at 4,000 grants a year.
Source: Immigration Analytics, Oct. 23, 2026 — EOIR-42B form changes: signature at filing, Part 7 cuts
The practical effect of a filing-day signature, Immigration Analytics noted, is that every answer becomes a signed, affirmed statement from the moment the application reaches the court, so errors about dates of entry, arrests or time abroad may carry more weight in credibility assessments. The notice does not list which Part 7 fields will be removed, does not say whether applicants will also be sworn to the form again before the judge, and says nothing about a grace period for older editions or cases already pending. EOIR's own estimates in the notice project about 13,787 EOIR-42B respondents a year, down from 15,757 in its November 2025 notice, and 1,457 EOIR-42A respondents, down from 1,519. Comments go to the Office of Management and Budget through reginfo.gov, under OMB control number 1125-0001; after OMB approval, EOIR will post the new editions.
Source: Immigration Analytics, Oct. 23, 2026 — EOIR-42B form changes: signature at filing, Part 7 cuts
Nothing changes yet: this is a proposal in a 30-day comment process, not a new form in force. Anyone with a pending cancellation case should keep using the edition and instructions their court requires, and should take advice from a qualified immigration lawyer or accredited representative — this article is general information, not legal advice.
What is solid
- EOIR placed a 30-day notice on public inspection Oct. 23 (FR Doc. 2026-21775, publication scheduled Oct. 26) proposing revisions to Forms EOIR-42A and EOIR-42B, including a filing-day signature and affirmation — Federal Register notice via Immigration Analytics.
- Eligibility basics and the 4,000-per-year cap for non-permanent-resident cancellation are set in INA section 240A (8 U.S.C. 1229b), cited in the reporting.
What is only claimed
- How much the signature change will matter in practice is assessment, not established fact: Immigration Analytics argues signed inconsistencies may weigh more heavily on credibility; the notice itself does not say how later corrections will be handled.