Proposed Rule Could End 60-Day Grace Period for Laid-Off H-1B Workers

Foreign professionals who lose their jobs in the United States could also lose the 60-day window that currently gives many of them time to find another employer, under a new federal proposal that would significantly tighten employment-based immigration rules.

The Department of Homeland Security proposed eliminating the discretionary grace period for workers in several temporary visa classifications, including H-1B professionals commonly employed in technology, health care, engineering, finance and higher education.

The change is not in effect. It is a proposed rule, and the public can submit comments through Nov. 10.

If adopted in its current form, affected workers whose qualifying employment ends would generally begin failing to maintain their nonimmigrant status the following day unless they already have another legal basis to remain in the country. DHS says they could be required to leave the United States immediately rather than using the current period of up to 60 days to search for another job or pursue a different immigration status.

For communities with large populations of foreign-born professionals, including major Sun Belt employment centers such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Charlotte and Phoenix, the practical consequences could extend well beyond the workers themselves.

What the 60-day grace period does now

Current regulations allow certain employment-based nonimmigrants whose employment ends to remain in status for up to 60 consecutive days, or until the end of their authorized stay if that comes first.

That time can be critical after a layoff. An H-1B worker may use it to find another employer willing to file a petition. Other workers may seek to change to another immigration status, pursue an already available immigration option or arrange their departure from the country.

USCIS has previously described the grace period as a way for recently unemployed workers to pursue new employment or another legal status following termination.

The proposed rule would remove that provision. DHS says the change would restore a more direct connection between a worker’s immigration status and the specific employment that justified that status in the first place, while reducing administrative burdens on the government.

H-1B workers would account for most of the impact

Although several classifications are included, DHS data indicate that H-1B workers would dominate the group directly affected.

The proposal covers E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers, along with dependents whose status is tied to them.

DHS estimates that approximately 3,795 workers each year currently have a new employer petition filed for them during the 60-day grace period.

About 3,765 of them, or 99.2%, are H-1B workers.

Those are not typically low-wage positions. Among H-1B workers who lost a job and then had a new employer petition filed during the grace period in fiscal 2025, the median annual wage was $131,000, according to DHS.

That helps explain why the proposal could be particularly significant in metropolitan areas with large technology, medical, research and engineering workforces.

Losing a job could become a much more urgent immigration event

For an American worker, a layoff primarily creates an income and employment problem.

For someone whose legal status is connected to a specific job, it can also start an immigration clock.

Under the current system, the 60-day period gives workers some time to interview, negotiate an offer and have another employer begin the immigration process.

Without that period, the timing could become much tighter. Eligible H-1B workers have an important advantage known as portability: they can generally begin working for a new employer once that employer properly files a qualifying H-1B petition, rather than waiting for final approval.

Workers in several of the other classifications included in the proposal generally must wait until a new petition is approved before switching employers.

The difficulty would arise when a worker is terminated before another employer is ready to file.

DHS acknowledges that some workers could lose income because they might have to leave the United States, continue their job search from abroad and later return after securing authorization to work again.

Families could be affected too

The consequences would not necessarily stop with the person who lost the job.

Dependent spouses and children often hold immigration status connected to the primary worker. If the primary worker loses status, the dependent family members can be affected as well.

DHS estimates that more than 200,000 dependents annually hold status connected to workers in the categories covered by the proposed rule, although the agency says it cannot reliably determine how many of them would actually be affected by elimination of the grace period.

Some dependent spouses are also authorized to work.

DHS specifically acknowledges that those spouses and their employers could face consequences if the principal worker loses employment and the family can no longer remain under the same status.

That can turn one layoff into two employment disruptions for a household.

Employers could have less time to recruit workers who are already here

The proposal could also change how companies recruit foreign professionals following layoffs at other businesses.

Under the existing system, an employer may have several weeks to interview a recently terminated H-1B worker and prepare a new petition.

DHS estimates that about 2,886 employers each year file petitions for workers during the current grace period. The agency acknowledges that some employers could experience temporary productivity losses under the proposed change, although it assumes businesses may hire other qualified workers or pursue another immigration process.

In fast-growing Sun Belt markets, the issue reaches industries far beyond Silicon Valley-style technology companies. H-1B professionals work in hospitals, universities, financial firms, manufacturers, consulting businesses and engineering operations.

That makes the rule particularly relevant in communities where immigration and skilled-worker recruitment have become closely connected to economic growth.

Nothing changes yet

For workers currently worried about a layoff, the most important point is that the existing grace period has not disappeared.

DHS published the proposal in the Federal Register on Sept. 11 and is accepting public comments through Nov. 10. The department would have to complete the rulemaking process before a new regulation could take effect. The full proposal and public-comment instructions are available through the Federal Register.

If the rule ultimately takes effect as proposed, however, losing a job could become a far more immediate immigration deadline for thousands of highly skilled workers and their families.

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