H-1B 60-Day Grace Period May End for Laid-Off Workers

Proposed Immigration change could leave Foreign Workers with little or no time to find a new job after being laid off, with Indian H-1B professionals among those most exposed.

The United States is reviewing a proposal that could end the 60-day grace period currently available to certain foreign workers on non-immigrant visas after their employment ends. If adopted, the change could significantly reduce the time affected workers have to find another employer, change their immigration status or make arrangements to leave the country.

The proposal is being reviewed by the federal Office of Management and Budget after being submitted by the Department of Homeland Security. The details currently available do not indicate exactly how the proposed policy would operate or when any change could take effect.

The issue is particularly important for H-1B workers, including a large number of Indian Technology professionals. Under the existing framework, eligible workers and their dependants can generally remain in the US for up to 60 days after employment ends, provided the grace period does not extend beyond the end of their authorised stay.

Removing that window would change what happens after an unexpected job loss. For workers who have built their lives in the US, the difference between having several weeks to find another employer and having to leave immediately could be substantial.

What is the 60-day H-1B grace period?

The 60-day grace period was introduced in 2017 to provide certain non-immigrant workers with a limited period to deal with an unexpected end to their employment.

Under the current arrangement described in the proposal’s background, eligible principal non-immigrant workers and their dependants can remain in the United States for up to 60 days after the principal worker’s employment ends, or until the end of their authorised stay if that occurs sooner.

The provision applies to several non-immigrant visa categories, including H-1B. It also covers E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN categories, along with eligible dependants.

The purpose of the grace period is practical. Losing a job does not necessarily mean that a foreign worker immediately stops having ties to the United States. A worker may need time to search for another position, complete the immigration process associated with a new employer, organise a transfer of employment or prepare to depart the country.

Without such a window, an unexpected termination could create an immigration problem almost immediately.

Why the proposed change matters

The proposal could alter that safety net by allowing the government to end or significantly restrict the period available after employment termination.

The precise details remain unclear because the proposal is still under review. It is therefore too early to say that the 60-day period has been abolished or that every laid-off H-1B worker would automatically have to leave the country on the day employment ends.

What is clear from the proposal’s description is that the administration is considering a change to a provision that has become an important part of how employers and foreign workers manage unexpected job changes.

If the grace period were removed, workers could face a much tighter timetable after losing employment. The consequences could extend beyond the worker because eligible dependants may also be affected by the principal worker’s immigration status.

Which visa holders could be affected?

The potential change is broader than the H-1B programme alone.

The existing grace-period provision applies to several categories of non-immigrant workers and their dependants. These include:

• H-1B: Specialty-occupation workers, widely used by US technology, engineering and professional services companies.
• H-1B1: A separate employment category for qualifying professionals from Singapore and Chile.
• L-1: Employees transferred within multinational companies.
• O-1: Individuals who qualify based on extraordinary ability or achievement.
• E-1 and E-2: Certain treaty traders and treaty investors.
• E-3: Certain specialty-occupation professionals from Australia.
• TN: Certain qualifying professionals from Canada and Mexico under the applicable trade agreement framework.

The impact would therefore extend beyond the Indian technology workforce, although the H-1B population is likely to receive particular attention because of the large number of Indian Professionals using the programme.

What happens to a worker after a layoff today?

The current 60-day window gives an eligible worker time to respond to an employment termination rather than having to make an immediate decision about leaving the United States.

During that period, the worker may look for another qualifying position. A new employer may also begin the necessary immigration process where permitted.

This flexibility can be especially important in industries where layoffs happen quickly. A worker may have strong professional qualifications but still need time to interview, receive an offer and complete the immigration-related steps connected to the new employment.

The grace period also gives families time to make decisions. A foreign worker with a spouse and children in the United States may need to consider schooling, housing, Healthcare arrangements, property and other practical matters if employment ends.

Removing or shortening the window would compress all of those decisions into a much smaller period.

What could change if the grace period is removed?

The most significant potential change would be the loss of time between the end of employment and the need to take action on immigration status.

According to the information available in the proposal, foreign nationals whose employment ends early could generally be required to depart the United States immediately if the grace period is eliminated. They could also face restrictions on changing their status or employer from inside the country unless US Citizenship and Immigration Services exercises discretion to excuse the lapse in status.

That would make job loss a much more consequential immigration event.

Under the current system, an H-1B worker who loses a job can use the available window to search for another opportunity. Under a substantially more restrictive system, that same worker could have little practical ability to complete a job search before their immigration status becomes an issue.

The distinction is important because finding a job and completing the immigration process are not always instantaneous. Employers may also need time to evaluate candidates and complete their own hiring procedures.

Why Indian H-1B workers are watching closely

Indian nationals are among the largest groups benefiting from the US H-1B programme.

The material provided for the proposal says Indian nationals accounted for 71 per cent of successful H-1B applicants in fiscal year 2024. That makes any major change affecting the post-employment grace period especially significant for Indian professionals working in the United States.

The Indian-American population in the country is estimated at about 5.2 million, although that broader figure includes people who are not H-1B workers and therefore should not be interpreted as the number directly affected by the proposal.

For Indian professionals currently working in the US on H-1B visas, the issue is less about nationality than immigration dependency. Their ability to remain in the country is closely tied to maintaining qualifying employment and complying with the conditions of their status.

A sudden layoff can therefore have consequences that go far beyond the loss of a salary.

Technology workers could face particular pressure

The H-1B programme is heavily associated with the technology sector, although the visa is used across a wider range of specialised occupations.

Technology companies have historically used H-1B workers for specialised roles, creating a large population of foreign professionals whose employment and immigration status are connected.

When companies conduct layoffs, workers on temporary employment visas can face a more complicated situation than US citizens or permanent residents. A US worker who loses a job generally focuses first on finding another source of employment. An H-1B worker may have to consider both employment and immigration status at the same time.

A shorter or eliminated grace period would increase that pressure.

It could also influence how workers approach employment negotiations. A foreign professional who knows that losing a job could immediately trigger a requirement to leave the country may have less flexibility when considering a new employer or dealing with an uncertain employment situation.

Employers could also be affected

The proposed change would not affect only workers.

US companies that rely on foreign professionals could also face a more complicated hiring environment. The existing grace period provides employers with some flexibility when recruiting workers who have recently lost employment.

If that flexibility disappears, companies may have less time to hire and complete the necessary immigration steps before a worker must leave the country.

This could matter particularly for businesses seeking highly specialised employees. A candidate might have the right technical background for a position but still be unable to remain in the United States if the immigration process cannot be completed quickly enough.

Employers could therefore have to pay greater attention to immigration timing when hiring non-immigrant workers who have recently experienced a job termination.

The role of USCIS discretion

The proposed change does not necessarily mean that every worker would have exactly the same outcome.

The information provided says the Department of Homeland Security has discretion under the existing framework to shorten or refuse the grace period, although immigration consultants have said this has rarely occurred.

It also indicates that USCIS could, in certain circumstances, use its discretion to excuse a lapse in status.

That means the practical effect of any final rule would depend heavily on its exact wording and how immigration officials implement it.

Until the government releases the full proposal and, if applicable, a final rule, workers should not assume that the current grace period has already disappeared.

Why the OMB review is important

The proposal’s presence at the Office of Management and Budget indicates that the administration is reviewing the potential regulatory change before it can move forward.

However, an OMB review does not by itself mean that the proposed policy has been finalised.

The details that workers and employers need most, including the exact scope of any new rule, implementation date and treatment of workers who are already in the grace period, cannot be determined from the limited information currently available.

Those details could significantly change how the policy affects foreign workers.

What H-1B workers should understand right now

The most important point is that the reported proposal is not the same as a final change in immigration law.

Workers should distinguish between the current rules and what the Department of Homeland Security is considering.

For now, the 60-day grace period described in the supplied information remains the relevant framework for eligible workers. The proposal is still under review, and its final form, if it advances, could differ from the version currently being considered.

Workers facing a layoff should therefore pay close attention to official announcements and obtain qualified immigration advice about their individual circumstances rather than relying on general reports about the proposal.

What could happen next?

The next major development will be the release of additional details about the Department of Homeland Security proposal and whether it progresses through the federal review process.

If the administration moves ahead, the precise treatment of H-1B workers, their dependants and other non-immigrant visa holders will become critical. The timing of implementation would also matter, particularly for workers who lose employment around the date a new rule takes effect.

The broader question is whether the US will continue to provide foreign workers with a temporary buffer after unexpected job loss or move toward a system in which employment termination produces much more immediate immigration consequences.

For Indian H-1B professionals, the stakes are especially high because of their large presence in the programme. For US employers, the issue could affect how quickly they can recruit foreign talent following layoffs or employment changes.

Until the proposal is finalised, however, the 60-day grace period should not be described as already abolished. The significant development is that the US government is considering a change that could substantially alter what happens to foreign workers after they lose their jobs.