The Trump administration has proposed scrapping the up-to-60-day grace period that allows H-1B workers and certain other employment-based visa holders to stay in the United States after losing their jobs.
If implemented, the move could significantly reduce the time workers have to find a new employer or explore another legal immigration option.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday. It seeks to remove the provision under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), which applies to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN visa classifications, as well as their dependents.
Under the proposed rules, workers whose employment or other qualifying activity ends would generally be required to leave the US immediately, unless they have another authorisation allowing them to remain.
DHS said the existing grace period “disconnects the alien’s lawful status from the very basis of eligibility” for these employment-based non-immigrant visa categories.
The department said the proposal would bring back its earlier approach, under which workers were expected to leave the country once their employment with the sponsoring employer ended.
What is the current H-1B grace period?
Under the existing rule, eligible workers and their dependents can remain in the US for up to 60 days after employment ends. However, if their authorised validity period expires earlier, they can stay only until that date.
During this period, they are not considered out of status solely because their employment has ended. The grace period is discretionary, meaning DHS can shorten it or eliminate it.
The current provision has also given some workers time to seek a change or extension of status, apply for an adjustment to permanent resident status, or have a new employer-sponsored petition filed while they remain in the US.
DHS said the proposed change would “better align the regulations with the statutory provisions governing the relevant classifications”. It also said removing the provision would reduce the administrative burden on US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Impact on workers
DHS acknowledged that the proposed change could have financial consequences for some workers. Those who need additional time to search for a job could lose income if they are required to leave the country before starting new employment.
The department also said the change could lead to a marginal increase in referrals from USCIS to the Justice Department’s immigration court system and create additional demands on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The 60-day grace period was introduced through a rule in 2016 that took effect in January 2017. The measure was intended to provide greater “job portability, stability, and flexibility” to high-skilled non-immigrant workers whose employment ended before their petition’s validity period expired.
DHS now argues that the earlier rulemaking did not adequately consider the potential negative effects of the grace-period provision.
According to the department, removing the provision would strengthen programme integrity and restore a direct link between a worker’s legal status and the job or activity that formed the basis for their admission to the US.
H-1B workers make up majority of affected cases
DHS data cited in the proposal shows that an average of 65,752 primary beneficiaries in the affected visa classifications either lost their jobs or changed employers each year between fiscal years 2021 and 2025.
There were 328,758 such workers during the five-year period, with 99 per cent belonging to the H-1B classification.
The department estimated that 3,795 workers each year had a new Form I-129 petition filed by another employer during the existing grace period.
For fiscal year 2025, the median annual wage for affected H-1B workers who secured a new petition during the grace period was $131,000.
The proposal is not yet a final rule. DHS has invited members of the public to submit comments before any final decision is made.
Bureau Report
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