WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2026 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is proposing to eliminate a rule that gives many H-1B and other temporary foreign workers up to 60 days to remain in the United States after losing their jobs, a change that could sharply reduce the time available to find a new employer or secure another lawful immigration status.
The proposal, titled “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period,” would remove a provision of federal immigration regulations that has provided a buffer between the end of a worker’s employment and the loss of the immigration status tied to that job.
The change is not yet in effect.
It is a proposed rule and must pass through the federal rulemaking process before it can become binding. DHS is opening a 60-day public comment period and would have to review those comments before issuing any final rule and implementation date.
That distinction is critical for workers currently in the United States: the existing grace-period rule remains applicable while the proposal is pending.
What the current 60-day rule does
Under current regulations, eligible workers in several employment-based nonimmigrant categories can be considered to have maintained their immigration status for up to 60 consecutive days after their employment ends, or until the expiration of their authorized stay, whichever comes first.
The provision became effective in 2017 and was designed to provide workers with time to respond when employment ended unexpectedly.
For an H-1B worker who is laid off, that period can be used to search for another employer willing to sponsor the worker, pursue an eligible change of immigration status or arrange departure from the United States.
The grace period does not itself authorize a worker to continue working after employment ends.
The new proposal would remove that protection.
What DHS wants to change
DHS is proposing to delete 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), the regulation containing the current job-loss grace period.
The change would cover workers in the E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications, as well as qualifying dependants whose status is linked to the principal worker.
DHS says the change would restore a more direct relationship between a person's nonimmigrant status and the employment or activity that formed the basis for that status.
The department also argues that removing the provision could reduce administrative burdens.
If the proposal becomes final substantially as written, losing a qualifying job would become far more consequential.
Workers would no longer be able to assume that they have a separate 60-day period in which to remain in valid status while deciding what to do next.
For many employees, a new employer would have to act much earlier, or the worker could have to leave the country and complete immigration processing from abroad before returning.
Why H-1B workers are especially exposed
Although several visa categories are covered, the H-1B programme is likely to receive the most attention because of its scale and its importance to technology, engineering, consulting, finance, research and other specialist industries.
H-1B status is generally linked to employment with a sponsoring company.
That means losing the job is not only an income problem. It can immediately become an immigration problem.
Today, the 60-day period gives an eligible laid-off worker some time to arrange a transition.
Without it, the timing between one job ending and another employer filing immigration paperwork could become much more important.
For highly skilled workers who have lived in the United States for years, the consequences can extend well beyond employment. Housing, schools, spouses' careers, healthcare, finances and pending permanent-residence cases can all be tied to the ability to remain in the country.
DHS acknowledges that changing the rule could affect workers, employers, families and communities that have made decisions around the existing system.
Why the issue matters particularly to Indians
Indian professionals are disproportionately represented in the H-1B programme.
U.S. government data for fiscal 2024 showed 283,397 approved H-1B beneficiaries born in India, representing roughly 71% of all approved beneficiaries that year.
That does not mean the proposed rule specifically targets Indians.
It does not.
The regulation would apply based on immigration classification rather than nationality.
But because Indians form by far the largest nationality group in the H-1B system, changes affecting H-1B employment transitions can have an outsized impact on Indian engineers, software professionals, managers, researchers and their families.
For some workers, that vulnerability is compounded by long waits for employment-based permanent residence.
A professional may have lived and worked legally in the United States for years while still depending on temporary employment status.
A sudden layoff can therefore put years of immigration planning under pressure.
What happens when an H-1B worker changes jobs?
H-1B workers have an important mechanism known as portability.
Under qualifying circumstances, an H-1B employee can begin working for a new employer once that company properly files a non-frivolous H-1B petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, rather than waiting for final approval.
That can make changing employers faster than in some other visa categories.
But removing the 60-day grace period could dramatically reduce the amount of time a laid-off employee has to find the employer, complete recruitment, prepare immigration documents and get the new petition filed.
The problem is practical.
Hiring often takes weeks.
Technical interviews may require several rounds.
Employers need time for internal approvals.
Immigration attorneys need documents.
Government-required filings may also need to be prepared.
A 60-day buffer does not guarantee that a worker can complete all of those steps, but it creates a window in which they can try.
Removing that window changes the leverage and timing around every H-1B layoff.
DHS says relatively few workers complete transfers within the window
The government's own analysis offers another perspective.
DHS estimates that an average of 65,752 workers covered by the grace-period provision experienced a job loss or changed employers annually between 2021 and 2025.
The agency's data indicate that fewer than 6% had a new employer file a sponsorship petition during the grace-period window, while a smaller group filed to extend or change immigration status.
Those numbers need careful interpretation.
They do not necessarily mean that the grace period is irrelevant to everyone else. Government data do not capture every possible use of the provision in the same way, and some workers may depart the country, make different immigration arrangements or be counted differently depending on their circumstances.
For fiscal 2025 specifically, DHS identified approximately 5,178 workers for whom a new employer filed a petition during a potential grace-period window, involving about 2,886 employers.
The data show that the regulation affects a smaller group directly than the entire H-1B population, but for workers caught in a layoff, its importance can be substantial.
Employers could feel the change too
The consequences would not stop with employees.
Companies use H-1B and other employment-based visa programmes to recruit workers with specialized skills.
If an employee loses status much more quickly following termination, employers attempting to recruit that worker may have less time to complete a transfer.
That could make hiring between U.S. companies more difficult in some circumstances.
It could also increase the number of workers who must leave the United States and complete visa procedures at a U.S. embassy or consulate before beginning a new role.
There may be costs for companies terminating workers as well.
Certain H-1B employers can have responsibilities related to the reasonable cost of return transportation when they dismiss a worker before the end of the approved employment period.
The proposed rule therefore changes more than the experience of an individual visa holder. It could affect how companies plan layoffs, recruiting and immigration compliance.
This does not mean H-1B workers must leave today
The most important point for workers is also the easiest to lose in alarming headlines.
The 60-day grace period has not been abolished yet.
DHS has issued a proposed rule.
The agency is accepting public comments for 60 days following publication, after which it must consider the administrative record before deciding whether to proceed with a final regulation.
A final rule could remain similar to the proposal, be modified or potentially not be finalized at all.
An effective date would also have to be established.
Until that process is completed, eligible workers should not assume that the existing 60-day provision has disappeared.
What changes if the proposal becomes final
The larger policy shift is clear.
For nearly a decade, the federal immigration system has recognized that employment can end unexpectedly and has provided many temporary foreign workers with a limited transition period.
DHS now wants to reverse that approach.
If finalized, the immigration consequences of a layoff could begin much sooner.
Workers would need to plan job changes earlier.
Employers sponsoring foreign professionals would face tighter transition timelines.
Families whose legal status depends on the principal worker could also be affected.
And because Indian nationals account for the largest share of approved H-1B beneficiaries, the change would be felt particularly strongly among Indian professionals in the United States.
The final outcome, however, has not been decided.
For now, this is a major proposed change to the H-1B system, not a new rule already forcing laid-off workers onto immediate flights home.
Reader questions
Frequently asked questions
Has the 60-day H-1B grace period already been removed?
No. DHS has proposed eliminating it, but the proposal is not yet a final rule. The existing grace-period provision remains in effect while the rulemaking process continues.
What is the current H-1B grace period after a layoff?
Eligible workers can generally be considered to have maintained status for up to 60 consecutive days after employment ends, or until their authorized stay expires, whichever comes first.
Why would Indian workers be heavily affected?
Indian nationals are the largest group among approved H-1B beneficiaries. U.S. government data for fiscal 2024 showed 283,397 approved beneficiaries born in India, about 71% of the total.
Can an H-1B worker change employers after a layoff?
Under qualifying H-1B portability rules, a worker may be able to begin employment with a new sponsor after a properly filed non-frivolous H-1B petition. Removing the grace period could make the timing of that transfer much more difficult.
Which visa categories are covered by the proposal?
The proposal covers E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications, as well as qualifying dependants linked to the principal worker.
What happens next?
DHS will take public comments and review the administrative record before deciding whether to issue a final rule. Any final rule would also need an effective date.
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