H-1B Workers Face Possible End to 60-Day Job-Loss Grace Period

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has advanced a proposal that would remove the 60-day grace period available to certain foreign workers who lose their jobs.

The proposal, titled “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period”, has completed White House regulatory review but has not yet taken effect. Under the current rules, certain non-immigrant workers can remain in the United States for up to 60 days after their employment ends, or until their authorised stay expires, whichever comes first. The period gives them time to find a new sponsoring employer, change their immigration status or prepare to leave the country. 

Immigration lawyers have described the grace period as an important safeguard for workers who unexpectedly lose their jobs. Without it, a job loss could quickly create an immigration problem, leaving workers with limited time to make decisions about employment, family arrangements and their future in the US.

Attorneys Gnanamookan Senthurjothi and Veena Vijay Ananth of The Visa Code told Financial Express (Digital) that removing the provision would mean an unexpected job loss could become an immediate immigration emergency. They said the rule is particularly important for people who have established long-term lives in the United States.

The DHS proposal, identified as RIN 1615-AD22, was submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on 6 August and completed its review on 27 August. However, the rulemaking process is not complete. The proposal has not yet been published in the Federal Register, and the public has not been given an opportunity to submit comments.

Until those steps are completed, the existing provision under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) remains in force. Kevin J. Andrews, principal immigration attorney at Kevin J. Andrews LLC, said the grace period was introduced through regulation in 2016 and took effect in 2017. 

He said USCIS could remove it through a similar regulatory process, provided it publishes a proposal supported by a record and a reasoned explanation. Andrews added that immigration practitioners have anticipated such a move since the early Trump administration.

The proposed change comes amid wider debate over the future of skilled immigration policy in the United States. For foreign professionals, losing a job can also affect housing, financial commitments and family stability.

The 60-day provision does not create a new route into the United States. Instead, it gives eligible workers who are already lawfully present additional time to manage an unexpected change in employment or immigration status.