The US has proposed eliminating the discretionary 60-day grace period for H-1Bs and some other foreign workers who lose their jobs, potentially requiring them to leave the country immediately. | Photo credit: iStockphoto
The United States on Thursday proposed a new rule eliminating the 60-day grace period available to some foreign workers, including skilled workers on H-1B visas, to find new work after losing their job.
The move will significantly impact Indian technology workers hired by technology companies and others on H-1B visas.
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in occupations that require theoretical or technical knowledge. Technology companies depend on it, hiring tens of thousands of workers every year from countries such as India and China.
The new rule, titled “Removal of the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period,” will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked for public comment over the next 60 days.
If the rule is finalized, foreign workers who lose their jobs before their visas expire will have to leave the United States immediately unless they have separate permission to remain.
“This proposal restores a direct link between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis for his or her admission or status in the United States and reduces the administrative burden,” DHS said.
H-1B, other visa categories affected
Under the proposal, DHS would eliminate the discretionary maximum 60-day grace period currently provided to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, and TN nonimmigrants and their dependents whose employment is terminated.
The grace period was added under Obama-era rules to allow workers to more easily change employers while allowing them to remain in the U.S. to seek new job offers.
In its proposal, DHS acknowledges that if the grace period rule is eliminated, some affected foreign nationals could be issued Notices to Appear (NTA), the government’s first step in initiating removal proceedings, immigration law firm Fragomen said.
The prospect of issuing an NTA may be more likely for those in categories of nonimmigrants that require the employer to immediately notify the government of the termination of a foreign national’s employment, including H-1B, O-1, and P.
Grace period introduced in 2016
In 2016, DHS introduced the 60-day grace period rule to increase job mobility, stability, and flexibility for high-skilled workers and to make it easier for U.S. employers to recruit and transfer nonimmigrant talent.
This allowed affected individuals to seek other employment in the same nonimmigrant category or change status without having to leave the United States or prepare to leave. The grace period applies regardless of whether the dismissal is voluntary or involuntary.
DHS estimates that the number of primary beneficiaries who either ceased employment or voluntarily changed employers was 65,752 in 2025, with a maximum of 80,034 in FY 2023 and a minimum of 40,959 in FY 2021.
From FY 2021 to 2025, 5.77 percent of the 328,758 primary beneficiaries who either lost their job or changed employers had a new nonimmigrant worker petition filed on their behalf by their new employer.
Workers may have to leave the US
If the proposal is finalized, workers facing job loss would have to leave the country and reapply to a U.S. embassy or consulate after receiving an offer from another U.S. employer.
US law allows 65,000 H-1B visas to be issued annually, with another 20,000 reserved for people with advanced degrees from US institutions of higher education.
It is US President Donald Trump’s latest move to restrict legal immigration since returning to office in January 2025.
Published September 11, 2026