Washington, November 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Trump administration proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B visa holders has attracted more than 31,000 public comments, highlighting growing concern over a potential change that could affect thousands of foreign professionals, particularly Indians working in the United States.
The proposal had received 31,383 posted comments by Tuesday night (local time), up from around 27,000 on November 2 and 30,382 earlier on Tuesday.
Published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on September 11, the proposed rule seeks to remove a provision that currently allows eligible foreign workers up to 60 days after losing their jobs to find new employment, change their immigration status or prepare to leave the country.
The provision covers H-1B workers as well as certain other temporary visa categories, including L-1, O-1 and TN, along with their dependants. Under existing regulations, the grace period extends up to 60 days after employment ends or until the authorised stay expires, whichever comes first.
If adopted, the proposal would remove this discretionary protection, generally requiring affected workers to leave the US unless they have another legal basis to remain.
DHS argues that immigration status should remain closely linked to the employment for which a foreign worker was admitted. The department maintains that the grace period is not mandated by law and creates additional administrative work.
According to DHS, immigration officials had to assess whether the provision applied in more than 1.9 million petitions and applications between October 2017 and May 2026.
The department estimates that an average of 65,752 foreign workers annually lost or changed jobs between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, based on revoked employment petitions. Around 3,795 workers each year had new employer petitions filed during the grace period.
DHS has acknowledged that scrapping the provision could leave some workers without income, force them to bear relocation costs or expose them to immigration proceedings.
The proposal has particular implications for Indian professionals, who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries. Figures cited from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fiscal 2025 report to Congress show that around 70 per cent of 406,348 approved H-1B petitions involved beneficiaries born in India, compared with approximately 12 per cent from China.
The grace-period proposal has attracted more comments than two other pending DHS measures affecting international students and skilled foreign workers.
A separate proposal to impose charges of $70,000 for initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) recommendations and $30,000 for subsequent recommendations had received 8,947 posted comments before its consultation period ended on Monday. Another proposal to end the general practice of deferring to previous USCIS approvals in certain extension cases had received 686 comments, with submissions due by November 13.
The number of comments does not indicate how many respondents support or oppose the measures.
DHS will have to review the submissions before deciding whether to issue a final rule. Any final regulation would specify its implementation timeline.
The 60-day grace period was introduced through a 2016 regulation that took effect on January 17, 2017. The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign professionals for specialised occupations, particularly in technology, engineering and other skilled sectors.
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