Washington, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Trump administration has proposed ending the current grace period of up to 60 days that allows H-1B workers and certain other employment-based visa holders to remain in the United States after losing their jobs.
The proposal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday, would 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 categories and their dependents.
If finalised, workers whose employment or qualifying activity ends would generally be required to leave the US immediately unless they have another legal basis to remain.
DHS said the existing grace period “disconnects the alien’s lawful status from the very basis of eligibility” for the employment-based non-immigrant classifications. The department said the proposed change would restore its earlier approach under which workers were expected to depart once employment with the sponsoring employer ended.
Under the current rule, eligible workers and their dependents can remain in the US for up to 60 days, or until their authorised period expires if that occurs sooner. DHS can also shorten or eliminate the grace period in individual cases.
The department said removing the provision would better align regulations with statutory requirements and reduce the administrative burden on US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It acknowledged, however, that some workers could lose income if they are forced to leave before securing new employment.
DHS also estimated that the change could marginally increase referrals from USCIS to the Justice Department’s immigration court system and increase demands on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The grace-period rule, introduced in 2016 and effective from January 2017, was designed to provide greater “job portability, stability, and flexibility” to high-skilled non-immigrant workers whose employment ended before their authorised petition period expired. It also allows eligible workers to pursue a change or extension of status, adjustment to permanent resident status or a new employer-sponsored petition while remaining in the US.
DHS said it now believes the earlier rulemaking did not sufficiently account for the provision’s potential negative effects and argued that its removal would strengthen programme integrity by restoring a direct link between lawful status and the employment or activity underlying admission.
The proposal is not yet a final rule, and DHS has invited public comments.
DHS data cited in the proposal shows that an average of 65,752 primary beneficiaries in the affected classifications either lost jobs or changed employers each year between fiscal years 2021 and 2025. Of the 328,758 workers recorded during the period, 99 per cent were in the H-1B category.
The department estimated that about 3,795 workers annually had a new Form I-129 petition filed by another employer during the existing grace period. The median annual wage in fiscal year 2025 for affected H-1B workers who secured a new petition during that period was $131,000.
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