Laid Off on an H-1B? Your 60-Day Grace Period Still Applies, but DHS Wants to End It

Losing a job is hard enough. For someone in H-1B or a similar work status, it also starts a clock on their right to stay in the country. Since 2017 that clock has run for up to 60 days. On September 11, 2026, DHS proposed getting rid of it.

The proposal isn't in effect. If you are laid off today, the current rule applies. But if it becomes final, the margin for a job search, a new petition or a change of plans would disappear, so it's worth knowing both the rule you have now and the one being proposed. Facts are current as of September 23, 2026.

How the grace period works today

The rule is at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). If your employment ends before your authorized stay does, you and your dependents are not considered to have failed to maintain status, solely because the job ended, for up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of your authorized validity period, whichever comes first. It's available once per authorized validity period.

It covers these classifications:

• H-1B and H-1B1
• L-1
• O-1
• TN
• E-1, E-2 and E-3

Two limits are easy to miss. First, the grace period is discretionary. USCIS decides whether it applied, and it can shorten or eliminate it, usually when it reviews whatever you file next. Second, you can't work during it, unless a new employer's H-1B petition lets you start under portability.

What people use the 60 days for

Within the grace period you can generally:

1. have a new employer file a petition for you with a request to extend or change your status, which for H-1B workers can include starting work under portability once the petition is filed;
2. file to change to a different status, for example to F-1 student or B-2 visitor, on Form I-539;
3. file for adjustment of status, if you are eligible;
4. apply for a compelling circumstances work permit, if you are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 and meet that program's other requirements; or
5. leave the United States.

What the proposal would change

The proposed rule would delete the 60-day grace period entirely for all of those classifications and their dependents. DHS's position is that these statuses are tied to a specific job, and that the grace period is "inconsistent with the purpose" of them. It also says deciding whether and when a grace period applied is time-consuming and unpredictable.

Under the proposal, a worker and their family would be treated as failing to maintain status the day after the employment ends. In DHS's own words, the worker "would have to immediately depart the United States on the day of the cessation of the employment or activity to avoid the consequences of failing to maintain status," unless they had some other way to stay lawfully. DHS acknowledges people may have made plans relying on the grace period, and that more people would leave after a job loss.

A few things would not change:

• The separate 10-day period after your authorized validity period ends, at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(1), is not part of this proposal. It only applies at the end of your approved period, not when a job ends early.
• F-1 students' 60-day period after completing their program and J-1 exchange visitors' 30-day period are separate rules and aren't affected.

DHS also proposes removing a cross-reference to the grace period in the compelling circumstances work permit regulation, at 8 CFR 204.5(p)(1)(i). Today that provision counts a grace period as part of the status you need to be in when you apply. Without a grace period, a laid-off worker would lose that bridge too.

When it could take effect

This is a notice of proposed rulemaking, not a final rule. The comment period runs through November 10, 2026. After that, DHS has to consider the comments before it can publish a final rule, and the final rule would state its own effective date. That usually takes months, though it's impossible to predict. Until then, the current 60-day rule is in force.

You can comment on regulations.gov under docket number USCIS-2026-0364, where more than 22,000 comments had already been posted by September 23. DHS says comments sent any other way, including emails to DHS or USCIS staff, won't be considered, and that everything submitted is posted publicly, so leave out personal details you don't want published.

If you're laid off now: the first week

1. Pin down your last day of employment, in writing. Whoever files for you next has to show when your previous employment ended. Get a letter or email from HR with the exact date. If you're on paid notice or garden leave, ask whether you're still employed during it, because that affects when the 60 days start.
2. Count your days. Mark day 60, and check whether your I-94 ends sooner, because the grace period stops at whichever date comes first.
3. Talk to an immigration attorney in the first few days. Which option fits you, whether a new H-1B, a change of status or an adjustment filing, depends on details, and each takes time to prepare.
4. Keep your pay stubs and I-797 approval notices together. A new employer will need them, and they show you were maintaining status up to the layoff.
5. Don't assume you can travel and come back. Leaving the country while between jobs has its own consequences for your status and for any pending applications. Get advice before you book anything.
6. Check where your green card process stands. If you have an approved I-140, your options may be broader. If you have a pending I-485 that has been pending for 180 days or more, you may be able to move to a new job in a same or similar occupation.

Employers are also facing new H-1B costs this fall, which may affect how quickly a new sponsor moves. See which H-1B payments and fees apply right now.

Official sources

• Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period, proposed rule, 91 FR 57807 (Federal Register, Sept. 11, 2026)
• Docket USCIS-2026-0364 for public comments (Regulations.gov)
• H-1B Specialty Occupations (USCIS)
• Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (USCIS)