DHS Moves to Eliminate 60-Day Grace Period for H-1B Workers After Job loss
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has advanced a proposed regulation that would eliminate the 60-day grace period available to certain foreign workers, including H-1B professionals, after their employment ends, a potentially significant change for thousands of Indian workers in the United States.
The proposal, titled “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period,” was submitted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on August 6, 2026, according to the federal government’s regulatory review database. It is listed as proposed rule RIN 1615-AD22 and remained under OIRA review as of August 9.
The development does not mean the grace period has been abolished. The existing rule remains in effect, and DHS has not yet publicly released the proposed regulation’s full text.
Under current federal regulations, workers in H-1B and several other employment-based nonimmigrant classifications generally may receive a discretionary grace period of up to 60 consecutive days after the employment underlying their status ends, or until their authorized validity period expires, whichever comes first. The benefit can be used once during each authorized validity period.
The current provision applies not only to H-1B workers but also to people in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications and to their dependents. Federal regulations also make clear that DHS already has discretion to shorten or eliminate the grace period in an individual case.
For H-1B professionals, however, the period provides an important bridge after a layoff or other termination of employment. During that time, an eligible worker may seek another employer willing to file an H-1B petition, pursue another immigration status if eligible, or arrange to depart the United States.
USCIS says eligible H-1B workers changing employers can generally begin working for the new employer once that employer properly files a non-frivolous Form I-129 petition, under the H-1B portability provisions.
Eliminating the grace period could substantially narrow that window. Immigration law firm Fragomen, which reported on the pending proposal after it appeared in the federal regulatory database, said that if the provision is removed entirely, workers whose qualifying employment ends would generally cease maintaining their nonimmigrant status and could be required to leave the country rather than remain while arranging a new employer or change of status.
But those consequences should be treated as an interpretation of what eliminating the current provision could mean rather than as final DHS policy. The actual regulatory language has not yet been made public, and the precise scope, exceptions and implementation provisions will not be known until DHS publishes the proposal.
Why Indian H-1B professionals could be heavily affected
The proposal has particular significance for Indian professionals, who account for by far the largest national group in the H-1B program.
USCIS data for fiscal year 2025 show 406,348 H-1B petitions were approved, including 283,772 involving Indian beneficiaries, or about 69.8% of the total. The figures encompass different types of H-1B petitions and should not be interpreted as 406,348 newly issued visas or 406,348 new workers entering the United States.
Of the FY2025 approvals, 114,806 were for initial employment and 291,542 were for continuing employment, according to an analysis of USCIS data by the National Foundation for American Policy. Continuing-employment petitions can include extensions, amendments and changes of employer, meaning one H-1B professional can be associated with more than one approved petition.
That distinction is important because the proposed grace-period change is especially relevant when workers need to move rapidly from one sponsoring employer to another following a layoff.
The issue has strong relevance for Telugu professionals in the United States, particularly those employed in technology and other specialized occupations under H-1B status. However, available federal statistics do not separately identify how many Telugu-speaking workers hold H-1B status, so a Telugu-specific number cannot reliably be stated.
What happens next
OIRA review is an early regulatory step, not final approval of the policy. The federal regulatory database identifies the action as a proposed rule and shows no legal deadline for completing the review.
If the proposal clears White House regulatory review, DHS is expected to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The public would then have an opportunity to review the actual language and submit comments before DHS could proceed toward a final rule. Immigration law firm Fragomen said it expects a public-comment period of roughly 30 to 60 days, though the exact period will be established when the proposal is published.
Until a final rule is issued and takes effect, the existing 60-day provision remains in place.
That means an H-1B worker who loses a job today has not suddenly lost the regulatory grace period because of the August 6 filing. Under current law, qualifying workers may still receive up to 60 days — or until the end of their authorized validity period, if sooner — subject to DHS discretion.
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