The Trump administration has proposed a major change to immigration rules that could affect H-1B workers and several other employment-based visa holders in the United States.
At present, certain foreign workers who lose their jobs can generally use an up-to-60-day grace period to remain in the US. During this time, they may try to find a new employer, transfer to another qualifying job, or explore another legal immigration option.
The new proposal from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeks to remove this grace-period provision. The proposal covers several visa categories, including E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN, along with their eligible dependents.
If the proposal becomes final, workers whose employment or other qualifying activity ends could generally be required to leave the United States immediately, unless they have another legal basis allowing them to stay.
This would represent a significant change for workers, particularly H-1B employees who are laid off. Under the current system, the 60-day period provides some time to search for another sponsoring employer and complete the necessary immigration process. Removing that window could make job loss much more difficult for foreign workers because they could have far less time to secure another legal status or make arrangements to leave the country.
DHS argues that the existing grace period separates a worker’s lawful immigration status from the employment or activity that originally made the person eligible for the visa. The department says the proposed change would return to an earlier policy under which workers were generally expected to leave the US when their employment with the sponsoring employer ended.
The proposal also notes that the grace period is discretionary, meaning DHS has the authority to shorten or eliminate it in individual cases.
Importantly, this is currently a proposal, not a final rule. It would have to go through the federal rulemaking process before any permanent change takes effect.
