World
US Plans to Scrap 60-Day Job-Loss Grace Period for H-1B and Other Visa Holders
The Trump administration has put forward a proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period that currently allows H-1B visa holders and workers on several other temporary visa categories to remain in the United States after losing their jobs, according to a notice posted online Thursday. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register by the US Department of Homeland Security, would require affected workers to leave the country immediately once their employment ends, rather than being given time to search for a new sponsor. The move could significantly impact major American technology companies that depend heavily on foreign talent. This marks the latest in a series of actions by President Donald Trump aimed at restricting legal immigration since he returned to office in January 2025. His administration has already raised visa fees for skilled workers and temporarily suspended immigrant visa appointments at US missions worldwide as it rolls out a new training program. The proposed change would extend beyond H-1B visa holders to include E-1 international trader visas, E-2 commercial vehicle operator visas, and L-1 visas held by executives and managers of international firms. It would also affect O-1 visa holders recognized for extraordinary achievements in science, sports, or the arts, as well as TN professional workers. Additionally, the rule would apply to H-1B1 visa holders from Singapore and Chile and E-3 visa holders from Australia working in specialty occupations. The 60-day grace period was first introduced in 2017 to give foreign workers sufficient time to find new employment in the US or make arrangements to depart, such as selling property, relocating belongings, or withdrawing children from school. The H-1B visa program itself dates back to 1990, when Congress established it to help US employers fill specialized positions amid shortages of qualified domestic workers. In its proposal, DHS acknowledged that companies could face some disruption but argued that the affected jobs could instead go to American workers. The department noted that displaced foreign workers might be able to reapply if an employer later files a new petition on their behalf. "DHS presumes that they will either offer the same jobs to equally qualified US workers or go through the I-129 petition process depending on their workforce requirement," the notice stated. Prominent sponsors of H-1B visas include consulting firms such as Deloitte, PwC, and Ernst & Young, along with outsourcing companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech, and LTIMindtree. Immigration attorneys at Berardi Immigration Law told Reuters that the proposed rule would "sharply compress the timeline HR teams have to manage layoffs and offboarding for foreign national employees." The proposal is now open for a two-month public comment period before the administration can finalize the rule.