A federal proposal that could fundamentally reshape the safety net available to hundreds of thousands of skilled foreign workers in the United States has cleared a critical regulatory milestone — and immigration attorneys are urging affected visa holders and their employers to start preparing now.
The Proposal: What Happened
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal, titled "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period," completed review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on August 27, 2026.
The proposal was submitted to OIRA for review on August 6, 2026, and the review concluded on August 27, 2026.
The completion of OIRA review clears the way for DHS to publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register.
The proposal would eliminate the 60-day grace period currently available to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, and TN nonimmigrants (and their dependents) when the principal's employment ends before their authorized stay expires.
The proposed regulatory text has not yet been published, so the precise scope and mechanics of the proposed change are not yet known.
That means critical details — including whether there will be any exceptions, transition periods, or differentiated treatment among visa categories — remain uncertain.
What the 60-Day Grace Period Currently Provides
The grace period comes from a 2017 DHS regulation found at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2).
The grace period was created to give affected workers time to respond to an unexpected end of employment without immediately being treated as having failed to maintain status solely because their job ended.
USCIS continues to state that workers who are laid off, fired, quit, or otherwise stop working for their H-1B employer may receive up to 60 consecutive days after employment ends, subject to their authorized period of stay.
During the available window, an eligible worker may pursue a new sponsoring employer, request a change of immigration status, or prepare to leave the United States.
Up until January 17, 2017, whenever workers in nonimmigrant status got terminated, they were immediately considered to be in violation of status. There was also no grace period to depart the United States.
The 2017 rule marked a significant shift, acknowledging the practical reality that skilled workers need time to transition after an unexpected job loss.
What Has — and Has Not — Changed
Immigration professionals are emphasizing a crucial distinction: the 60-day grace period has not been eliminated yet.
Until DHS issues a final rule and that rule takes effect, the existing 60-day grace-period regulation remains in place.
If you or your employees are currently within a grace period, or a termination happens tomorrow, the existing protections still apply.
With OIRA review complete, DHS can publish the rule as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which triggers a 30- to 60-day notice-and-comment period where the public can submit feedback and suggest changes.
DHS must consider the public's feedback and would publish a final rule weeks or months later.
However, as one immigration law firm cautioned,
"not yet law" is not the same as "not worth preparing for." Rules like this can move from OIRA review to a published proposal, and eventually a final rule, faster than employers expect.
Why This Matters: The Human Impact
The stakes are enormous.
For a worker on H-1B or another covered status, the grace period is often the difference between an orderly transition and a scramble. Without it, a layoff or termination could mean an employee falls out of status almost immediately, with little to no time to line up new sponsorship, pursue a change of status, or arrange their departure.
Tech and tech-adjacent layoffs have continued through 2024, 2025, and into 2026, hitting the H-1B workforce hard.
The 2026 tech layoff wave is hitting the same companies that sponsor the most H-1B workers. Of the 25 largest H-1B employers in fiscal year 2026, at least 15 have announced layoffs in the last fifteen months. Among them are Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Oracle, TCS, Cognizant, and Salesforce.
If the rule is finalized, eliminating the 60-day grace period could have far-reaching consequences for skilled foreign workers, employers, and the broader U.S. talent market.
Workers with mortgages, car leases, children in school, and pending green card applications could face immediate upheaval if they lose their jobs without any transitional window.
The Broader Regulatory Context
This proposal does not exist in a vacuum.
The agency's filing alert, DHS's proposed grace-period rule, and the fee expansion give employers more compliance duties while narrowing workers' room to recover from a denial or layoff.
The biometric-fee expansion takes effect September 9, 2026, while the proposed elimination of the 60-day grace period remains subject to the rulemaking process.
If finalized, this would affect H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN, E-1, E-2, and E-3 workers, and it would sharply compress the timeline HR teams have to manage layoffs and offboarding for foreign national employees.
What Should Workers and Employers Do Now?
While the rule is not yet final, immigration experts recommend proactive steps:
For visa holders currently employed:
- Know your I-94 expiration date and keep immigration documents readily accessible.
- Maintain an updated network of potential H-1B sponsor employers.
- Consider whether alternative visa categories, such as the O-1 for individuals with extraordinary ability, may provide additional protection.
- Consult with an immigration attorney now — before a crisis arises — to understand your options.
For employers:
-
Employers with large H-1B, L-1, or TN populations should begin tracking this proposal now, since its eventual finalization would materially compress
the timeline available during workforce reductions.
-
If finalized, the proposal could materially affect immigration planning surrounding terminations, reductions in force, voluntary departures, and employee transitions between employers.
- Monitor the Federal Register for publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and prepare to submit comments during the public comment period.
No immediate action is required solely as a result of OIRA's completion of review, and foreign nationals should not assume that the existing 60-day grace period has been eliminated.
Current rules still apply. However, acting quickly to secure new sponsorship or change status remains critical regardless.
What Comes Next
DHS must first publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register, after which the public will have an opportunity to comment. DHS would then need to consider those comments and issue a final rule before any regulatory change could take effect.
DHS must then review comments and issue a final rule before any change takes effect, a process that has historically taken several months or longer for comparable immigration regulations.
The comment period, when it comes, is typically the last real opportunity to weigh in before the change becomes binding.
Workers, employers, professional associations, and advocacy organizations should prepare to submit substantive comments once the proposed rule is published.
---
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are an H-1B or other employment-based visa holder concerned about how this proposal may affect you, we strongly recommend consulting with a qualified immigration attorney to assess your individual circumstances.