The US department of homeland security is considering the elimination of a 60-day grace period for specific visa holders
The US department of homeland security (DHS) on Thursday released a draft proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period, currently available to certain non-immigrant workers (such as H-1B and L-1 visa holders) following termination of employment. from the perspective of the Indian diaspora, the most significant impact would be on H-1B visa holders, L-1 visa holders (those on intra-company transfers) and O-1 visa holders (this visa is given to those who are recognised for extraordinary ability) While the proposal covers several employment-based non-immigrant visa categories.
The proposal marks a significant reversal of a policy DHS itself introduced in 2016. They may also have made career and personal plans on the assumption that they could remain in legal status for up to 60 days after their employment ended while seeking a new status. 2025, 57,747 India-born beneficiaries accounted for 50.3 percent of the 1,14,806 H-1B petitions approved for initial employment, according to the latest USCIS data for fiscal year ended Sept 30. The concentration was substantially higher among continuing employment cases: 2,26,359 India-born beneficiaries accounted for 77.6 percent of the 2,91,542 H-1B petitions approved for continuing employment. Workers using the 60-day period to seek a change to B-1/B-2 visitor status allowing them to remain lawfully in the US while looking for new employment, have increasingly faced Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and, in some cases, Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs). Earlier reporting noted: The Trump administration has proposed eliminating a 60-day grace period that allows certain immigrants, including skilled workers on H-1B visas, to stay in the United States and find a new sponsor after losing their job, according to a government notice posted online Thursday. Earlier reporting noted: It is the latest step by US President Donald Trump to limit legal migration since returning to office in January 2025.
His administration has also introduced higher visa fees for skilled workers and recently paused immigrant visa appointments at US missions around the world while it implements a new training program.
Earlier reporting noted: Companies impacted by the change could see some disruption, DHS wrote in its proposal, but it said the jobs could go to American workers instead. At the time, the agency recognised that the abrupt loss of employment was not necessarily the worker’s fault and that allowing highly skilled workers time to find new employment could benefit both foreign workers and US employers. DHS further recognises the extent to which foreign workers and their families may have put down roots in the US. In the proposal, it notes that such workers and their dependents may have “purchased houses, paid taxes, and may have otherwise invested in the local community in reliance on the alien’s continued stay in the US. The potential impact on Indians is significant. Immigration attorneys point out that the Trump administration had already begun tightening the net around laid-off foreign workers in recent months. In some situations, immigrant workers who leave could potentially reapply if their employer petitions for them, it added.