On Thursday, September 10, 2026, the United States proposed a new regulation that would eliminate the 60-day grace period currently granted to certain foreign employees, including H-1B skilled workers, to secure new employment after losing their jobs.
The decision will have a major effect on Indian technology professionals employed by tech firms and other organizations under H-1B visas.
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that permits U.S. employers to hire foreign specialists for roles requiring advanced theoretical or technical skills.
Technology companies rely heavily on this program to recruit tens of thousands of workers annually from countries such as India and China.
The new regulation, titled “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period,” is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday, September 11, 2026, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened a 60-day window for public comments.
If the rule is adopted, foreign workers who lose their jobs before their visas expire would be required to depart the United States immediately, unless they possess separate authorization allowing them to stay.
“This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” the DHS said.
Under the proposal, DHS would remove the optional grace period of up to 60 days that is currently available to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN nonimmigrants and their dependents after their employment ends.
This grace period, introduced under Obama-era regulations, was intended to help workers change employers more easily by allowing them to stay in the United States while seeking new job opportunities.
In its proposal, DHS acknowledges that if the grace period regulation is eliminated, some affected foreign nationals could be issued Notices to Appear (NTA), the government’s first step in initiating removal (deportation) proceedings, Fragomen, an immigration attorney firm, said.
The prospect of NTA issuance may be likelier for those in nonimmigrant categories that require an employer to immediately notify the government when employment of the foreign national has ceased, including H-1B, O-1, and P.
In 2016, DHS established the grace period of up to 60 days to improve job mobility, stability, and flexibility for highly skilled workers and to simplify the process for U.S. employers to recruit and transition non-immigrant professionals.
It allowed affected individuals to seek other jobs within the same nonimmigrant category or to change their status without needing to depart the United States or make plans to do so.
This grace period applies whether the employment ends voluntarily or involuntarily.
According to DHS estimates, primary beneficiaries who experienced either cessation of employment or voluntarily changed employers are 65,752 in 2025, with a high of 80,034 in FY 2023 and a low of 40,959 in FY 2021.
From FY 2021 through FY 2025, 5.77% of 328,758 primary beneficiaries who either lost their job or changed employers had a new petition for nonimmigrant workers submitted on their behalf by a new employer.
If the proposal is approved, workers who lose their jobs would be required to leave the United States and then submit a new application at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad once they secure an offer from another American employer.
Under U.S. law, 65,000 H-1B visas are issued each year, with an additional 20,000 allocated for individuals who possess advanced degrees from U.S. higher education institutions. This measure represents the latest effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to restrict legal immigration since his return to office in January 2025.