1. How Does the H-1B 60-Day Grace Period Work Now?
Current federal regulations allow DHS to treat certain H-1B workers as maintaining status for up to 60 consecutive days after employment ends, or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. USCIS retains discretion to shorten or eliminate that period based on the circumstances.
The Authorized Stay Can End before Day 60
The 60-day period is a maximum, not an automatic extension beyond the worker's existing authorized stay.
A worker should compare the employment termination date with the Form I-94 expiration date and the validity period of the current H-1B approval. If the authorized period ends earlier, the grace-period analysis ends earlier as well.
Grace Period Status Is Not Work Authorization
The grace period can protect against being treated as having failed to maintain status solely because employment ended. It does not authorize continued work for the former employer.
A worker who receives a new offer must separately determine whether H-1B portability permits employment with the new petitioner.
2. What Should an H-1B Worker Do after Termination?
The first three questions are practical: when did employment end, when does the authorized stay end, and which immigration filing can be made before the controlling deadline.
Move to a New H-1B Employer
An H-1B professional who meets the portability requirements may be able to begin working for a new employer after that employer properly files a nonfrivolous H-1B petition.
The worker must still satisfy the portability rules, including requirements concerning lawful admission, authorized stay, and unauthorized employment. A new H-1B employer filing should therefore be evaluated before assuming that a job offer alone preserves status or work authorization.
Request a Different Nonimmigrant Status
Some workers may qualify to request another nonimmigrant classification before the applicable period ends.
A change of status filing should be based on actual eligibility for the requested category. Filing another application does not automatically preserve H-1B employment authorization, and the new classification may impose different restrictions.
Depart the United States
Departure may be necessary when the worker has no timely new petition or other lawful basis to remain.
If an employer dismisses an H-1B worker before the end of the authorized period of stay, federal immigration law generally makes the employer responsible for the reasonable cost of return transportation abroad. That obligation does not arise in the same way when the worker voluntarily resigns.
3. What Would the 2026 DHS Proposal Change?
On September 11, 2026, DHS published a proposed rule that would remove the up-to-60-day discretionary grace period in 8 C.F.R. § 214.1(l)(2). The proposal has not taken effect.
Status Consequences Would Begin Much Earlier
If DHS finalizes the proposal substantially as written, covered workers would no longer be able to rely on the current 60-day regulatory protection after employment ends.
Under the proposal, an affected worker would generally be treated as failing to maintain the relevant nonimmigrant status beginning the day after the qualifying employment or activity ceases, unless another lawful basis to remain applies.
That would leave far less time to coordinate a new employer petition, request another status, or depart.
November 10 Is a Comment Deadline, Not an Effective Date
Public comments on the proposed rule are due November 10, 2026.
That date does not end the grace period. DHS must complete the rulemaking process and publish a final rule before the proposed change can become effective. The final rule could also differ from the proposal.
H-1B professionals and employers should therefore continue applying the current regulation unless and until a final rule changes it.
4. What Should Employers and HR Review at Termination?
Employers and HR teams should document the employment end date clearly and separate immigration timing from payroll, benefits, severance, and other employment matters.
Confirm the Actual Cessation of Employment
The last active workday, payroll date, severance period, and benefits end date may not be identical.
USCIS may later need to determine when the qualifying employment actually ceased. Clear termination records can help a worker, a new petitioner, and USCIS evaluate the status timeline.
Do Not Assume Every Worker Has 60 Full Days
A new employer should not assume that a terminated H-1B professional automatically has 60 days available.
The current authorized validity period may end sooner, and DHS retains discretion under the present rule. Employers with recurring foreign-national hiring may use immigration compliance procedures to coordinate termination dates, recruitment, LCA preparation, and new petition filings.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
Can an H-1B Worker Use the 60-Day Grace Period More Than Once?
Potentially. Under the current rule, a worker may receive only one discretionary grace period during each authorized validity period.
A later approved validity period can create another period in which the rule may potentially apply if employment ends again. USCIS can still shorten or eliminate the grace period based on the circumstances.
Does Severance Pay Extend the H-1B 60-Day Grace Period?
Not automatically. Severance payments, salary continuation, or extended benefits do not by themselves determine when qualifying H-1B employment ended.
The relevant issue is the actual cessation of employment. Employers and workers should keep documentation that identifies the employment end date rather than relying only on the final payroll or benefits date.
6. When Should the Grace Period Be Reviewed by an Attorney?
Legal review may be useful when the authorized stay ends before 60 days, a new employer has not yet filed its petition, a change of status is being considered, or part of the grace period has already passed without a filing.
An immigration attorney can identify the controlling deadline, review whether H-1B portability or another status option may apply, and distinguish the current regulation from the proposed 2026 rule. For employers preparing a new sponsorship, business immigration review may help coordinate the filing with the worker's remaining authorized stay.
02 Oct, 2026
