The Department of Homeland Security has proposed removing the window that allows eligible foreign workers to stay in the US while searching for a new employer. The proposed change could have a significant impact on Indian professionals, who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries approved by US authorities.
The 60-day grace period was introduced under regulations that took effect in 2017. It allows eligible H-1B workers to remain in the US for up to 60 days after their employment is terminated, giving them time to find another employer, change their status or make arrangements to leave the country.
DHS is now proposing to eliminate that discretionary grace period. The agency said the move would reduce administrative burdens and restore a more direct relationship between a foreign worker’s immigration status and the employment that formed the basis for their admission to the US.
If the proposal becomes final, workers who lose their jobs would no longer have the 60-day cushion to secure another sponsor while remaining in the US. Laid-off workers who later receive a new job offer could instead have to leave the country and undergo processing at a US embassy or consulate before returning.
The proposal would also affect certain other temporary workers who currently have access to the same grace period, including L-1 intracompany transferees and O-1 workers.
The proposed change comes as Indian nationals make up the largest group among H-1B beneficiaries approved by US authorities.
USCIS data for fiscal year 2024 showed that 283,397 approved H-1B beneficiaries were born in India, accounting for 71% of all approved beneficiaries, according to figures from the agency’s H-1B data. That puts Indian-born workers far ahead of the next-largest group, workers born in China.
The scale of India’s presence in the programme means changes to the rules governing what happens after an H-1B job ends are particularly relevant to Indian professionals working in the US. The new proposal does not specifically target Indian workers, and DHS has not said that Indians would be subject to different rules. Rather, Indian workers could be affected because they constitute the largest group within the H-1B population covered by the proposed change.
Under the existing system, an eligible worker who is terminated can use the grace period to look for another sponsoring employer without immediately having to leave the US. The proposal would remove that option.
DHS estimates that an average of 65,752 workers covered by the 60-day grace period experienced a job loss or changed employers each year between 2021 and 2025. During that period, just under 6% had a new employer file to sponsor them within the grace period, while another 1.7% filed to extend or change their status, according to the agency.
The proposed elimination of the grace period would therefore alter the options currently available to eligible H-1B workers after employment ends, with Indian professionals representing the largest group potentially affected by the change.
About The Author
Comment List