A proposed DHS policy change could require foreign workers and their families to leave the United States immediately after employment ends rather than allowing up to 60 days to secure another job or immigration status.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing a proposal that would eliminate the 60-day period currently available to certain non-immigrant visa holders after they lose their jobs, potentially requiring affected workers and their families to depart the United States as soon as their employment ends.
Under the contemplated change, foreign nationals whose jobs terminate before the expiration of their authorized stay would no longer automatically have as many as 60 days to remain in the country while seeking another employer or pursuing a change in immigration status. Instead, they would generally be expected to leave the United States immediately with their families unless Citizenship and Immigration Services granted an exception.
The current grace period dates to 2017 and applies across several employment-based non-immigrant visa classifications. Those include H-1B visas used for “skilled workers,” L-1 visas covering employees transferred within multinational companies and O-1 visas granted to individuals with extraordinary abilities. DHS already retains authority to shorten the grace period or decline to grant it in particular cases.
The potential policy change comes as the H-1B program faces sustained political scrutiny. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers have backed four bills since January seeking to restrict, suspend or abolish the program entirely.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also announced a temporary halt on new H-1B hiring across public universities in Florida. Separately, President Donald Trump’s effort to impose a $100,000 fee on all new H-1B applications remains tied up in court.
The debate over H-1B visas has also produced divisions within Trump’s political orbit. Weeks before Trump’s inauguration, an online dispute over the program preceded Vivek Ramaswamy’s removal from his role in the Department of Government Efficiency with billionaire Elon Musk.
Federal authorities issue about 65,000 H-1B visas annually, in addition to another 20,000 reserved for workers with advanced degrees. Before implementation of Trump’s proposed fee, the cost of obtaining a visa typically ranged from $2,000 to $5,000.
Indian nationals represent a significant share of those using the employment visa system. Press Insider reported that “Indian nationals are among the biggest users of the H-1B route, and the program has been central to the operating model of Indian IT outsourcers, which use it to place engineers, consultants and project managers at client locations in the US.”
Eliminating the existing grace period would substantially change what happens after an employment-based visa holder loses a job. Rather than remaining in the United States for up to 60 days to secure qualifying employment or seek a different status, affected workers would face departure once their employment ended unless immigration authorities specifically permitted them to remain.
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