Overview
- The Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule that would eliminate the discretionary up-to-60-day grace period and require affected visa holders to be treated as out of status the day after their employment ends.
- The proposal, published in the Federal Register on Friday, Sept. 11, targets temporary employment categories and their dependents including E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN.
- DHS says the change would restore a direct link between admission status and the continued performance of the sponsored job and would reduce the case-by-case workload USCIS faces when deciding how long former workers may stay.
- Reporting notes H-1B holders are the largest affected group; median H-1B pay was about $131,000 in FY2025 and leaving the U.S. to hunt for work abroad could cost roughly $21,877 in lost earnings for a typical worker.
- The rule is at the notice-and-comment stage with public submissions accepted through Nov. 10, 2026, after which DHS must review comments and publish any final rule and its effective date; the 2016 policy that created the 60-day practice is the historical point of comparison.