The US Department of Homeland Security has taken the first formal step toward eliminating the 60-day grace period that lets laid-off work-visa holders stay in the country while they find a new sponsor. On August 6, 2026, DHS sent a proposed rule titled "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period" (RIN 1615-AD22) to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. The text of the proposal is not yet public, but the title and the regulation it targets are clear: the safety net that E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and their dependents have had since 2017 is on the chopping block. Nothing changes today — the grace period remains in force — but anyone building a US career on a temporary work visa should understand what is now in motion.
Background: what the grace period does
The grace period was created by a DHS regulation finalized in late 2016 and effective in early 2017, codified at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). When a worker in one of the covered categories loses their job before their authorized stay expires, the rule treats them as maintaining status for up to 60 consecutive days, or until their I-94 expiry if that comes first, once per petition validity period. Those 60 days are what make it possible to be laid off on a Friday and file an H-1B transfer to a new employer three weeks later without leaving the country, or to switch to a different status such as a dependent visa or B-2 while winding down a US life. During the tech layoff waves of recent years, tens of thousands of workers used exactly this window. Without it, the legal default returns to what it was before 2017: employment ends, status ends, and remaining in the US even briefly puts future visa applications at risk.
What exactly happened
Submission to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is the standard first checkpoint in US federal rulemaking. OIRA review typically takes weeks to a few months. If the proposal clears, DHS publishes it in the Federal Register as a proposed rule with a public comment period, normally 30 to 60 days. DHS must then review comments and publish a final rule before anything takes effect, a process that usually adds several more months. The contents of the proposal are not public while it sits at OIRA, so it is not yet known whether DHS wants to remove the grace period entirely, shorten it, or restrict how it can be used. What is known is the direction of travel: the same administration has already shortened the F-1 student grace period from 60 to 30 days in the fixed-admission rule taking effect September 15, 2026, and is extending the <a href="/news/us-911-fee-h1b-l1-extensions-2026">9-11 Response Fee — $4,000 per H-1B petition and $4,500 per L-1 petition — to extension filings</a> at visa-heavy employers from September 9, 2026.
The rulemaking at a glance
- Current rule: up to 60 days of maintained status after job loss, once per petition validity period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), in force since 2017)
- Proposal: "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period", RIN 1615-AD22, sent to OIRA August 6, 2026
- Covered categories: E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN and their dependents
- Next steps: OIRA clearance, then a Federal Register proposal with a 30–60 day comment period, then a final rule
- Status today: the grace period remains fully in effect
Who it affects
The direct group is every worker in the covered categories, along with spouses and children whose status depends on the principal. Consider an H-1B software engineer whose employer runs a layoff round: today they have 60 days to sign with a new sponsor and have the transfer petition filed. If the grace period disappears, that same engineer would need to leave the US almost immediately or fall out of status, and a spouse on H-4 and children in school would lose status at the same moment. L-1 managers on intra-company transfers, TN professionals from Canada and Mexico, and E-2 treaty investors’ employees all sit in the same position. Employers are affected too: recruiting a candidate who is already in the US on another company’s visa becomes far harder when that candidate cannot lawfully wait out a notice period and a filing.
What this means in practice
There is no action forced on anyone today, and no date by which the grace period will change — a proposed rule has not even been published yet. But the submission is a real signal worth pricing into decisions. Workers currently in the US on a covered visa should keep immigration records current and think through a contingency plan for job loss under both the current rule and a no-grace-period scenario. Anyone negotiating a US offer, or planning a move covered in our <a href="/country-guides/united-states">United States guide</a>, should weigh that the fallback protections around US work visas are being narrowed step by step. When the proposal is published in the Federal Register, individuals and employers will be able to file public comments, and DHS is required to consider them before finalizing.
Where the rule stands
Sent to the White House regulatory office (OIRA) on August 6, 2026. Not yet proposed, not yet in effect. The 60-day grace period remains fully available today.
What is not yet confirmed
The text of the proposal is not public. Whether DHS wants full elimination, a shorter window, or new restrictions — and any transition rules for people already in the US — will only be known when the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. Litigation over a final rule is also plausible and could delay or block it.
Key Takeaway
DHS has formally started work on removing the 60-day post-layoff grace period for H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and E-visa workers; nothing changes yet, but US work-visa holders should plan for a future with a much smaller safety net.