Trump Administration Proposes Ending 60-Day H-1B Grace Period

The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the 60-day grace period that allows laid-off H-1B visa holders and other temporary foreign workers to stay in the United States while seeking new employment [1]. Under the draft Department of Homeland Security regulation, nonimmigrant workers must leave the country immediately when their employment terminates [1].

What does the proposed DHS rule require of foreign workers?

Foreign workers must depart the United States immediately upon losing their jobs rather than using two months to seek new sponsors [1]. As Asian Hospitality reported, the Department of Homeland Security published the formal proposal in the Federal Register on Sept. 11, which started a 60-day public comment period [1]. The existing 60-day grace period, established in 2017, provides laid-off staff time to find another job or manage basic departure tasks, such as finding housing, moving belongings, and withdrawing children from local schools [1].

DHS stated the revision "restores a direct relationship between an alien's nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the U.S. and reduces administrative burden" [1]. Employees forced to depart can return later if an employer submits a fresh petition on their behalf [1].

Which visa categories beyond H-1B fall under the mandate?

The proposed elimination targets a broad selection of specialty and managerial visas alongside H-1B recipients [1]. According to Reuters, the regulatory change covers E-1 treaty traders, E-2 treaty investors, E-3 specialty workers from Australia, L-1 executives and managers, O-1 workers of extraordinary ability, TN professionals, and H-1B1 workers from Chile and Singapore [1].

How does this rule impact corporate human resources departments?

Human resources departments face compressed administrative offboarding schedules whenever foreign national staffing changes occur [1]. Immigration attorneys at Berardi Immigration Law stated that the regulation would "sharply compress the timeline human resources teams have to manage layoffs and offboarding for foreign national employees" [1].

DHS acknowledged that commercial firms face operational disruption under the plan [1]. The agency maintained that vacant roles can go to domestic staff, noting companies must either offer open roles to "equally qualified U.S. workers" or rely on the I-129 petition process to retain current foreign personnel [1]. Asian Hospitality noted that major corporate sponsors such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ernst & Young face operational fallout [1].

What broader visa policy shifts accompany this proposal?

The grace period termination follows sweeping adjustments to foreign employment charges and processing pipelines [1]. In September 2025, Trump signed an executive proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000 a year [1]. Trump asserted the fee hike ensures incoming personnel are "highly skilled" and avoid displacing domestic employees [1].

The administration has also paused immigrant visa appointments across overseas U.S. missions while setting up a replacement training framework [1]. Congress originally created the H-1B program in 1990 to allow domestic firms to hire foreign talent during qualified domestic labor shortages, a setup now undergoing administrative restructuring [1].