US reviews proposal to end 60-day grace period for foreign workers to find new jobs

WASHINGTON: The US is reviewing a proposal to eliminate the 60-day window for foreign workers holding non-immigrant visas to find employment after a job loss, a move that may force them to leave the country immediately.

A proposal from the Department of Homeland Security is currently under review at the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to its website.

If finalised, the proposed regulation would eliminate the 60-day grace period accorded to certain principal non-immigrants and their dependents if the principal’s employment ceases before their period of stay expires.

Further details of the proposal are not immediately known.

The 60-day grace period was introduced in 2017 to allow foreign workers and their dependents to stay in the US while searching for new employment after a job loss.

Immigration consultants said the Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to shorten or refuse the grace period, but has rarely done so.

The rule applies to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN categories of non-immigrant visa holders and their dependents.

The grace period also allows US employers to more easily facilitate employment changes for existing or newly recruited non-immigrant workers.

If the 60-day grace period is eliminated, foreign nationals whose employment ceases prematurely and their dependents would generally be required to depart the US immediately.

They would be unable to change status or employers within the United States unless US Citizenship and Immigration Services exercises its discretion to forgive the lapse in status.

The Indian-American population in the US is estimated at 5.2 million. Indian nationals are among the largest beneficiaries of H-1B employment visas, comprising 71 per cent of all successful applicants in the 2024 fiscal year.