- The US may end the 60-day job search grace period for certain foreign workers
- The proposal is under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget
- Affected workers and dependants might have to leave the US almost immediately
The United States is considering ending a provision that gives certain foreign workers up to 60 days to find a new job after losing their employment. The proposal is currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and has not yet become a rule, with the details of the proposed changes are not publicly available in full.
A move like this could require affected workers and their dependants to leave the country almost immediately.
If the regulation is finalised, it would remove the existing 60-day grace period for certain workers and their dependants when the employment on which their immigration status is based ends before their authorised period of stay expires.
The change could have particular significance for the Indian expatcommunity in the US. Indian nationals have long been the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B skilled-worker programme. In the 2024 fiscal year, 71 per cent of approved H-1B petitions were for beneficiaries born in India, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin live in the US, according to recent estimates based on US Census data.
What Is The 60-Day Rule?
The current rule in the US was introduced in 2017 to provide greater flexibility to highly skilled foreign workers who lose their jobs.
Under those rules, certain non-immigrant workers whose employment ends can remain in the US for up to 60 consecutive days, or until the end of their authorised period of stay, whichever comes first.
The provision covers workers in several visa categories such as E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN. Their dependants are covered as well.
The 60 days can provide a crucial window in which a worker can search for another employer, apply for a new visa or consider other options for remaining legally in the US. If the proposed law is allowed, workers will be unable to switch to another employer or change their immigration status from inside the US after the employment ends, unless the USCIS chooses to exercise its power and intervenes.
Besides H-1B visa holders the proposed law will affect other categories of visas such as E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN.
