US Proposes Ending H-1B 60-Day Grace Period: 3,795 Workers a Year Used the Existing Window

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed eliminating the up-to-60-day grace period available to H-1B and certain other employment-based nonimmigrant workers after their qualifying employment ends.

The proposal, published by the Department of Homeland Security on September 11, 2026, would remove the current regulation at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). If finalised, workers in affected categories would generally be required to leave the United States when they stop maintaining the employment or activity that supports their immigration status, unless they have another lawful basis to remain.

The proposal is not yet final. The existing grace-period rules therefore continue to apply while DHS conducts the public-comment process.

The proposed change is significant because DHS's own analysis shows that thousands of employment-based workers have used the existing transition period to secure new employment or pursue another immigration option.

H-1B Grace Period Proposal: Key Numbers

DHS analysed USCIS data covering fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to estimate how workers in the affected visa categories have used the current grace period.

DHS cautions that these figures do not represent every worker who uses the grace period. USCIS data does not capture all cases, and some employers are not required to notify USCIS immediately when employment ends. DHS therefore describes the 3,795 annual figure as an upper-bound estimate of the population that could incur costs depending on what they do after employment ends.

What Is the H-1B 60-Day Grace Period?

Under the current regulation, eligible workers in certain employment-based nonimmigrant categories can receive a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days after their employment or qualifying activity ends.

During this period, the worker is not considered to have failed to maintain nonimmigrant status solely because the qualifying employment has ended, provided the person remains within the relevant authorised period and the grace period is not shortened or eliminated by DHS.

The grace period was introduced in 2017 to give high-skilled foreign workers time to pursue another qualifying job or immigration option without immediately losing lawful status. DHS's proposed rule would reverse that policy.

What Is DHS Proposing to Change?

DHS proposes to remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), the regulation providing the up-to-60-day discretionary grace period.

Under the proposed framework, an affected worker who stops maintaining the employment or activity forming the basis of their status would generally be required to depart the United States immediately, unless another lawful basis allows them to remain.

The proposal would not simply reduce the grace period from 60 days to a shorter fixed period. It would remove the general regulatory grace period altogether.

That distinction is important because the existing rule gives workers a defined transition window to pursue a new petition, change status or make arrangements to leave the country.

Which Visa Categories Would Be Affected?

The proposed removal applies to eight employment-based nonimmigrant classifications:

The proposal would also affect eligible dependents whose status is tied to the principal worker.

Although the proposal covers eight categories, the available USCIS data indicates that H-1B workers account for almost all of the cases DHS identified as using the existing grace period to transition to a new employment petition.

Of the 3,795 annual-average beneficiaries who received a new I-129 petition during the grace period, 3,765, or 99.2%, were H-1B workers.

How Many Workers Used the Existing Grace Period?

USCIS data cited by DHS shows that 328,758 primary beneficiaries across the affected classifications experienced employment cessation or changed employers between FY2021 and FY2025.

The annual figures varied significantly:

The number of new I-129 petitions filed during the grace period more than doubled from 2,138 in FY2021 to 5,178 in FY2025, an increase of about 142%.

DHS notes that these figures are based on USCIS data concerning approved Form I-129 petitions that were withdrawn and subsequently associated with new petitions. The data does not capture every person who may have used the grace period.

H-1B Workers Made Up 99.2% of the New-Petition Cases

The proposed rule's data shows how heavily the existing grace period is used by H-1B workers compared with the other affected categories.

Of the 18,975 new I-129 petitions filed within the grace period during FY2021–FY2025, DHS calculates an annual average of 3,795 cases.

About 99.2% of those cases involved H-1B workers, equivalent to approximately 3,765 workers a year.

The remaining cases involved the other affected employment-based classifications.

This makes the proposed change particularly consequential for H-1B workers, even though the legal proposal itself covers a broader group of visa categories.

DHS Estimates a $21,877 Upper-Bound Wage Impact

DHS also used wage data to illustrate the potential economic impact on workers who might otherwise have used the 60-day period to move to another employer.

For H-1B workers whose previous petitions were revoked and who then received a new petition from another employer during the grace period, DHS calculated a median annual wage of $131,000 in FY2025.

Using that figure, DHS calculated that two months of foregone wages could amount to approximately:

\(131,000 × 2/12 =\)21,877

This is an upper-bound illustrative estimate, not a prediction that every affected worker would lose $21,877.

DHS specifically says the estimate represents a scenario in which a worker who could otherwise have worked during the full 60-day period would instead need to leave the US and spend as much as two months searching for employment and returning to the country.

What Happens to H-1B Workers Under the Current Rules?

The current rules give an eligible H-1B worker whose employment ends a potential window of up to 60 days to pursue alternatives.

For H-1B workers, the existing system also provides an important employment-mobility mechanism. DHS notes that eligible H-1B workers can generally begin new employment after a new, non-frivolous Form I-129 petition is filed, without waiting for the petition to be approved, under H-1B portability rules.

This combination means that an H-1B worker can, under current rules, lose a job, search for another qualifying position and transition to a new employer without necessarily having to leave the United States first.

The proposed rule would remove the general grace-period buffer following the end of employment.

What Could Change if the Proposal Becomes Final?

If DHS finalises the rule substantially as proposed, an affected worker whose employment ends would generally no longer have the current regulatory 60-day window.

The worker would need to have another lawful basis to remain in the United States or depart.

For someone who secures another H-1B position, the timing of the new employer's petition could therefore become significantly more important.

The proposal would not prevent an employer from filing a new H-1B petition for an eligible worker. However, DHS says that workers in several affected categories other than H-1B generally cannot begin working for a new employer until the new petition is approved.

The H-1B Annual Cap Remains 65,000, With a Separate 20,000 US Master's Exemption

The proposed grace-period change is separate from the H-1B numerical cap.

DHS's proposed rule notes that Congress has set the regular annual H-1B numerical limit at 65,000 initial visas or grants of H-1B status.

A separate statutory exemption is available for 20,000 beneficiaries who have earned a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education.

The proposed rule does not change either of these numerical limits.

This distinction matters for international students because a US graduate degree can make a person eligible for the separate advanced-degree exemption, but the proposed grace-period rule would concern the worker's status after entering an affected employment-based classification, not eligibility for the H-1B cap itself.

What the Proposal Means for US International Students

The proposed rule does not directly change the rules governing F-1 student status.

Its relevance to international students comes later in the education-to-employment pathway.

Many international students consider the US not only for the degree itself but also for the possibility of obtaining post-study work experience and eventually moving into an employment-based status. An H-1B position can be part of that longer-term pathway.

The proposal would therefore affect the employment stage after study, rather than the study period itself.

For students evaluating the US against other destinations, the development is relevant because the ability to remain in the country between jobs is one component of the overall employment and immigration risk associated with a post-study pathway.

Why the Proposal Matters for Indian Students

The development is particularly relevant to Indian students because India is a major source of international students and skilled workers in the US, while H-1B is a significant part of the US employment-based pathway used by highly skilled foreign professionals.

The proposal itself is not India-specific. It would apply according to immigration classification rather than nationality.

However, the concentration of the existing grace-period cases in H-1B status means that Indian professionals who eventually enter H-1B employment could be among the groups most directly affected if the rule is finalised.

For a student considering a US degree partly because of future employment opportunities, the important distinction is therefore:

US study rules are not changing under this proposal, but the proposed employment-status change could affect the transition after graduation and later H-1B employment.

DHS Says the Change Could Increase Immigration-Case Work

DHS acknowledges that removing the grace period could create additional consequences for workers, employers and the federal government.

The department says some workers could incur costs associated with leaving the US, including transportation, lease termination and other expenses. It also estimates that the proposal could lead to a minor increase in referrals to the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and additional workload for DHS and DOJ.

DHS's analysis also recognises that employers could face temporary productivity losses when workers have to leave the country rather than transition directly to another job.

For H-1B and O-1 workers dismissed by an employer, existing rules generally make the employer responsible for reasonable return transportation costs in specified circumstances. DHS notes that this obligation could become more relevant if workers are required to depart after employment termination under the proposed rule.

Proposal Is Still Open to Public Comment

The September 11 document is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, not a final regulation.

DHS has invited the public to submit comments on the proposal through the federal rulemaking process. The proposed rule states that comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Until DHS completes the rulemaking process and a final rule takes effect, the existing up-to-60-day grace-period regulation remains applicable.

The proposal could therefore be modified, withdrawn or finalised after consideration of public comments.

What H-1B Workers and Prospective US Students Should Know

For current H-1B workers, the key point is that nothing has changed yet. The existing grace period remains available under current rules.

For prospective international students, the proposal is best understood as a development in the post-study employment pathway, not as a change to F-1 study rules.

If finalised, the change would make employment interruptions more consequential for H-1B and other affected workers because the current regulatory buffer of up to 60 days would disappear.

The DHS data shows that the existing window has been used in a measurable number of cases: 18,975 new I-129 petitions were filed during the grace period over FY2021–FY2025, averaging 3,795 a year, with 99.2% involving H-1B workers.

That makes the proposed change particularly relevant to graduates who plan to build a long-term US career after completing their education.

What the H-1B Grace-Period Proposal Means

The proposed removal of the 60-day grace period would represent a significant change in the transition available to H-1B workers after employment ends.

The proposal would not abolish H-1B status, change the 65,000 annual H-1B cap, eliminate the separate 20,000 US advanced-degree exemption, or alter F-1 student status.

Its focus is narrower: removing the regulatory period that currently allows eligible workers in eight employment-based categories to remain in the US for up to 60 days after their qualifying employment or activity ends.

DHS's own data shows that the current mechanism has been used by thousands of workers to transition to new petitions, with H-1B workers accounting for nearly all of those cases. If the proposal becomes final, the loss of that transition period could make job changes, layoffs and immigration-status planning considerably more time-sensitive.

For international students considering the US as a long-term study-and-work destination, the proposal is therefore another factor to consider when assessing the flexibility of the post-study employment pathway.

US H-1B 60-Day Grace Period Proposal FAQs