WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the 60-day grace period that allows H-1B visa holders and several other categories of foreign workers to remain in the United States after losing their jobs, potentially requiring affected workers to leave the country immediately when their employment ends.
The proposed change was published by the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register. The existing rule, in place since 2017, gives foreign workers up to two months to find another employer willing to sponsor them, change their immigration status or make arrangements to leave the country.
The change would extend beyond H-1B workers to several other temporary employment categories, including L-1, O-1, E-1, E-2 and TN visas, as well as H-1B1 workers from Singapore and Chile and E-3 speciality workers from Australia. DHS acknowledged that employers could face some disruption but argued that vacant positions could instead be filled by qualified American workers.
Technology and consultancy companies are among the biggest users of the H-1B programme. Immigration lawyers warned that removing the grace period would give workers and employers very little time to deal with layoffs, transfers and sponsorship changes. The proposal is subject to a 60-day public-comment period before it can be finalised.