Foreign workers who lose their jobs could soon have far less time to remain legally in the United States under a Trump administration proposal moving closer to public release. The White House completed its review Thursday of a DHS proposal that would remove a job-loss grace period for H-1B workers and other nonimmigrants. Publication could begin a rulemaking process that may sharply reduce the time affected workers have to preserve lawful status after employment ends.
The existing protection covers workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications, along with their dependents. Federal regulations introduced the safeguard in 2016, with the policy taking effect in early 2017 to soften the immigration consequences of employment ending before a worker’s authorized stay expired. Removing it could tie a person’s ability to remain in the country even more closely to continued employment and employer sponsorship.
The proposal, identified as RIN 1615-AD22, was received for White House review on August 6 and cleared by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on August 27. The government listing classifies it as a proposed rule and records the outcome as “consistent with change,” meaning the review concluded following revisions. No publication date was listed.
Current regulations can give eligible workers up to 60 days after their employment ends, or until their authorized stay expires, whichever comes first. The protection is discretionary, may be granted once during each authorized petition-validity period, and can apply whether someone resigns or is dismissed. That window allows a displaced employee to obtain another sponsored position, apply for a different immigration classification, or prepare to leave the country.
H-1B workers cannot simply accept any new job: continued employment normally depends on an employer willing to pursue the required immigration process. If DHS eliminates the grace period as described, a covered worker whose job ends prematurely would generally stop maintaining lawful nonimmigrant status immediately. Dependents whose status is connected to that worker could face the same disruption.
Fragomen, an immigration law firm, said USCIS may retain separate discretion to forgive a status lapse and permit an eligible person to change employers or immigration status without first leaving the United States. That distinction matters because losing status is not the same as being automatically deported. The proposed change could create an immediate obligation to depart and increase exposure to immigration enforcement, but the sources released so far do not establish that every affected worker would be placed directly into removal proceedings.
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