📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Shealeah Craighead
Politics
Trump Targets 60‑Day Grace Period for Laid‑Off H‑1B Workers
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 09 Aug 2026, 07:41 AM
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The Trump administration has announced plans to eliminate the 60‑day grace period that allows laid‑off H‑1B workers to remain in the U.S. while seeking new employment.
The Trump administration has announced a policy change that would end the 60‑day grace period currently available to H‑1B workers who lose their jobs. The grace period has long allowed displaced foreign employees to stay in the United States while they search for new employment or adjust their immigration status.
Under the current rule, laid‑off H‑1B holders can remain in the country for up to 60 days after the termination of their employment. This window provides a critical buffer for workers to secure a new sponsor or transition to another visa category.
The proposed change would require workers to leave the U.S. immediately after losing their job or to find a new employer within a much shorter timeframe. Immigration advocates warn that the move could create uncertainty for thousands of skilled professionals and disrupt the U.S. technology and research sectors.
Legal experts predict that the policy could face challenges in court, as it may conflict with existing immigration statutes and international labor agreements. The administration has not yet outlined a detailed implementation plan, leaving many stakeholders awaiting further clarification.
Under the current rule, laid‑off H‑1B holders can remain in the country for up to 60 days after the termination of their employment. This window provides a critical buffer for workers to secure a new sponsor or transition to another visa category.
The proposed change would require workers to leave the U.S. immediately after losing their job or to find a new employer within a much shorter timeframe. Immigration advocates warn that the move could create uncertainty for thousands of skilled professionals and disrupt the U.S. technology and research sectors.
Legal experts predict that the policy could face challenges in court, as it may conflict with existing immigration statutes and international labor agreements. The administration has not yet outlined a detailed implementation plan, leaving many stakeholders awaiting further clarification.