H-1B grace period may end: Can Indian workers change employer or visa status after job loss?

The US may scrap the 60-day window that lets foreign workers on certain visas stay and job-hunt after losing employment.. (File Photo)

H-1B workers in the US could lose a crucial safety net after a job loss if a proposed Department of Homeland Security rule eliminates the current 60-day grace period.

The change could be particularly significant for Indians, who accounted for 71% of approved H-1B petitions in FY2024, according to USCIS data. Experts said the move could cause potential harm to thousands of skilled workers, most of them from India, news agency PTI reported.

What is the 60-day grace period, and who does it affect?

The grace period currently gives H-1B workers and some other visa holders two months to find a new sponsor, change their visa status, or make arrangements to leave the US after their job ends. Indian nationals make up the largest share of H-1B visa holders, accounting for 71 per cent of all successful applications in the 2024 financial year.

Why are experts against the proposal?

Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a former White House advisor, said removing the grace period completely would be a serious step backwards that would harm legal immigrants who have added real value to America’s economy and technology sector. He said, “Eliminating the 60-day grace period is inhumane and unworkable,” PTI reported.

Bhutoria said 60 days is already a short window for someone who loses their job suddenly, and taking that protection away entirely would leave many people with no time to sort out their affairs.

He has asked South Asian community groups, business leaders and advocacy organisations in the US to prepare public comments once the rule is formally published in the Federal Register, so the government hears the full impact of the plan.

How would this affect start-up founders and employers?

American attorney Adrian Pandev said the grace period is often used by workers who leave a corporate job to start their own company, giving them time to file for a change in visa status. Without it, he said, workers may feel pressured to hide their plans from their current employer until a new visa petition is filed or approved. This means employers could learn of a departure with almost no warning, which he said would affect businesses as much as workers.

Bhutoria previously worked as an advisor to former US President Joe Biden and, at that time, proposed extending the grace period from 60 days to 180 days. He had argued that hiring processes, including technical interviews and visa transfer paperwork, often take several months, meaning 60 days is not enough time.

He has now repeated that call, asking the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the current proposal and instead adopt a 180-day grace period.

Bhutoria said hundreds of thousands of South Asian workers in technology, healthcare and engineering hold H-1B status in the US. He said ending the grace period would lead to serious stress for families, financial trouble, and disruption to the schooling of children raised in the country.

(With inputs from PTI)