# DHS Proposes Ending the 60-Day Grace Period for H-1B and Other Work Visa Holders > DHS wants to remove the up to 60-day grace period that currently gives laid-off workers on several employment visas time to find a new sponsor or change status. Under the proposal, they would be expected to leave the country immediately unless otherwise authorized to stay. Public comments are open until November 10, 2026. Canonical URL: https://thevisapulse.com/updates/dhs-proposes-ending-60-day-grace-period-h1b-l1-o1-tn-e-visas ## At a glance - **Policy status:** Proposal at publication - **Last verified:** Not recorded - **Human review:** No human review recorded - **Published:** 2026-09-11 - **Impact:** high - **Document type:** Proposed Rule - **Source agency:** Department of Homeland Security - **Document number:** 2026-18631 - **Visa types:** H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN, E-1, E-2, E-3 Publication dates and impact ratings do not establish whether a policy is in force. Verify current status against the linked government evidence. See /about for our editorial process. ## Who is affected - Workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications - Dependents of workers in those classifications - Employers that sponsor or recruit nonimmigrant workers in these classifications ## Key changes - DHS proposes to remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), which provides the up to 60-day discretionary grace period after employment ends. - Workers would be required to depart immediately upon failing to maintain the employment or activity underlying their status, unless otherwise authorized to remain. - The change would cover E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and their dependents. - Written comments are due November 10, 2026 through Regulations.gov, Docket No. USCIS-2026-0364. ## What you should do The supplied evidence does not establish a concrete action for visa holders beyond the option to submit comments through Regulations.gov (Docket No. USCIS-2026-0364) by November 10, 2026. The proposal is not final and no effective date is given. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed scrapping the up to 60-day grace period that currently follows the end of employment for workers in several nonimmigrant categories. If the proposal is finalized, a worker whose job ends would be expected to depart the United States immediately, unless they are otherwise authorized to remain. This is a proposed rule, not a final one. Nothing changes until DHS publishes a final rule, and the document does not identify an effective date. ## At a Glance - **What:** DHS proposes to remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), which provides the up to 60-day discretionary grace period after employment ends. - **Who:** Workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications, and their dependents. - **When:** Comments are due November 10, 2026; no effective date is specified. - **Impact:** Workers who lose a job would no longer have a regulatory grace period to find new sponsorship or change status. ## What is changing Under current regulations, workers in the listed classifications, and their dependents, are not considered to have failed to maintain status for up to 60 days after the employment or activity that supported their status ends. DHS can shorten or eliminate that period at its discretion, typically when it reviews a later petition or application to extend, change or adjust status. The proposal would remove that provision entirely. DHS says status in these categories is tied by statute to the underlying employment or activity, and that the grace period disconnects the two. It would require departure upon failure to maintain that employment or activity, unless the person is otherwise authorized to lawfully remain. ## DHS's stated reasoning DHS says it originally created the grace period to encourage workers to stay and pursue other immigration options, and to help employers change workers' employment more easily. It now says that rulemaking did not sufficiently consider the negative impacts. DHS also cites reducing the administrative burden on USCIS. The agency describes the move as restoring a previous, long-standing policy. ## Comment period Written comments must be submitted through Regulations.gov (Docket No. USCIS-2026-0364) by November 10, 2026. DHS says it will not treat emails or letters sent to officials, or hand-delivered or mailed comments, as comments on the rule. The most useful comments reference specific parts of the proposal and include supporting data or authority. ## What Remains Unclear The excerpt available here does not cover the proposal's cost estimates, its discussion of reliance interests, or alternatives DHS considered. It also does not show how the rule would treat people with pending filings, or whether any transition period would apply. Check the full 22-page notice (91 FR 57807) for those details before relying on this summary. ## Sources - Government source · federalregister.gov: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18631/eliminating-the-discretionary-60-day-grace-period - Source PDF: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-11/pdf/2026-18631.pdf --- _The Visa Pulse — Immigration Policy, Explained. 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