The White House has finished the review of its proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period that permitted foreign workers, primarily on H1-B visas, to search for new jobs after loss of employment.
The Department of Homeland Security moved the proposal for review by the Office of Management and Budget earlier this month and details were not immediately available, PTI reported.
In case the proposal is finalised, the regulation would eliminate the 60-day grace period, given to some principal non-immigrants and their dependents if the principal's employment ceases before their period of stay expires.
The proposal will next be published in the Federal Register, after which the public will typically have 30 to 60 days to submit comments. The exact details of the rule will only become clear once it is officially published.
In 2027, the 60-day grace period was introduced to allow foreign workers and their dependents to live in the US while looking for new employment after a job loss.
According to immigration consultants cited in the report, the Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to shorten or refuse the grace period, however it has rarely done so.
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The rule is applicable to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN categories of nonimmigrant visa holders and their dependents.
This grace period also permits US employers to more easily facilitate employment changes for existing or newly recruited nonimmigrant workers. In case the 60-day grace period is eliminated, foreign nationals whose employment ends prematurely and their dependents would typically be needed to depart the US immediately. They would not be able to change status or employers within the US unless the Citizenship and Immigration Services exercises its discretion to forgive the lapse in status.
The Indian-American population in the US is estimated at 5.2 million. Indian nationals are among the largest beneficiaries of H-1B employment visas, comprising 71 per cent of all successful applicants in the 2024 fiscal year.
(With inputs from PTI)
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