If you work on an H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN or E visa, there is a rule you may never have needed and that is quietly your safety net: the 60-day grace period after your job ends. The government has proposed eliminating it.
At Campos Law Firm, we closely monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy to protect our clients’ rights and future. Here is what is known, what is not, and what you can do.
What exactly is DHS proposing?
On September 11, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), published a proposed rule titled Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period (docket USCIS-2026-0364, RIN 1615-AD22).
Today, 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) allows certain nonimmigrant workers and their dependents to remain in the country for up to 60 days after employment ends — or until their authorized stay expires, whichever comes first — without being treated as having failed to maintain status. Even now it is discretionary: DHS may shorten or eliminate it case by case.
The proposal would remove it entirely. DHS argues this aligns the regulation with a statute that ties status to the employment supporting it, and reduces the administrative burden of case-by-case assessments. It also strikes a cross-reference at 8 CFR 204.5(p)(1)(i).
None of this is in effect. It is a proposal subject to 60 days of public comment, running until roughly November 10, 2026. Until a final rule is published, the grace period remains available.
Who would it affect?
Coverage has focused on the H-1B, but the official list is broader. It would reach holders of:
- E-1, E-2 and E-3: treaty traders and investors, and Australian specialty occupation workers.
- H-1B and H-1B1: specialty occupations, including the Chile and Singapore categories.
- L-1: intracompany transferees.
- O-1: individuals with extraordinary ability.
- TN: Canadian and Mexican professionals under the trade agreement.
- Dependents tied to all of those classifications: spouses and children on derivative visas, whose situation follows the principal’s.
For many Latino families in the United States this is not a distant issue: TN is the standard route for Mexican professionals, and E-2 is used by investors across the region.
What would happen if you lose your job?
Today those 60 days are the room to breathe and arrange either a departure or a continuation. If the rule is adopted, that room disappears and a layoff becomes, far more quickly, a maintenance-of-status problem.
What this proposal does not change, and is worth knowing:
- H-1B portability still exists: a new employer can file a petition and, under current rules, you may begin work upon filing. What shrinks is the window to secure one.
- Change of status remains an option: to B-2 or F-1, for example, but the application must be filed while your status is still valid.
- Adjustment of status is untouched: if you already have an approved petition and your category is current, that path continues.
- The “compelling circumstances” employment authorization document exists for certain beneficiaries of approved petitions; check whether it applies before you need it.
None of these alternatives works improvised on the day of a layoff: each depends on documents assembled weeks in advance.
What can you do now?
- Comment on the proposal: anyone may file a comment at regulations.gov citing docket USCIS-2026-0364 within the 60-day window. Comments from workers and employers become part of the administrative record.
- Have your file ready today: copies of every I-797 approval notice, your latest I-94 from i94.cbp.dhs.gov, degrees and credential evaluations, and your last three employment letters.
- Talk to your employer before you need to: who would file a new petition, how fast, and who bears the cost are conversations best had calmly.
- Watch your I-94 date, not just your visa: the visa is permission to enter; the I-94 sets how long you may stay. They are different, and the confusion is common.
- Do not resign or sign a separation agreement without advice: the exact date your employment ends can change your options entirely.
Protect Your Immigration Status with Campos Law Firm
A proposed rule changes nothing today, but it does change what is worth having ready. The difference between keeping status and losing it is rarely the law itself — it is how many days of warning someone had.
At Campos Law Firm we review your classification, your I-94 and your pending petitions, and build a plan before there is an emergency. We do not make unrealistic promises. We provide serious legal representation backed by preparation and integrity.
Do not leave your immigration status to chance. Call us today at +1 (844) 922-6767 to schedule a free, confidential consultation in English or Spanish. Campos Law Firm: Legal Solutions in All Areas of Law.
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