Laid Off on H-1B? Here's Your Guide to the 60-Day Grace Period (2026)

If you're laid off on H-1B status, you generally have 60 calendar days, or less if your authorized stay ends sooner, to find a new sponsor, change your status, or leave the United States before you're considered out of status. During that window, known as the H-1B grace period, you're not authorized to work unless you separately secure new work authorization.

This guide covers where the 60-day clock actually starts, the four realistic paths you have after a layoff, what a pending August 2026 proposal from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could mean for this grace period, and what you and your H-4 dependents need to do in the meantime.

Key Takeaways

• Your 60-day grace period starts the day after your last day of paid work, not the day you're notified or when severance ends, and it runs on consecutive calendar days.

• You have four realistic paths: transfer your H-1B, change your status, self-petition for a Green Card, or leave the United States before the clock runs out.

• A DHS proposal submitted for review on August 6, 2026 could eliminate the discretionary 60-day grace period. As of early September 2026 it hadn't been published in the Federal Register, so the current 60-day rule still applies.

• Avoid international travel during the grace period. Leaving the country effectively ends it rather than pausing it.

• Your H-4 dependents' status is tied to yours, and your employer owes you specific bona fide termination steps that can create real wage liability if skipped.

• Talk to an immigration attorney early, ideally before your 60 days are even half gone. Transfer timing, I-140 portability, and Compelling Circumstances EAD eligibility all depend on specific facts about your case that a general guide can't resolve for you.

What Is the H-1B 60-Day Grace Period?

The H-1B 60-day grace period is a federal regulation that lets you stay in the United States for up to 60 consecutive calendar days after your H-1B job ends, without being considered out of status, so you can find a new employer, change your visa status, or leave the country. This rule, codified at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), covers workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, and TN status, along with their dependents, and grants whichever is shorter: the full 60 days or however much time is left on your authorized stay. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers this rule alongside the rest of your nonimmigrant status.

The grace period buys you time to resolve your status. It doesn't authorize you to work. Unless you get separate work authorization under 8 CFR 274a.12, such as a new H-1B petition that's already been filed, you can't work during these 60 days.

Is the 60-Day Grace Period at Risk of Being Eliminated in 2026?

The 60-day grace period described above is not guaranteed to exist much longer in its current discretionary form. On August 6, 2026, DHS and USCIS submitted a proposed rule titled "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period" (RIN 1615-AD22) to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for interagency review. OIRA completed that review on August 27, 2026, clearing the way for DHS to publish the rule as a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

As of early September 2026, the rule's full text had not yet been published in the Federal Register. Once it is, DHS is expected to open a public comment period, typically 30 to 60 days, before any final rule could take effect. That means the current 60-day grace period remains fully in effect and unchanged as of this writing, and everything in this guide reflects the rules as they stand today.

This isn't the first time the grace period's existence has depended on regulatory discretion rather than statute. DHS created it through a 2016 "high-skilled worker" rule that took effect in January 2017. Before that, no regulatory grace period existed at all for these visa categories after a job ended. DHS's proposed rule leans on the fact that 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) already states DHS may eliminate or shorten the 60 days at its discretion, which is the regulatory hook the agency is using to try to remove it without new statutory authorization. If you're reading this after this rule has been finalized, confirm the current grace period length with an immigration attorney or USCIS directly before making decisions based on the 60-day figure used throughout this guide.

When Does the 60-Day Clock Start Ticking?

The 60-day countdown, assuming it survives the DHS proposal above, doesn't start on the day you're told you're laid off. It starts the day after your last day of paid work, not the day you're notified and not the day any severance payments end. Severance compensates you for losing your job, not for work performed, so USCIS doesn't treat it as extending your employment or delaying the clock. If your employer tells you on September 1 that your last paid working day was August 28, your 60 days start running on August 29, regardless of when your severance checks stop arriving.

These are 60 consecutive calendar days, not business days, so weekends and federal holidays count toward the total. There's no pausing the clock for a holiday weekend or a slow HR department.

The grace period can also end earlier than the full 60 days. If your H-1B petition's underlying validity period, shown on your Form I-94, expires in fewer than 60 days from your last day of work, your grace period ends on that earlier I-94 expiration date instead of running the full 60. And you only get this discretionary grace period once per authorized H-1B validity period. You can't restart the clock multiple times within the same approved petition, though a new validity period from a new petition or extension carries its own fresh 60-day eligibility.

What Are Your Options After Being Laid Off on H-1B?

After a layoff, you have four realistic paths within your 60-day window: transfer your H-1B to a new employer, change your status to a different visa category, self-petition for a Green Card (permanent residency) without an employer, or leave the United States before your grace period runs out. Which one fits depends on how close you are to a job offer, whether you already have an approved Form I-140 immigrant petition in place, and how much risk you're willing to take on.

Option 1: Transfer to a New H-1B Employer

An H-1B transfer means a new employer sponsors a new H-1B petition on your behalf, and you're allowed to start working for that employer as soon as USCIS receives the properly filed petition, not once it's approved. This is called portability, and it comes from the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21). To use it, you need to have been lawfully admitted in H-1B status previously, and the new employer's petition needs to be filed as a nonfrivolous request before your authorized stay, including your grace period, expires.

Cost varies by employer size and filing choices. The Form I-129 base filing fee is $780 for most employers, or $460 for small employers and nonprofits with 25 or fewer full-time employees. Most transfer petitions also carry a one-time $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee and an American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act training fee of $750 or $1,500, depending on employer size. Employers typically also owe an Asylum Program Fee, which is $600 for larger employers, reduced to $300 for small employers, and waived entirely for nonprofits. If your new employer wants a faster answer, premium processing (Form I-907) costs $2,965 as of March 1, 2026, and guarantees USCIS action within 15 business days.

Option 2: Change of Status to a Different Visa

Changing status means filing an application to switch from H-1B to a different nonimmigrant category, most often B-2 visitor status or F-1 student status, using Form I-539. As long as you file that I-539 properly and on time, before your grace period or authorized stay expires, you're considered to be in a period of authorized stay while it's pending, even if the USCIS receipt notice itself doesn't arrive until after your 60 days have already run.

Timing matters here. On the regular processing track, a change of status from H-1B to F-1 can take roughly 2 to 10 months. USCIS does offer premium processing for these filings, though: for a $2,075 fee (as of March 2026), USCIS guarantees a decision within 30 business days. Without premium processing, that's a long stretch to be job hunting without work authorization, so this route tends to make more sense if you have a specific next step in mind, like enrolling in a degree program, rather than as an open-ended holding pattern.

Option 3: Self-Petition for a Green Card

Two employment-based Green Card categories let you file your own Form I-140 without a job offer or an employer sponsor: EB-1A, for individuals with extraordinary ability, and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW). Because neither requires an employer, a layoff by itself doesn't disqualify you from either category if you otherwise meet the high evidentiary bar both require.

This path has real limits worth knowing before you rely on it. Filing a self-petitioned I-140 doesn't extend or restart your H-1B grace period, and it doesn't grant you work authorization on its own. You still can't file to adjust your status to permanent resident (Form I-485) until your priority date is current on the State Department's Visa Bulletin, which can take anywhere from months to years depending on your category and country of birth. Self-petitioning is a longer-term strategy, not a way to buy yourself extra time in the next 60 days.

Option 4: Leave the United States

Leaving the U.S. before your grace period ends is the most straightforward option, and sometimes the right one if you don't have a job offer, a change-of-status plan, or a self-petition strategy lined up. Departing on time within your authorized 60 days, or your shorter I-94 expiration if that applies, keeps you from accruing unlawful presence, which matters if you ever want to return on another visa. Travel and international departure deserve their own explanation, covered further below, because leaving during the grace period works differently than a routine trip home.

What Happens to a Pending or Approved Green Card (I-140) If You're Laid Off?

If you already have a Green Card process underway with your former employer, what survives the layoff depends on two things: how long your Form I-140 has been approved, and whether you've filed Form I-485 to adjust status.

If your Form I-140 immigrant petition has been approved for 180 days or more, your priority date, essentially your place in line for a Green Card, generally survives even if your former employer later withdraws the I-140, and that protection also applies once a related Form I-485 has been pending 180 days or more. But actually porting your Green Card case to a new employer in a same-or-similar role under AC21 Section 106(c) is a separate requirement: it depends on your Form I-485 having been pending for 180 days or more, not simply on how long the I-140 has been approved. Most H-1B workers laid off before ever filing Form I-485 won't meet that second requirement, even with a long-approved I-140, so the priority-date protection and the ability to port your case to a new employer don't automatically come as a package.

If you're laid off before your I-140 has been approved for 180 days, or before you've filed Form I-485 at all, you're in a more exposed position. Your former employer can withdraw that I-140, and the priority-date protection described above doesn't apply yet. In that scenario, and in the common case where you have an approved I-140 but no pending I-485, your most viable path is typically finding a new sponsoring employer and either recapturing your priority date on a new I-140 or restarting the labor certification (PERM) and I-140 process from the beginning.

What Is the Compelling Circumstances EAD, and Who Qualifies?

For H-1B workers with an approved I-140 but no current priority date, the Compelling Circumstances Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a separate work-authorization option worth knowing about, though it comes with real trade-offs.

To qualify for an initial Compelling Circumstances EAD, you need to be the principal beneficiary, the primary worker named, on an approved Form I-140 in the EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 category, currently be in valid E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1, or L-1 status (or an authorized grace period) at the time you file, not have already filed Form I-485 to adjust status, and not have an immigrant visa immediately available based on your priority date under the Visa Bulletin's Final Action Dates.

USCIS defines "compelling circumstances" broadly. It can include serious illness or disability, an employer dispute or retaliation, other substantial harm to you including financial harm, or a significant disruption to your sponsoring employer. A layoff itself can support a compelling-circumstances claim if it causes this kind of substantial harm to you.

If approved, this EAD is valid for up to one year and can be renewed if you continue to show compelling circumstances, or if your priority date is within one year of becoming current. Your spouse and children who qualify as dependents at the time of filing and adjudication can also apply for their own compelling-circumstances EADs.

One caveat matters more than most: this EAD does not preserve your H-1B status. It's a standalone work authorization, and the time you spend working on it is generally treated as a period without valid nonimmigrant status for certain purposes, even though it lets you legally work while you pursue other options. Talk through this trade-off with an immigration attorney before choosing it over other paths.

Can You Travel Internationally During the Grace Period?

Travel during the H-1B grace period deserves caution because a trip abroad can end your grace period rather than pause it, whether you're waiting on a transfer petition or weighing whether to leave the country altogether. The grace period only preserves your status for staying in the United States while you find a new job, change status, or prepare to depart. It doesn't guarantee you'll be let back in. If you leave the country during this window, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer could deny your reentry or admit you for a much shorter period than you expect, because the H-1B job that was the basis for your original admission has already ended.

Leaving the U.S. during the grace period effectively ends the grace period itself. It exists to let you resolve your status while remaining in the country, not as a travel authorization. The safest course is to avoid international travel until a new H-1B petition has been filed, ideally approved, or until a change of status has actually been granted.

What Happens to Your H-4 Spouse and Children?

If you have H-4 dependents, their status is tied directly to yours, so the decision you make about your own case determines what happens to your spouse and children too. H-4 dependents share the same 60-day grace period as the principal H-1B worker, because their status derives from yours. If your H-1B status ends without a timely transfer, extension, or change of status, your H-4 dependents' status ends along with it.

What happens next generally depends on which path you take. If you file a timely H-1B transfer petition with a request to extend your stay, or a change of status, your H-4 dependents can generally be included on a companion Form I-539 filing to maintain their status alongside yours. If you instead change to F-1 or B-2 status, your dependents typically need to separately change to a compatible status, such as F-2 or B-2, or pursue their own independent status, such as their own H-1B, F-1, or O-1. This dependent-filing process varies more by individual case than most of the rules in this guide, so confirm the specific mechanics with an immigration attorney before you file.

What Your Employer Legally Owes You: The Bona Fide Termination

A legally "bona fide" H-1B termination puts three specific obligations on your employer: clear, unambiguous notice of the termination, written notice to USCIS to withdraw your H-1B petition, and an offer to pay the reasonable cost of your return transportation to your last foreign residence, for an economy-class ticket. That return-transportation obligation applies to you specifically, not your family members.

How your employer handled the actual termination matters just as much as your own next steps. U.S. immigration law puts these obligations on the employer, and if unmet, they can create real financial exposure.

This isn't just a formality. In Amtel Group of Florida, Inc. v. Yongmahapakorn, a 2006 case, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that if an employer tells an H-1B worker they're terminated but fails to also notify USCIS and offer return transportation, the termination isn't considered bona fide. When that happens, the employer can be held liable for back wages under the wage rate certified on your Labor Condition Application (LCA), for the entire remaining term of your approved H-1B petition.

That liability isn't unlimited, though. In Vinayagam v. Cronous Solutions, Inc., the ARB found that an employer's failure to pay return transportation costs wasn't fatal to a bona fide termination where the worker voluntarily chose to stay in the U.S. and pursue a new H-1B employer rather than return home. More broadly, an employer's LCA back-wage liability for a terminated worker generally stops once USCIS approves a new employer's change-of-employer H-1B petition for that worker.

USCIS itself has no direct way to force an employer to pay return transportation. Instead, DOL treats that obligation as one factor among several when it evaluates, in a wage complaint, whether a bona fide termination actually occurred. If your employer skipped these steps, that's worth raising with an employment or immigration attorney, since it could affect wages you're owed.

What Other Legal Rights Do You Have as a Laid-Off H-1B Worker?

Beyond the bona fide termination rules above, being an H-1B worker doesn't strip you of the baseline legal protections every employee in the United States has.

Most H-1B workers don't qualify for state unemployment insurance benefits, because most states require claimants to be "able and available" for work, a standard that someone without an active sponsoring employer or other work authorization generally doesn't meet. Eligibility is governed by state law rather than immigration law, though, so a small number of workers may still qualify depending on their specific state's rules and their work-authorization status during the claim period. It's worth checking your state's specific rules rather than assuming you're automatically excluded.

If your layoff is part of a larger reduction in force, the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act may apply. It requires employers with 100 or more employees to give at least 60 calendar days' advance written notice before a covered plant closing or mass layoff, generally one affecting 50 or more employees at a single site. If your employer doesn't give that required notice, you can potentially recover back pay and benefits for the period of noncompliance, and this protection applies to H-1B workers as employees regardless of immigration status.

You're also protected from discriminatory termination. Section 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act makes it an unfair immigration-related employment practice to discriminate against a protected individual in discharge decisions based on national origin or citizenship status. If you believe your termination was motivated by discrimination rather than legitimate business reasons, that's a separate potential claim from any wage issue tied to a non-bona-fide termination.

What Documents Should You Keep After a Layoff?

The documents that matter most after a layoff are the ones that prove your last day of work and your immigration history, and gathering them from day one makes whichever path you choose easier to execute.

Hold onto these records as soon as your layoff happens:

• Your termination letter or email, stating your exact last day of work

• Final pay stubs and any severance agreement

• All Form I-94 arrival and departure records

• All prior H-1B approval notices (Form I-797)

• Your passport and current visa stamp

• Degree certificates and transcripts

• Any USCIS receipt notices for new Form I-129, Form I-539, or Form I-485 filings

Your termination letter matters more than it might seem. It's the primary piece of evidence for calculating exactly when your 60-day clock started and when it ends. Keep both a digital and physical copy of everything on this list somewhere you can access quickly, since a new employer's attorney or an immigration attorney you consult will likely ask for most of it in your first conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you get paid during the H-1B grace period?

No. The grace period preserves your immigration status, not your paycheck. You're not authorized to work during these 60 days unless you separately secure new work authorization, such as a filed H-1B transfer petition.

Does severance pay extend the 60 days?

No. The clock starts the day after your last day of actual paid work, not when severance payments stop. USCIS treats severance as compensation for job loss, not for work performed, so it doesn't delay the countdown.

Can you start a new job before your H-1B transfer is approved?

Yes. Under AC21 portability, you can begin working for a new employer as soon as USCIS receives its properly filed H-1B petition, not once it's approved, as long as you were previously in lawful H-1B status and the petition is filed before your grace period expires.

Can you use the 60-day grace period more than once on the same H-1B?

No. The discretionary grace period applies once per authorized H-1B validity period. A new validity period from a new petition or extension carries its own fresh 60-day eligibility.

Are you eligible for unemployment benefits while laid off on H-1B?

Generally no. Most states require claimants to be "able and available" for work, a standard an H-1B worker without an active sponsor typically doesn't meet. Eligibility is state-specific, so a small number of workers may still qualify depending on their state.

What happens if you don't act within 60 days?

If you haven't transferred your H-1B, changed status, or departed by the end of your grace period, you're considered out of status. That can affect future visa applications, so treat the 60-day window as a real deadline, not a suggestion.