US may scrap grace period for H-1B workers

Washington: The Trump administration is considering eliminating the 60-day grace period that allows laid-off H-1B and other foreign professionals to find another job or change their immigration status while remaining legally in the United States, according to material shared by an Indian-American community leader.

The proposed Department of Homeland Security regulation, listed as RIN 1615-AD22, is under review by the federal Office of Management and Budget. It would affect non-immigrant visa holders, including workers on H-1B, L-1 and O-1 visas, following the termination of their employment.

The existing grace period gives affected workers up to 60 days to secure new employment, transfer their visa status or seek another lawful non-immigrant classification.

Its elimination could have wide consequences for Indian professionals, who constitute a large share of H-1B visa holders in the United States, particularly in technology, engineering and healthcare.

Ajay Bhutoria, a former member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, urged the administration to withdraw the proposal.

“I strongly condemn and slam this proposed DHS policy,” Bhutoria said. “Eliminating the 60-day grace period is inhumane and unworkable. When a worker faces a sudden termination, 60 days was already dangerously short. Stripping away this protection entirely leaves thousands of law-abiding individuals with zero time to wrap up their lives.”

The proposal is still under regulatory review and has not taken effect. It would ordinarily have to be formally published before the public could submit comments.

Bhutoria said the repercussions would extend beyond individual workers to their spouses and children.

“People will not even have time to sell their homes, manage their leases, or transition their children out of schools,” he said. “Families will be uprooted overnight, thrown into chaos through no fault of their own after dedicating years of hard work and tax contributions to this country.”

He argued that recruitment for specialised positions frequently involves several interviews, background checks and immigration paperwork that cannot be completed quickly.

“When I served on the President’s AANHPI Commission, I specifically authored and pushed a recommendation to extend the grace period to 180 days precisely because the hiring process for specialized technology and engineering roles involves four to five rounds of interviews, background checks, and extensive USCIS paperwork that cannot be squeezed into a rigid window, let alone done overnight,” Bhutoria said.

He described the measure as a threat to both immigrant families and the ability of American companies to retain highly skilled workers.

“This proposal strikes at the heart of the South Asian immigrant community and skilled workforce,” he said. “I urge DHS and the administration to withdraw this proposal immediately and instead adopt a compassionate, pragmatic 180-day grace period that respects human dignity and protects America’s competitive edge.”

Bhutoria also called on South Asian organisations, business leaders and advocacy groups to prepare comments if the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

The H-1B programme allows American employers to hire foreign workers for specialised occupations requiring advanced knowledge. Indian nationals have historically received the largest proportion of H-1B visas issued by the United States.

IANS