The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a rule to require H-1B foreign workers and similar nonimmigrant visas, to leave the U.S. immediately when their employment ends, instead of allowing a 60-day grace period when they could potentially find a new job.
The rule, published Friday in the Federal Register, reverses a policy pushed by business groups, which has been in place since 2017. The change will especially impact employers in the tech sector looking to hire international talent already vetted and legally in this country. The change could also impact job recruitment if foreign workers know they must self-deport immediately when their job ends without the chance to look for a new one.
Additionally, there is a financial burden to businesses because the rule states employers would also have to pay the H-1B foreign worker’s “reasonable transportation costs” back to their native country if they are dismissed from their U.S. job before the end of their authorized admission period.
“DHS is cognizant that it is changing a longstanding policy that may impact aliens, employers, family members and, potentially, communities as a whole,” the rule states.
“For example, U.S. employers who seek to employ recently terminated aliens in the relevant classifications may have made business arrangements based on an assumption that the aliens would be able to begin new employment, without the potentially lengthier process of seeking admission from outside the United States, following the cessation of their previous employment,” the rule states.
The DHS proposal also acknowledged that many foreign workers affected by the policy change have likely purchased homes, paid taxes, and made other investments in their local communities. However, the DHS said the “administrative burdens” created by the grace period outweighed benefits to workers and employers.
“Considering the need to reduce administrative burden and better protect the integrity of the legal immigration system by requiring that aliens, and their dependents, depart the United States upon failing to meet the conditions that were the basis of their nonimmigrant status, unless otherwise authorized to lawfully remain in the United States, DHS believes that the harm of the up to 60-day discretionary grace period outweighs the potential benefit it provides to the impacted aliens and employers, the alien's dependents, and the community at large,” the rule states.
Written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking must be submitted on or before Nov. 10, 2026.
