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Official8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · Last verified
What to do when your H-1B employment ends: the 60-day grace period
If your H-1B job ends, federal regulation gives you a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days to find another employer, change your status, or leave. Here is exactly how long you have and what starts the clock.
How long the grace period is
When your employment ends, you may be allowed to stay in the United States for up to 60 consecutive days, or until the end of your authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. This is the grace period in 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). If your I-94 expires 20 days after your last day of work, your grace period is those 20 days, not 60. The grace period is discretionary, which means the Department of Homeland Security may grant it but is not required to, and it is available once per authorized validity period.
Source: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · in effect from 2017-01-17
When the clock starts
The grace period runs from the day your employment actually ends, not from the day you were told it would end and not from the day your final paycheck arrives. If you were told on the 1st that your last day of employment is the 30th, your 60 days begin on the 30th. Ask your employer in writing for your last day of employment, because that single date determines every deadline that follows.
Source: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · in effect from 2017-01-17
What you can do inside the grace period
Three things preserve your status. A new employer can file an H-1B petition for you, and under the portability rule you may begin working for them as soon as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services receives that petition. You can file to change to another status such as H-4, F-1, O-1 or B-2. Or you can depart the United States. A change of status application filed before your grace period ends keeps you in a period of authorized stay while it is pending.
Source: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · in effect from 2017-01-17
What your employer has to do
Your employer must notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the employment relationship has ended so the petition can be revoked, and must offer you the reasonable cost of return transportation to your last place of foreign residence if you are dismissed before the end of the petition period. That obligation is on the employer and does not depend on you asking for it.
Source: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · in effect from 2017-01-17
Where this stands today
On 6 August 2026 the Department of Homeland Security sent a proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review under Executive Order 12866. It is titled "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period" and carries the regulation identifier 1615-AD22. A rule at that stage has not been published, has not been open for comment and has not taken effect: the review is the step before a proposal reaches the Federal Register, and a proposal is itself the step before a final rule. The grace period described on this page is the rule in force. What the review changes is how long this page can be trusted from memory — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs publishes the status of pending rules on reginfo.gov under that identifier, and the position stated there is the one that governs.
Source: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) · in effect from 2017-01-17
Official
Frequently asked questions
- I have heard the 60-day grace period is being removed. Has it been?
- No. A proposed rule to eliminate it went to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on 6 August 2026 under identifier 1615-AD22. A rule under that review has not been published and has not taken effect, and a proposal would still have to run a comment period and become a final rule before the regulation changed. The grace period this guide describes is the one in force.
- Does a rule under review change what I should do this week?
- It requires nothing, because it does not yet exist as a rule. It is a reason to check the current position at the moment you rely on it rather than to act on it now — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs publishes the status of pending rules under their identifier on reginfo.gov.
- Does the 60 days start on the day I was told, or my last day of work?
- Your last day of employment. Notice date does not matter. Get the last day of employment in writing from your employer, because every other deadline is measured from it.
- Can I get 60 days if my I-94 expires sooner?
- No. The grace period is up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of your authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. Check the expiry date on your most recent I-94.
- Can I start working for a new employer before their petition is approved?
- Yes. Under H-1B portability you may begin work as soon as USCIS receives a non-frivolous petition filed on your behalf, provided you were lawfully admitted and have not worked without authorization.