The United States is reviewing a proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period that allows certain foreign workers on non-immigrant visas to remain in the country and look for a new job after losing employment.

If finalised, foreign workers covered under the rule and their dependents would have to leave the US immediately if their employment ends before their authorised stay expires. They would be unable to change status or change employers within the country, unless US Citizenship and Immigration Services its discretion to forgive the lapse in status.

The 60-day grace period was introduced in 2017. It applies to several categories of temporary employment visas, including H-1B visas for workers in special occupations, L-1 visas for employees transferred within multinational companies, O-1 visas for persons with extraordinary ability.

The Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to shorten or refuse the grace period, although it has rarely done so, PTI reported.

The proposal from the Department of Homeland Security is currently under review by the federal Office of Management and Budget.

The details of the proposed regulation were not immediately known.

Over the past few years, Indians have constituted the majority of H-1B visa holders. Indians comprised 72.3% of all H-1B visas issued by the US in the financial year 2022-’23.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: US is losing immigrant tech talent due to H-1B visa uncertainty

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