Lose the job, lose the visa: America wants to scrap the 60-day grace period

On September 11, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule in the Federal Register titled "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period." It would strike a single provision: Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 214.1(l)(2).

That provision gives people on certain work visas, and their families, a grace period of up to 60 days when their employment ends before their authorized stay does. During that time they are not considered out of status simply because they've stopped working. They can look for a new job, have a new petition filed, or leave in an orderly way.

The proposal would abolish this period entirely. Under the Department's plan, anyone who loses their job would have to leave the United States immediately, unless they have another basis to stay.

The list in the proposal is short, but highly relevant for Europeans. It covers E-1, E-2 and E-3, H-1B and H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN, each including family members.

These are exactly the visas Europeans most often use to live and work in America. The E-2 for investors from treaty countries. The L-1 for transfers to an American subsidiary. The O-1 for extraordinary ability. And the H-1B for skilled professionals.

Students are not affected; separate deadlines apply to them, which we covered in July in Studying now comes with an expiry date. Green card holders are not affected either.

The proposal itself notes that this grace period is no long-standing given. Until 2017 it didn't exist. Anyone who lost their job back then was treated as failing to maintain status from the next day and had to leave.

A rule that took effect in January 2017 introduced the period of up to 60 days. The reasoning at the time: people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own should be able to stay and find a new path, and employers should find it easier to hire skilled workers who are already here.

Today the Department says the rule decoupled immigration status from its actual purpose. Someone here on a work visa is here because of that work, and when the work ends, so does the reason. The grace period also creates administrative burden, it argues.

The proposal is open about the consequences. A footnote states that affected workers and their dependents would have to leave the country on the day their employment ends to avoid the consequences of a status violation.

That sounds like bureaucratic jargon, but it's the heart of the matter. If you fail to maintain status, you generally can't apply for an extension or a change to another category from inside the US. For any new attempt, you have to leave and apply for the visa again at a consulate.

And depending on when you leave, more is at stake. The proposal itself points out that unlawful presence can lead to three- or ten-year bars on reentry. Stay too long, and you may shut the door on coming back.

Under current rules, Daniel has up to 60 days. His last working day is a Friday in September, so the period runs into November, but no later than the end of the authorized stay on his record.

During those weeks another employer can file a petition for him, for example an American company that wants to hire him as a skilled professional. Or, if he wants to go out on his own, Daniel can have a change to E-2 filed, based on his own company and an investment. The kids stay in school, the family stays in their home, and any move happens in an orderly way.

Under the proposal, Daniel wouldn't have those weeks. Let's run the numbers for the family. The rent of $2,800 a month continues until June: nine months, $25,200 in total, unless the landlord lets them out early. Shipping a container from Texas back to southern Germany costs a five-figure sum, depending on volume. Four flights. His wife's job ends too, since her status depends on his. And the kids leave school in the middle of the semester.

That's the price a family can pay for one Friday in September. Not because they did anything wrong, but because a company is restructuring.

This is the most important line in this article, and it doesn't belong at the end. The grace period still applies today. The proposal is just that, a proposal. Until November 10, 2026, anyone can comment on it via regulations.gov: companies, associations, affected individuals. The Department must then review the comments and publish a final rule if it sticks to its plan.

When that happens is open. Experience shows that months pass between a proposal and a final rule. Even so, for planning purposes: if you live in America on one of these visas today, plan as if the grace period will be gone next year.

For E-2 investors the change has its own twist. Their status isn't tied to an employer but to their own business. It ends when the business is sold, closed, or no longer meets the requirements.

If you want to sell your shop in Austin to build a bigger business, today you have some room to manage the transition. Without a grace period, the new application has to be in place before the sale closes. That demands a completely different order of steps, and it demands it up front.

The same goes for employees of an E-2 business who work there on their own E-2 as specialists or managers. Their employer is a small company, and small companies can run into trouble faster than large ones.

Know your date. Your I-94, the electronic arrival record, shows how long your stay is authorized. That date matters more than the visa expiry date in your passport, and many people mix the two up.

Have a second path ready. If you work for a corporation on an L-1, you should know which path is open to you if your position goes. Your own company for an E-2? A green card application in a category that doesn't depend on your employer? If you only ask that question in the meeting room, under the proposal you'll have no time left to answer it.

Think about your family. The status of spouses and children depends on the status of the principal. If your spouse takes a job in America, know what happens to that job if yours ends.

And talk to your employer. Companies that send staff from Europe should adapt their processes for layoffs and restructurings. A restructuring with three months' notice instead of three days can mean the difference between an orderly transition and an emergency for a transferred employee.

If you've followed developments over recent months, you'll see the pattern. Fixed periods of stay for students, a visa bond, a new H-1B fee, which we covered most recently in What a court struck down, the agency is now rewriting. And now the end of the grace period.

The pattern: the gray areas are disappearing. Anyone living in America should know at all times exactly what basis they're here on, and that basis should have no gaps. That's strict, but it's also predictable. If you know your basis and have a second path ready, you have nothing to fear from that strictness.

So the question this proposal raises isn't: what happens if I lose my job? It's: do I have a plan that doesn't hinge on a single job?

Daniel is lucky: the old rule still applies to him. That weekend he sat at the kitchen table with his wife while the kids slept, and they wrote down what they really want. The answer surprised them both: they want to stay, not as employees of a corporation, but with their own small engineering firm in Texas.

That's an E-2 case. It needs a company, a real investment and a viable business plan. And it needs the right sequence before the deadline runs out.

If, like Daniel, you're looking for a path that doesn't depend on an employer, our Visa Roadmap gives you a written plan: which category fits, which documents you need, in what order the steps run and which deadlines apply. The agency decides every application itself. But if you know your path before that Friday comes, a Friday can no longer turn your life upside down. You'll find an overview of all visa categories in our US visa and green card guide, and all our services under Services.

By the way, the water on Lady Bird Lake still sparkles on Monday. The only question is whether you'll still be allowed to be there.

Update: For what happens next, read USCIS wants to start from zero on every extension, including your L-1 and your E-2.

Consultation & implementation

If you'd like to find out what this means for your own situation, the best step is to book a consultation.