A Trump administration proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period that lets laid-off H-1B visa holders find new work in the United States has drawn more than 31,000 public comments as the deadline for submissions approached, with 31,383 posted comments recorded by Tuesday night.
The number climbed from about 27,000 on November 2 to 30,382 early Tuesday, reflecting growing public engagement with one of the administration's latest immigration proposals.
The Department of Homeland Security published the proposed rule on September 11. It would remove a regulation allowing certain foreign workers up to 60 days after losing their jobs to secure new employment, change immigration status or prepare to leave the country. The provision covers H-1B workers and several other temporary visa categories, including L-1, O-1 and TN, and their dependents.
Under existing rules, eligible workers can remain for up to 60 days after employment ends, or until their authorized stay expires, whichever comes first. If the proposal takes effect, workers who lose their jobs would no longer receive this discretionary protection and would generally have to leave the United States unless otherwise authorized to remain.
The department argues that immigration status should remain directly linked to the employment for which a foreign worker was admitted. It said the grace period "is not mandated by statute" and creates additional administrative work: officials had to consider whether the provision applied in more than 1.9 million petitions and applications between October 2017 and May 2026.
Using revoked employment petitions as a measure, the department estimated that an average of 65,752 foreign workers annually lost or changed jobs between fiscal 2021 and 2025. Of those, about 3,795 a year had new employer petitions filed within the grace period. The department acknowledged that eliminating the provision could cause some workers to lose income, incur relocation expenses or face immigration proceedings.
The proposal carries particular significance for Indians, who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries. About 70 percent of 406,348 approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2025 involved beneficiaries born in India, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services figures cited in its report to Congress. China accounted for about 12 percent.
The grace-period proposal has drawn far more comments than two other pending Homeland Security measures affecting international students and skilled foreign workers. A separate proposal to charge institutions $70,000 for initial Optional Practical Training and $30,000 for subsequent training had received 8,947 posted comments by Tuesday night; its comment period ended on Monday. Another proposal, which would remove the practice of generally deferring to previous USCIS approvals when reviewing extension applications involving unchanged circumstances, had received 686 posted comments; its deadline is November 13.
The volume of comments does not by itself establish how many respondents support or oppose the proposals. The department must review the submissions before deciding whether to issue a final rule, and any final regulation would specify when the changes take effect. The 60-day grace period was established through a 2016 regulation that took effect on January 17, 2017. The H-1B program permits American employers to recruit foreign professionals for specialized occupations, particularly in technology, engineering and other skilled fields.
