The Trump administration has proposed ending the up-to-60-day grace period that Indian and other foreign professionals on H-1B, O-1, L-1 and certain other US work visas get after losing or leaving their jobs, potentially requiring them to leave the country almost immediately.
US Government Proposes New H-1B Visa Fee
In August, the US government announced a proposed application fee of $103,265 for cap-subject H-1B visas. This proposal follows a previous fee of $100,000 for H-1B visas that was introduced by the Trump administration in September 2025 but later vacated by a US court.
The Trump administration has defended the new fee as a necessary measure to recoup the administrative costs associated with the legal immigration system. Additionally, this fee would apply to various temporary work visa categories, including O-1 visas for individuals with extraordinary abilities and L-1 visas for executives and specialized employees of multinational companies.
Major consultancy firms such as Deloitte, PwC, and Ernst & Young, along with outsourcing companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Tech, and LTIMindtree, are among the leading sponsors of H-1B visas.
Ana Gabriela Urizar, an immigration attorney at Manifest Law, emphasized the broader implications of the proposal, stating, “This proposal would have consequences far beyond a worker simply having less time to find another job. The proposal affects E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, and TN professionals and their dependents. The impact therefore would not fall only on immigrant families; employers and industries that depend on their skills would feel it as well.”
Earlier reporting noted: Under the proposal, the DHS would eliminate the discretionary, maximum 60-day grace period currently accorded to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN nonimmigrants and their dependents, whose employment ceases.
“This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s non-immigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the US and reduces administrative burden,” DHS said in a statement on Thursday. The draft rule acknowledges that the proposal could impose costs on foreign workers and said more foreign talent could also be issued notices to appear before immigration authorities. Earlier reporting noted: “This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” the DHS said. Earlier reporting noted: In its proposal, DHS acknowledges that if the grace period regulation is eliminated, some affected foreign nationals could be issued Notices to Appear (NTA), the government’s first step in initiating removal (deportation) proceedings, Fragomen, an immigration attorney firm, said.
The proposal, issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), would eliminate the period that has allowed eligible foreign workers to remain in the US while looking for new employment or otherwise regularising their immigration status. The proposed rule will be opened for public comment, after which the US government may finalise it. The change would leave foreign workers with little or no time to find another US employer or make arrangements to leave the country, including winding up their affairs. The proposal comes amid a series of restrictive changes to the US legal immigration system under President Donald Trump.
