When a job ends, many people in the U.S. on a work visa count on a cushion: up to 60 days of grace period to get things in order before their status expires. The DHS published a proposal in the Federal Register to remove that cushion from the regulation. It's still just a proposal — but it's worth understanding what's at stake.
What happened
On September 11, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposal in the Federal Register to remove the provision at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) — the part of the regulation that currently grants a grace period of up to 60 days after employment ends to individuals in certain nonimmigrant categories (and their dependents), before the end of their authorized period of stay.
In the text's own words, the proposal seeks to "restore its prior, longstanding policy of not granting" this grace period. The DHS states that the change "restores a direct relationship between nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of the person's admission or grant of status" in the U.S., and that it "reduces administrative burden."
The text refers to "certain nonimmigrant categories." It does not list, within the published excerpt, which categories are affected — so we don't list them here either. And it is a proposal (proposed rule): it is not a rule currently in effect.
What changes for you
Today, the rule at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) works like a cushion. When the employment that supports the nonimmigrant status ends — termination, end of contract, whatever the reason —, this provision grants up to 60 days, or until the end of the authorized stay (whichever comes first), without the person automatically falling out of status during that window. In practice, this is the window many people use to get things in order.
The DHS proposal seeks to eliminate exactly that cushion. If it becomes a final rule, the text would restore the prior policy of not offering the 60 days. The stated logic is to tie status to the specific employment that originated it: without that job, without that activity, the basis for the status no longer exists.
It's worth repeating what still cannot be confirmed, because it isn't in the published text: there is no effective date in the excerpt, no public comment deadline, nor the list of which categories are included. While it remains a proposal, today's rule continues to apply. Nothing changes today simply because the proposal was published.
What changes is the landscape: a cushion that has existed for a long time is formally on the table to be removed. For those whose status is tied to employment, the relationship between employment and status, and the authorized stay date, stop being a detail and become central to planning.
In practice
- The grace period lives in a specific line of the regulation: 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). It is this provision — not a law from Congress — that the DHS proposal seeks to remove.
- A proposal is not a rule in effect. Until a final rule is published, the up-to-60-days grace period continues to exist. Publication in the Federal Register is the beginning of the process, not the end.
- The date that matters is on the I-94. The authorized period of stay is marked on the I-94, not on the visa stamp in the passport — it's the I-94 that indicates how long the status is valid.
Prime tracks what comes out in the Federal Register and from USCIS and translates it into Portuguese, without drama and without promises. Information for you to decide with clarity — the decision is yours.
Sources
- Federal Register — Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period — https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-18631
Educational information, not legal advice. Prime Immigration Office is a paralegal service — document preparation only. For legal advice, consult a licensed Texas attorney or DOJ-accredited representative.