Laid off on an H-1B: the 60-day clock
A layoff on an H-1B starts the hardest clock in this whole process. The rules below are the verified 2026 picture, including the parts that changed recently and the parts blogs still get wrong. This is the one part of a layoff where a professional is not optional.
THE SHORT ANSWER
After an H-1B layoff you generally have up to 60 consecutive days, or until your I-94 expires, whichever comes first, to have a new petition or change of status filed, or to leave. The grace period is discretionary and, since 2025, some laid-off workers have received Notices to Appear during it, so treat it as time to act immediately, not 60 safe days. A new employer's H-1B transfer lets you start work when it is filed, and filing anything non-frivolous before day 60 lets you stay while it is decided. Talk to an immigration attorney in week one.
Up to 60 days
Federal rule 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) gives H-1B workers (and E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN holders and their dependents) a discretionary grace period after employment ends: up to 60 consecutive days, or the end of your authorized stay, whichever is shorter. You get one per authorized validity period, and you cannot work during it without separate authorization.
When the clock starts
The clock starts the day after your last day of actual work, meaning the last day you were paid for working, not the day your severance runs out. Severance does not extend it. If you're offered garden leave (kept on payroll but told to stop working), the safe reading is that the clock runs from your last day of actual work; attorneys disagree on this one, so do not build your plan on the generous interpretation. Get your official termination date in writing on day one, because everything below counts from it.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
• The grace period is discretionary, and since a February 2025 enforcement memo some laid-off workers have received a Notice to Appear (the document that starts removal proceedings) during the 60 days. Acting in the first two weeks, and keeping proof of any filing, matters more than it used to.
• USCIS archived its well-known 2023 "options after termination" guidance pages in May 2025. Blog posts and older attorney articles still cite them as current policy. They are not; rely on the regulations and current attorney advice instead.
• Switching to B-1/B-2 visitor status as a bridge to job-hunt, a standard move for years, has drawn requests for evidence and denials in 2026 when the stated purpose is finding work. It is now a high-risk option, not a default.
• DHS is moving to end the grace period itself. A proposed rule to eliminate the 60-day grace period cleared White House review on August 27, 2026. It is not published or final, and the grace period is fully in effect today, but treat the 60 days as a ceiling that could shrink for the next person, and check the current rule the week you need it.
Your options inside the window
Each of these must be FILED before your grace period ends. In rough order of how often they fit:
A new employer files an H-1B transfer. The strongest option. Under the portability rule (INA 214(n)) you can start working for the new employer as soon as the petition is properly filed, without waiting for approval. Transfers are not subject to the annual lottery.
Change of status to a dependent visa. If your spouse holds their own status (H-1B, L-1, and others), moving to H-4 or L-2 keeps you in the country, and L-2 spouses (plus some H-4 spouses with an approved I-140 in the family) can get work authorization.
Change of status to F-1 student. Real if you were already considering a degree; weak if it reads as a placeholder, and it pauses your H-1B time rather than ending it: if you were already counted against the cap and have time left on your six years, a future employer can usually bring you back without the lottery. Only if you must be counted again does the weighted, wage-based lottery (in effect from the FY2027 season, favoring higher-paid offers) apply.
Compelling-circumstances work permit (EAD). If you have an approved I-140, a backlogged priority date, and genuine hardship, 8 CFR 204.5(p) allows a one-year EAD. Narrow, but built for exactly this situation.
B-1/B-2 as a last resort. See the warning above: in 2026 this is a high-risk filing when the purpose is a job search. If it's on the table, it should be an attorney's call, not a blog's.
Filing a timely, non-frivolous petition or application lets you stay while it is pending, even past day 60. A denial after your status has lapsed can start unlawful presence, which carries re-entry bars, so a thin filing is not a free extension. This is exactly the judgment call an attorney earns their fee on.
The travel trap
Leaving the United States ends your grace period. There is no re-entering "on grace." The September 2025 proclamation's $100,000 fee for new petitions filed for someone outside the country was struck down in court on June 8, 2026, and after the appeals court refused to pause that ruling on July 24, 2026, the fee is not being collected — but the government's appeal is still pending, so it could return with little warning. The proclamation itself expires September 20, 2026 unless it is renewed, and on August 25, 2026 DHS separately proposed a $103,265 fee on new cap-subject petitions (comments due September 24), which would not apply to a transfer for someone already counted against the cap. Practical read: departing before a new petition is filed still converts an easy inside-the-country transfer into a riskier case in a rule environment that is actively in flux. Do not leave, even briefly, without an attorney signing off first.
Unemployment benefits, honestly
Generally, no. State unemployment requires you to be able and available for work, and without an approved new petition you cannot legally accept a job, so H-1B holders usually fail that test. Applying is not an immigration violation and is not a public-charge problem; it just usually does not pay out. An H-4 spouse with their own valid work permit may qualify on their own record. Rules vary by state, so check yours rather than assuming either way.
Severance, and what survives of your green card
Signing a severance agreement does not extend your status, and severance pay does not extend the grace period. If you're 40 or older, the standard 21-day (45 in a group layoff) review window plus 7-day revocation still applies to you, but that clock and the immigration clock run independently. On the green card: once an I-140 is approved, its priority date stays yours for a future employer's filing even if the employer withdraws it; if the approval was 180 or more days old, the petition itself survives the withdrawal too. A PERM application still in progress is lost (a new employer starts over, keeping your old priority date only if an I-140 was approved). If your I-485 has been pending 180 or more days, you may be able to port it to a same-or-similar job with a new employer.
Do these three things today
1. Get your termination date and last day of actual work in writing, and calendar day 60 from the day after.
2. Book an immigration attorney consult this week. Ask whether your employer covers one as part of the severance package; many do, and it costs nothing to ask.
3. Tell every recruiter conversation up front that you need a cap-exempt H-1B transfer, and that you can start on filing. It filters fast and finds the employers who know the drill.
When to get a lawyer
Worth a lawyer's eyes if…
You're on an employment visa (H-1B and similar). There's typically a 60-day grace period, and the clock starts the day you're let go.
Talk to an immigration attorney before that window narrows your options.
See all the lawyer flags
This isn't legal advice. It's a nudge to get a professional's read when the stakes are real.
8 CFR 214.1: the grace-period rule itself
The actual regulation, on the government's eCFR site. Shorter than the blog posts about it.
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General information, not legal advice, and immigration policy moved fast through 2025 and 2026. Everything on this page was verified in September 2026; before acting on any of it, confirm the current state with a licensed immigration attorney. Your situation, your dates, and your I-94 control everything.
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Common questions
How long can I stay in the US after an H-1B layoff?
Up to 60 consecutive days, or until your current authorized stay (I-94) expires, whichever comes first. The grace period is discretionary, not guaranteed, and since 2025 some laid-off workers have received Notices to Appear during it. Treat it as time to act immediately, not 60 safe days. Filing a non-frivolous petition or change of status before it ends lets you stay while that filing is decided. DHS has also proposed eliminating the grace period entirely (the proposal cleared White House review in August 2026 but is not yet published or final), so check the current rule before you count on the full 60 days.
Can I collect unemployment benefits on an H-1B?
Generally no. Most states require you to be able and available for work, and without a new approved petition you can't legally accept a job, so the claim fails that test. It isn't an immigration violation to apply and it isn't a public-charge issue; it just usually doesn't pay out. An H-4 spouse with a valid work permit may qualify on their own record. Rules vary by state.
Does severance extend my H-1B status?
No. Severance pay does not extend your status or your grace period; the clock runs from your last day of actual work. If you're 40 or older, the standard 21-day (or 45-day) severance review window still applies to you, but reviewing an agreement does not stop the immigration clock. Get both timelines on paper the day you're notified.
What happens to my green card process if I'm laid off?
Once an I-140 is approved, you generally keep its priority date for a future employer's filing even if the employer withdraws it; if it had been approved 180 days or more, the petition itself also survives the withdrawal. A PERM application still in progress is lost, and a new employer starts over (your old priority date carries only if an I-140 was approved). If your I-485 has been pending 180 days or more, you may be able to port to a same-or-similar job. This area moves fast; confirm with an immigration attorney.