3 ms·

The grace period didn't even exist until 2017: https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2026-0364-0001 https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2026-0364-00

by rayiner 20d ago

The grace period didn't even exist until 2017: https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2026-0364-0001 https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2026-0364-0001 ("Before 2017, there was no grace period for nonimmigrant workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, or TN classification whose employment or activity ended during their period of lawful status."). How did things work under Clinton, Bush, and Obama?

valleyer 20d ago
Looked at another way, the lack of grace period was indeed a problem back then, and that's why the Obama government proposed and finalized a rule to solve that problem. And now the Trump government proposes to reimpose the problem.
- deleted 20d ago
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plorkyeran 20d ago
Poorly. How fucked up it was that we expected people to be on a plane out of the country the day they were fired was a recurring discussion. In practice no one actually did and there was a de facto grace period, but what people got away with was wildly inconsistent and how long you could spend in the country after getting fired was effectively random. Codifying the grace period made the whole process much more humane and predictable with no downside.
- rayiner 20d ago
  I’ve never heard of a tech worker get 0 days notice before their official termination date. They might be told to stop work on the same day, but their official termination is a month or two later and they get paid out for that period. For H1B purposes, the employment terminates when the employer sends the termination notice to UCIS with that official date. When the 2016 rule was proposed, the stated purpose was to enhance H1B portability by allowing workers to find another job to try to stay in the country: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27540/retention-of-eb-1-eb-2-and-eb-3-immigrant-workers-and-program-improvements-affecting-high-skilled https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27... “60-day nonimmigrant grace periods. To further enhance job portability, the final rule establishes a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days during each authorized validity period for individuals in the E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN classifications. This grace period allows high-skilled workers in these classifications, including those whose employment ceases prior to the end of the petition validity period, to more readily pursue new employment should they be eligible for other employer-sponsored nonimmigrant classifications or employment in the same classification with a new employer. The grace period also allows U.S. employers to more easily facilitate changes in employment for existing or newly recruited nonimmigrant workers.” The rule didn’t say that there was a meaningful problem with employees having to depart the country instantly upon losing their jobs. That’s telling, because when a notice like this is published, agencies must articulate facts to support the rule change. If this was actually a problem the agency would have mentioned it.

by rayiner 20d ago

valleyer 20d ago

Looked at another way, the lack of grace period was indeed a problem back then, and that's why the Obama government proposed and finalized a rule to solve that problem. And now the Trump government proposes to reimpose the problem.

deleted 20d ago
[deleted]

plorkyeran 20d ago

Poorly. How fucked up it was that we expected people to be on a plane out of the country the day they were fired was a recurring discussion. In practice no one actually did and there was a de facto grace period, but what people got away with was wildly inconsistent and how long you could spend in the country after getting fired was effectively random. Codifying the grace period made the whole process much more humane and predictable with no downside.

rayiner 20d ago
I’ve never heard of a tech worker get 0 days notice before their official termination date. They might be told to stop work on the same day, but their official termination is a month or two later and they get paid out for that period. For H1B purposes, the employment terminates when the employer sends the termination notice to UCIS with that official date. When the 2016 rule was proposed, the stated purpose was to enhance H1B portability by allowing workers to find another job to try to stay in the country: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27540/retention-of-eb-1-eb-2-and-eb-3-immigrant-workers-and-program-improvements-affecting-high-skilled https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27... “60-day nonimmigrant grace periods. To further enhance job portability, the final rule establishes a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days during each authorized validity period for individuals in the E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN classifications. This grace period allows high-skilled workers in these classifications, including those whose employment ceases prior to the end of the petition validity period, to more readily pursue new employment should they be eligible for other employer-sponsored nonimmigrant classifications or employment in the same classification with a new employer. The grace period also allows U.S. employers to more easily facilitate changes in employment for existing or newly recruited nonimmigrant workers.” The rule didn’t say that there was a meaningful problem with employees having to depart the country instantly upon losing their jobs. That’s telling, because when a notice like this is published, agencies must articulate facts to support the rule change. If this was actually a problem the agency would have mentioned it.