Do fired H-1B staffers have to leave US within 60 days? Here’s what the USCIS has to tell you

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that fired workers who hold H-1B visas do not have to leave the country within 60 days and they have multiple options to stay. The USCIS was replying to a letter by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) about the impact of recent tech sector layoffs. The FIIDS also sought to raise the 60-day grace period.

The 60-day grace period has been codified in the Department of Homeland Security regulations. USCIS director Ur M Jaddou said in a letter to the FIIDS as accessed by news agency PTI, “When non-immigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some instances, wrongly assume that they have no options but to leave the country within 60 days.” The USCIS further acknowledged the financial and emotional impact that a job loss can have on employment-based non-immigrant workers and their families in the country.

The USCIS further noted, “We are aware of the issue of involuntary terminations, especially in the technology sector.” FIIDS director for policy and analysis strategy Khanderao Kand said in a statement that leaving the States after layoffs has an immediate effect on the families of the impacted H-1B workers and their school-going children.

“Losing these professionals is also a brain drain impacting the future competitiveness of the US in emerging technologies. Hence, FIIDS has launched a multi-phase campaign from awareness building to jointly written letters to the USCIS with elected officials and other prominent organizations,” the statement read.

Here’s what an H-1B worker can do if they’re terminated from their jobs

If a non-immigrant worker is terminated voluntarily or involuntarily, they can take any one of the following actions:

1. Filing an application for a change of non-immigrant status

2. Filing an application for adjustment of status

3. Filing an application for “compelling circumstances” employment authorisation document

4. Become the beneficiary of a petition to change employer

How can these actions prove helpful for non-immigrant workers in the US? 

The USCIS said in its letter that if a non-immigrant takes any one of the aforementioned actions within the 60-day grace period, their period of authorised stay in the US can exceed 60 days even if they lose out on their non-immigrant status.

The USCIS further said, “If the worker takes no action within the grace period, they and their dependents may then need to depart the United States within 60 days, or when their authorised validity period ends, whichever is shorter.”

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