Changing or losing a job on a work visa: where to find the official rules

Step 1 — Gather your dates and documents

Write down your last day of work and the date of your last paycheck. Collect your Form I-797 approval notices, receipts for anything pending, and the I-94 of each family member who came with you; our I-94 guide shows how to get them. Then open the USCIS page for your category, linked from its list of temporary worker categories, or see our overview of work visa types.

Step 2 — Learn the “up to 60 days” rule

A federal regulation says that workers in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN status, and their dependents, are not considered to have failed to keep their status solely because the job ended, “for up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter, once during each authorized validity period” (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)). Three details matter:

• It isn’t guaranteed: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “may eliminate or shorten this 60-day period as a matter of discretion” (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)).
• It isn’t permission to work: unless otherwise authorized, you may not work during it (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)).
• It covers quitting too: USCIS’s H-1B page says that if you are “laid off, fired, quit, or otherwise cease employment,” you may have up to 60 consecutive days, or less if your validity period ends sooner, “to find new employment, change status, or depart the country” (USCIS — H-1B).

H-2A and H-2B workers have a separate 60-day rule (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(i)(C)). If you’re an F-1 student on OPT, see F-1 work options instead.

A proposed change. On September 11, 2026, DHS proposed removing this rule and returning to its earlier policy of no grace period when employment ends; comments are open until November 10, 2026 (Federal Register — 91 FR 57807). A proposal is not a final rule: the regulation was still in the official text as of October 26, 2026 (eCFR — 8 CFR 214.1).

Step 3 — Know the paths USCIS has described

USCIS’s page “Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment” (last reviewed January 24, 2025) is now archived with the warning “The information on this page is out of date.” It listed four actions a worker may typically take, “if eligible,” to stay in a period of authorized stay (USCIS — archived page). Check each path on its current page:

1. A change to another nonimmigrant status. You, or sometimes your employer, must file before your authorized stay expires, and you shouldn’t change your activity until USCIS approves (USCIS — Change My Nonimmigrant Status).
2. Adjustment of status, the process to apply for a green card while in the U.S. (USCIS — Adjustment of Status). See green card basics.
3. A “compelling circumstances” work permit (EAD) for principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140 in E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1 or O-1 status, “including in any applicable grace period,” who have no immigrant visa available under the Visa Bulletin and can show compelling circumstances. USCIS may grant it for up to one year. Once you work on it, you are in a period of authorized stay but no longer maintaining your nonimmigrant status (USCIS — Compelling Circumstances).
4. A petition from a new employer (Step 4).

Which path fits you, if any, is a legal question for an authorized legal helper.

Step 4 — Changing employers: H-1B portability

For H-1B workers, USCIS says (USCIS — H-1B):

• you may start working for a new employer once it properly files a non-frivolous Form I-129 for you, or on the requested start date, whichever is later;
• you must not have worked without authorization since your last admission, and the petition must be filed before your H-1B period of authorized stay expires;
• if the petition is denied, your permission to work based on portability ends.

This is an H-1B rule; USCIS’s archived page said other categories “must wait to begin employment until the new petition is approved” (USCIS — archived page). Confirm the current rule for yours.

The 2025 H-1B proclamation. USCIS says a proclamation of September 19, 2025, requiring an extra payment for certain H-1B petitions, doesn’t apply to a petition for someone inside the U.S. asking for an amendment, change of status or extension of stay, when USCIS grants it. Its alert adds that a federal court vacated the guidance implementing the payment on June 8, 2026, an appeals court refused to pause that order on July 24, 2026, and DHS “will comply with the court’s order while DHS considers next steps” (USCIS — H-1B).

Step 5 — If your green card case is pending

If your employment-based green card application (Form I-485) has been pending for 180 days or more, you may be able to change jobs or employers, if the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job in your Form I-140 (USCIS — AC21). The request uses Form I-485 Supplement J, for a new, full-time, permanent job offer that you intend to accept (USCIS — Supplement J). Ask a legal helper before you accept; see our employment-based green card overview.

Step 6 — What happens to your spouse and children

Dependent status comes through the worker. H-4 spouses and children are admitted “for the same period of admission or extension as the principal spouse or parent” (8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv)), and L-2 family members are “subject to the same period of admission and limits as the beneficiary” (8 CFR 214.2(l)(7)(ii)). The rule in Step 2 covers the worker “and his or her dependents” (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)).

• A spouse’s job: whether a spouse may work depends on the category; see our guide for spouses of visa holders.
• Compelling circumstances: spouses and children of a worker granted the EAD from Step 3 can apply under category (c)(36); theirs can’t outlast the worker’s (USCIS — Compelling Circumstances).

Step 7 — If you decide to leave the U.S.

If your H-1B employer ends your job before the end of your authorized stay, it is liable for the reasonable costs of your return transportation, but not if you resign voluntarily (USCIS — H-1B). For O workers whose job ends for reasons other than voluntary resignation, the employer and the petitioner are both liable (8 CFR 214.2(o)(16)). Before any trip abroad, even a short one, ask a legal helper how it affects the paths in Step 3. If you move inside the U.S., see changing your address.

Step 8 — Your last paycheck and health insurance

• Final pay: federal law doesn’t require employers to pay former employees immediately, but some states may (DOL — Last Paycheck). If the regular payday for your last pay period has passed and you weren’t paid, contact the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division or your state labor department (DOL — Last Paycheck). For your Form W-2, see your paycheck and withholding.
• COBRA: this federal law lets workers and families who lose health benefits choose to continue group coverage for limited periods, including after voluntary or involuntary job loss. It generally applies to employers with 20 or more employees, and you may pay up to 102% of the plan’s cost (DOL — COBRA).
• Marketplace: losing job-based coverage can qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period if you lost it in the past 60 days or expect to lose it in the next 60 (HealthCare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods). Because of a law change, from January 1, 2027 only certain immigration statuses qualify for help paying for a plan (HealthCare.gov — Lawfully present immigrants); see health insurance for newcomers.

Step 9 — Unemployment benefits: ask your state

Unemployment insurance is a joint state-federal program: each state sets its own eligibility rules, and you generally file in the state where you worked (DOL — Unemployment Insurance). DOL points to CareerOneStop to find your state’s program (DOL — Unemployment Insurance).

Work authorization matters. In an April 24, 2025 letter to governors, the Secretary of Labor wrote: “To qualify for unemployment, one must be able and available to work, actively seeking work, and be legally authorized to accept employment in the United States.” DOL also urged states to check, through DHS’s SAVE system, the status of every claimant who says they aren’t a U.S. citizen (DOL — Secretary’s letter). If you’re unsure how your status fits, ask a legal helper, and answer every claim question truthfully.