Is H-1B grace period 10 days or 60 days?

Okay, so you’re wondering about the H-1B grace period, right? It’s a little confusing, I get it. I remember when a friend of mine, let’s call him Raj, was going through this. He was so stressed!

Forget that 10-day thing, okay? The H-1B doesn’t have a simple 10-day grace period like some people think. What it does have is a 60-day grace period, but there’s a catch! It’s not like a free pass to just hang out in the US for 60 days, you know?

Basically, if you lose your job while you’re on an H-1B but you’re still in the US, you’ve got 60 days to figure things out. And what does “figure things out” mean? Well, it means you’ve got to either:

• Find a new employer who’s willing to sponsor your H-1B visa and file the paperwork quickly. Talk about pressure, huh?
• Or… sadly, you have to leave the country.

Now, here’s the really important bit that Raj almost missed: This 60-day grace period only applies if you were actually employed and in good standing with your H-1B status before you lost your job. If you were already out of status for some reason, or if you weren’t really employed in the first place, then this doesn’t apply.

And what happens if you don’t do either of those things within 60 days? Yikes. You’ll be considered “out of status,” which can cause a whole host of problems down the road if you ever want to apply for another visa or try to come back to the US. Not good, right?

So, yeah, 60 days it is, but only under those specific circumstances. Hope that helps clear things up! Is there anything else I can help you with?