The Department of Homeland Security has two separate proposals moving through federal review that, taken together, would remove much of the flexibility that nonimmigrant workers and their families rely on. Neither is a final rule, and neither is in effect, but both are worth understanding now.
The 60-day grace period. Under a DHS rule in place since January 2017, a worker in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, or TN status whose employment ends before the end of their petition validity period may be treated as maintaining status for up to 60 days, or until their I-94 expiration date, whichever is shorter. Dependent family members in the corresponding derivative status are covered for the same window, but only because of the principal's coverage. Their grace period is not independent. It begins and ends with the principal's, and if the principal does not qualify, the dependents do not either.
That grace period is what allows a nonimmigrant worker who loses a job to be sponsored by a new employer, change to another nonimmigrant status, or prepare to depart the United States without immediately falling out of status. DHS has advanced a proposal to eliminate it, which would return to the stricter pre-2017 approach of no grace period. If finalized, the end of employment could mean immediate loss of status for the worker, and for the dependents along with them, and a new petition would generally need to be filed before the worker's last day rather than in the weeks after it.
The H-4 EAD program. Since 2015, certain H-4 spouses of H-1B workers have been eligible for employment authorization (work card), specifically where the primary H-1B spouse has an approved Form I-140 immigrant petition or has been granted H-1B time beyond the usual six-year limit because of green card backlogs. These are largely the spouses of workers who have waited years, often more than a decade, for a green card. DHS has recently revived a proposal to rescind the H-4 EAD program, which would end work authorization for the H-4 spouses who currently hold it. Of note, this proposal has been listed as a "Long-Term Action" in the federal rulemaking agenda, which suggests the proposed rule may take somewhat longer to be published, though it remains worth watching closely.
Where things stand, and what to do. Both measures are proposals, not final rules. As of early September 2026 they remain in federal review, have not been published for public notice-and-comment, and are not in effect, so current rules continue to apply: the 60-day discretionary grace period is available today, and existing H-4 EADs remain valid. The practical guidance is the same for both. Understand your options before a job change, a termination, or an EAD renewal deadline. Watch for publication of the proposed rules, because once a rule publishes it opens a public comment period, which is both the time to weigh in and the signal to reassess timing. Generally, it takes at least a few months from the time a rule is proposed to when it takes effect, and often longer.