Laid Off on TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3: Your 60-Day Grace Period, the Proposal to End It, and Your Options

Your TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3 job just ended. See what the 60 days really allow, which moves need an approval before you can work again, and what DHS wants to change.

Part of our guide to the H-1B 60-day grace period.

If you were laid off on a TN visa, L-1, O-1 or E-3, the 60-day grace period still applies as of November 1, 2026 (in effect). You may get up to 60 consecutive days, or until your I-94 or petition validity ends if that comes first, to have a new petition filed, change status or leave. DHS has proposed ending it (RIN 1615-AD22), but that is not law, and comments close November 10, 2026. The bigger trap for these four visas: unlike H-1B workers, you cannot start a new job the day a petition is filed. You wait for an approval or a new admission.

Status as of 2026-11-01

• In effect: the discretionary 60-day grace period for E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and their dependents, at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2).
• Proposed: eliminating it, in the Federal Register notice "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period" (91 FR 57807, docket USCIS-2026-0364), with about 27,000 comments as of 2026-11-01. Comments close 2026-11-10 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
• Does not exist and is not proposed: a 30-day or 180-day grace period for these workers.

For the policy background, see what DHS's proposal means for TN and E-3 workers; for OPT or H-1B, use our layoff playbook for OPT and H-1B workers.

What happens when you're laid off on a TN visa, L-1, O-1 or E-3?

When the job behind your TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3 status ends, 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) lets DHS treat you as still in status for up to 60 consecutive days, or until your authorized validity ends if sooner, once per validity period. You cannot work during it. Inside that window you can have a new petition filed, change status, or depart.

The regulation, 8 CFR 214.1, also says "DHS may eliminate or shorten this 60-day period as a matter of discretion." Four mechanics follow:

• The shorter date wins. If your I-94 ends in 25 days, you have 25 days. Check your record on the CBP I-94 website.
• Once per validity period. A second job loss within the same authorized validity period does not reset it.
• Your spouse and children are covered, because their status depends on yours.
• No work. USCIS's archived page Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment (updated 2025-01-24) says "employment is prohibited during the up to 60-day grace period unless otherwise authorized."

The same page says that if a qualifying step happens inside the window, such as a nonfrivolous new-employer petition or a change-of-status application, your "period of authorized stay in the United States can exceed 60 days." If a timely change of status is later denied, unlawful presence starts the day after the denial, and an appeal or motion does not stop it.

When does the 60-day clock start?

Not when you were told. The same USCIS page says it "starts the day after termination of employment, which is typically determined based on the last day for which a salary or wage is paid." On paid notice, that is usually your last paid day, not your last day at a desk. Count calendar days, weekends included.

The H-1B difference: you can't start work when the petition is filed

The USCIS page above draws the line: "Eligible H-1B nonimmigrants may begin working for a new employer as soon as the employer properly files a new H-1B petition." Everyone else "must wait to begin employment until the new petition is approved." Portability under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H) belongs only to people admitted in, or given, H-1B status.

Your lever is speed. Premium processing on Form I-907 costs $2,965 for E-3, L-1, O and TN petitions (G-1055), and USCIS commits to "adjudicative action" within 15 business days, which can be an RFE rather than an approval. Without it, the USCIS processing-times tool (read 2026-11-01; 80% of cases completed within) showed 4.5 months for TN, 6.5 for L and 14.5 for O petitions.

Laid off on TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3: your options for days 1 to 60

What each visa allows inside the grace period (as of 2026-11)

Fees are from USCIS Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26; small employers and nonprofits pay less, and each I-129 also carries an Asylum Program Fee of up to $600. The $500 L fraud fee applies to initial L petitions and to a petitioner hiring an L worker who currently works for another petitioner; the $4,500 Public Law 114-113 fee applies to covered employers (50 or more US employees, more than half in H-1B or L-1) for petitions filed through 2027-09-30. The compelling-circumstances EAD under 8 CFR 204.5(p) needs an approved I-140, a priority date that is not current and compelling circumstances; it lists E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1 and L-1, not TN, and is work permission, not a status.

Laid off on a TN visa

The 60-day grace period applies: TN is on the 214.1(l)(2) list. When a new employer files Form I-129, 8 CFR 214.6 is blunt: "Employment with a different or with an additional employer is not authorized prior to Department approval of the request." The alternative is readmission at a port of entry with the new employer's documents. The USCIS TN page explains the split: Canadians are "not required to apply for a TN visa at a U.S. consulate," while Mexican citizens "must obtain a visa," and TN and TD visa applicants have been in State's online-presence review since 2026-10-01. The border route means leaving, and a CBP officer decides admission. The USMCA was "not renewed" in July 2026 but remains in force; TN rules are unchanged. See changing employers on a TN for both routes.

Laid off on an L-1

The grace period applies, but L-1 is tied to one corporate family. Only a US parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of your qualifying organization can file a new L-1, and you wait for approval; an unrelated employer has to use another category, such as H-1B or O-1 (see changing employers on an L-1). A fresh L-1 later generally requires one continuous year abroad with a qualifying organization within the prior three years, per the USCIS L-1A page, and L-1A time is capped at seven years in total, L-1B at five.

Laid off on an O-1

A new employer or a US agent files a new I-129; the USCIS O-1 page says "the new employer must file Form I-129," and if an agent filed your original petition, the new employer files an amended petition with a request for an extension of stay. One protection few O-1 holders know: under 8 CFR 214.2(o)(16), when employment "terminates for reasons other than voluntary resignation," the employer and the petitioner "are jointly and severally liable for the reasonable cost of return transportation."

Laid off on an E-3

The new employer needs a certified LCA, then an I-129 or a new E-3 visa abroad. DOL's LCA page says LCAs "are reviewed by the Department within seven (7) working days." The USCIS E-3 page is explicit: "The Form I-129 petition must be approved before you are authorized to work for the new employer." For the consular route, State's September 2025 interview-waiver update means planning on an in-person interview, at a post in your country of nationality or residence; check the live visa wait-times page. Our guide to L-2 and E-3 spouse work authorization covers your spouse's I-94.

Why a complete filing matters. USCIS's I-129 data for FY2026 Q1-Q3 (approvals divided by approvals plus denials, initial and extension filings combined) show O petitions at 91.0% with a 24.2% RFE rate, L-1A at 91.2% (25.9%), L-1B at 91.3% (29.4%) and TN at 94.9% (13.0%, USCIS-filed only). That predates PA-2026-05 (in effect since 2026-08-05, challenged), which lets officers deny without an RFE when required initial evidence is missing.

Can I switch from L-1 to H-1B after a layoff?

Only if an H-1B petition is open to you, and a change of status must be filed before your grace period ends. Cap-exempt employers (universities, affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit and government research organizations) can file at any time. A cap-subject employer needs a selected registration, unless you were previously counted against the cap and are recapturing remaining H-1B time.

That makes the cap route a poor fit for a 60-day window. FY2028 registration has not been announced as of 2026-11-01; USCIS must announce it "at least 30 calendar days in advance" (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(3)), and March 2027 is an expectation only (see the USCIS registration page). Even a selected FY2028 petition is for employment in that fiscal year, which starts 2027-10-01. Your L-1 years also count toward the H-1B six-year limit: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(A) covers anyone who "has spent six years in the United States under section 101(a)(15)(H) and/or (L)."

Proclamation 11069 covers only H-1B, never TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3 (see which visas sit outside the $100,000 fee). It stands on paper, but courts have blocked the agency policies that collect the $100,000, and as of 2026-11-01 it is not being collected. A change of status granted inside the US was never covered; a denied one, or a consular-notification petition, would be if collection resumed.

Can my spouse's status keep me in the US after a layoff?

Sometimes. If your spouse holds an independent work status, you may be able to change to their dependent status on Form I-539 ($470 paper, $420 online) before your grace period and I-94 run out.

Dependent options and work (as of 2026-11)

No proposed or final rule ends the H-4 EAD; DHS lists a long-term agenda item (RIN 1615-AD14) with no proposal date. Visitor status buys time without work (see B-2 status after a layoff); returning to school on F-1 is a question for the new school's DSO and your attorney together.

Is the 60-day grace period being eliminated?

Not as of 2026-11-01. The notice says DHS "proposes to remove regulations at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)," and it is still a proposal. After 2026-11-10 the comment period closes, but nothing changes unless DHS publishes a final rule, and no final text exists to say how one would treat someone already inside a grace period. The notice itself explains why the 10-day window is no substitute: because it applies "after the validity period ends," it "would not apply to a worker who ceases employment during the approved validity period." H-1B readers can see our analysis of DHS's proposal to end the 60-day grace period.

Today vs. the proposal (as of 2026-11)

A worked timeline: an E-3 engineer laid off on November 6, 2026

A hypothetical: her last paid day is Friday 2026-11-06 and her I-94 runs to mid-2027, so the 60 days bind first.

Why 12-11 matters: the current continuing resolution funds DOL through that date, and judging by past shutdowns (a precedent, not a forecast), DOL's labor certification work, which includes LCAs, could pause in a lapse. Had her I-94 ended 2026-12-20, that would be her hard stop.

Your first-week checklist

1. Download your latest I-94 from the CBP I-94 website.
2. Request your termination date and last paid day from HR in writing.
3. Mark whichever comes first, day 60 or the I-94 end date, as your hard stop.
4. Book a licensed immigration attorney for petition and status strategy, covering your family's dependent status too.
5. Ask any new employer whether it will file Form I-129 with Form I-907 premium processing; for E-3, the LCA comes first through DOL's FLAG system.
6. Confirm with your attorney whether a Form I-539 for dependent or visitor status must reach USCIS before your hard stop.
7. Plan a departure date before your hard stop in case nothing is filed in time.
8. Submit a comment on the Federal Register notice (docket USCIS-2026-0364) by 11:59 p.m. ET on 2026-11-10, if you wish.

Common mistakes

• Starting work when the petition is filed. That is an H-1B rule. On TN, L-1, O-1 or E-3, wait for approval or a new admission.
• Treating 60 days as guaranteed. It is discretionary, once per validity period, and capped by your I-94.
• Believing "the grace period is gone." Removing it is only a proposal, and no 30-day or 180-day version exists.
• Confusing it with the F-1 grace period. That is a separate rule, intact because a federal court has blocked the Duration of Status rule since 2026-09-14.
• Travelling while a change of status is pending. Leaving can end the request; ask your attorney first.

Frequently asked questions

Do TN holders get a 60-day grace period after a layoff?

Yes, as of November 1, 2026. TN is covered by 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), so you may have up to 60 consecutive days, or until your I-94 ends if sooner, to have a new employer file, change status or leave. You cannot work for a new employer until USCIS approves its I-129 or CBP admits you in TN status with that employer's documents.

What happens to my L-1 if my company lays me off?

Your L-1 basis ends with the job, but the 60-day grace period still applies as of November 1, 2026. Only a related US entity of your qualifying organization can file a new L-1, and you cannot start until it is approved. An unrelated employer needs another category such as H-1B or O-1, and L-2 family members lose their basis with yours.

Can I switch from L-1 to H-1B after a layoff?

Only if an H-1B petition is open to you. A cap-exempt employer can file at any time. A cap-subject employer needs a selected registration unless you were previously counted against the cap; FY2028 registration is not announced as of November 1, 2026, and FY2028 employment starts October 1, 2027. A change of status must be filed before your grace period ends, you wait for approval to work, and your L-1 years count toward the six-year H-1B limit.

Is the 60-day grace period being eliminated?

Not as of November 1, 2026. DHS proposed removing it (RIN 1615-AD22, published September 11, 2026) and comments close November 10, 2026, but the current 60 days applies. If finalized as proposed, only the window of up to 10 days after a petition's validity would remain. No 30-day or 180-day period exists or is proposed.

Can my spouse's status keep me in the US after a layoff?

Possibly. If your spouse holds H-1B, L-1, E-3, TN or O-1 status, you may be able to change to their dependent status on Form I-539 before your grace period and I-94 run out. L-2 and E-3 spouses work incident to status, H-4 spouses need an H-4 EAD they qualify for, and TD and O-3 spouses cannot work.

Sources

• Federal Register: Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period (91 FR 57807)
• 8 CFR 214.1, 8 CFR 214.2, 8 CFR 214.6 and 8 CFR 204.5
• USCIS: Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment (archived)
• USCIS pages for TN, L-1A, O-1 and E-3
• USCIS G-1055 fee schedule, Form I-129, premium processing and I-129 PDF upload categories
• USCIS I-129 data, FY2026 Q3 and the processing-times tool
• DOL FLAG: Labor Condition Application program
• State Department visa wait times, interview-waiver update and applying in your country of residence
• Proclamation 11069 and the continuing resolution, P.L. 119-103

How we checked this: on November 1, 2026 we read the Federal Register notice and its preamble, the current text of 8 CFR 214.1, 214.2, 214.6 and 204.5, the G-1055 fee schedule (edition 10/26/26), USCIS's FY2026 Q3 I-129 spreadsheet and the USCIS and DOL pages cited here; processing times and approval rates are dated USCIS snapshots, not live figures.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-94, approval notice and immigration attorney govern your case.

If you are job hunting inside a grace period and want to focus on employers that hire TN, O-1, E-3 or H-1B workers, F1Jobs can help you run that search.