H-1B Grace Period Calculator
Enter your last day of employment and see exactly when your 60-day grace period starts and ends, whether your I-94 cuts it short, how many days you have left today, and the strongest status option for your green card stage, with a dated action plan you can download.
What this H-1B grace period calculator gives you
Most people who search for the H-1B grace period want three numbers: the day it starts, the day it ends, and how many days are left. The rule sounds simple, 60 days after your last day of employment, but the details trip people up. The clock starts from your last paid day, not the day you were told. Your I-94 can end it early. It is discretionary, and it is available once per validity period. Getting any of these wrong costs you days you did not know you had lost.
This calculator does the counting for you. From your last day of employment it gives you day 1, day 60, and a live countdown, and if you add your I-94 date it caps the period and flags it. It then names the strongest status option for your green card stage, an H-1B transfer, the compelling-circumstances EAD, or AC21 portability, and turns the deadlines into a dated action plan you can tick off and download as a PDF.
It is a planning tool, not legal advice. For the step-by-step reasoning behind each item, including your 401(k) options, COBRA, and unemployment insurance, read our H-1B layoff emergency checklist. This page is where you turn that checklist into your own dates.
How to use the calculator
Step 1: Enter your last day of employment
Use the last day you are on payroll, confirmed by HR in writing. This is the date that starts the grace clock, not the date of the meeting. If you are on a paid notice period, the last day of that period is the date to enter.
Step 2: Pick your green card stage
Choose between no I-140 yet, I-140 approved, or I-485 pending. This decides which status options appear in your checklist: an H-1B transfer for everyone, the compelling-circumstances EAD if your I-140 is approved, and AC21 portability if your I-485 has been pending 180 days.
Step 3: Say what you will do if no offer comes
Change status and stay, return to India, or not sure. Choosing return to India adds the RNOR window, non-resident withholding, and account-conversion items and opens the money phase by default. Choosing change status adds the filing-date items.
Step 4: Add your I-94 date if it expires soon
Under More options, enter the admit-until date from your I-94. If it falls before day 60, the tool uses it as the end of your grace period and flags it in the result.
Step 5: Work the list and tick items off
Start with the three items under Do these 3 today, then open each phase as you reach it.
How the 60-day grace period is counted
The rule sits in 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). It is discretionary, which means USCIS may shorten or refuse it case by case, and it can be used once per authorized validity period. The tool applies the following reading, verified on 9 Sep 2026.
| Rule | How the tool applies it | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Start | The day after the last day of employment (last day wages are paid). | Last day 15 Sep 2026, so day 1 is 16 Sep 2026. |
| End | Day 60, counted from the last day of employment. | Day 60 is 14 Nov 2026. |
| I-94 cap | If the I-94 expires before day 60, the grace period ends on the I-94 date. | I-94 expires 31 Oct 2026, so the grace period ends 31 Oct 2026, not 14 Nov. |
| Days left | End date minus today. | On 9 Sep 2026 with a 14 Nov end date, 66 days remain; the grace period has not started yet. |
| Once per validity period | Flagged as a checklist item; the tool cannot see your petition history. | A gap earlier in the same approval period may have used it. |
| Proposed rule | DHS proposed rule “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period” (RIN 1615-AD22) cleared OIRA on 27 Aug 2026. Not final as of 9 Sep 2026. | A final rule needs Federal Register publication and a comment period. Check uscis.gov before relying on day 60. |
The health cover deadline uses a second 60-day rule. Losing job-based coverage opens a special enrollment period on the ACA Marketplace that lasts 60 days from the date coverage ends. The tool counts it from your last day; if your employer keeps cover to month end, you have a little longer.
Your options during the grace period
The Best status option card names the strongest path for your green card stage. All of the options below require that you maintained status and did not work without authorization. This table is a quick reference for reading the card; the 60-day checklist article explains each option in full.
| Option | Who qualifies | What it lets you do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B transfer | Anyone with a new employer willing to file. | Start work when USCIS receives the non-frivolous petition, before approval. | AC21 §105; INA 214(n) |
| Compelling-circumstances EAD (c)(35) | Approved I-140, priority date not current, compelling circumstance such as job loss. | Up to one year of employer-unrestricted work. You stop maintaining H-1B status while on it. | USCIS |
| AC21 §204(j) portability | I-485 pending 180 days or more. | Move to a same or similar job with a new employer without a new I-140. | USCIS |
| Change of status | Anyone filing before the grace period ends. | Stay while the B-2, F-1, H-4, or O-1 application is pending. B-2 and H-4 without an EAD do not allow work. | USCIS |
| Depart | Anyone. | Leave before the grace period ends and return later on a new approved petition. | 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) |
The other deadlines that run alongside the grace period
The 60-day immigration clock is not the only one. Your action plan dates the money deadlines against the same calendar so nothing is missed while you focus on the visa.
- Health cover: 60 days. Losing job-based coverage opens a special enrollment period on the ACA Marketplace that lasts 60 days from the date coverage ends. The plan shows this date next to your grace-period end date.
- Vested stock options: often 90 days. Most grant agreements give you about 90 days after termination to exercise vested options before they expire. Unvested RSUs are forfeited on your last day.
- 401(k) loan: your tax filing deadline. An outstanding loan usually comes due at separation and becomes a taxable offset unless you roll it over by the deadline for that year's return. Compare your paths with the 401(k) withdrawal calculator.
- Small balances: at the plan's discretion. Plans may force out balances under about $7,000, so ask what yours does before the grace period ends.
The reasoning behind each money decision, from whether to keep your 401(k) in the US to COBRA versus the Marketplace and whether to claim unemployment, is covered in the H-1B layoff emergency checklist and the H-1B financial mistakes guide.
If the grace period ends with you leaving the US
Two day counts matter on the way out. Your US tax residency for the year is set by the substantial presence test, and leaving mid-year can make it a dual-status year. Your RNOR window in India, which the RNOR status calculator estimates, is the period in which large 401(k) or IRA withdrawals and US stock sales are not taxed in India. Choosing return to India in step 3 adds both to your plan. There is no exit tax for H-1B holders.
Common grace-period mistakes
- Counting from the meeting date instead of the last paid day, and losing days you had.
- Assuming the full 60 days when the I-94 expires sooner.
- Treating day 60 as a filing target instead of a hard stop; file with days to spare.
- Assuming a second grace period in the same validity period after an earlier gap.
- Waiting for a transfer approval before starting work, when receipt is enough.
- Travelling abroad while a change of status is pending, which abandons the filing.
- Letting the option exercise window on vested equity close while chasing the visa.
- Not tracking rule changes; see the latest H-1B visa update for Indian professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I travel on H-1B after a layoff?
Leaving the US during the grace period is allowed, but re-entering on the same H-1B is not, because the petition that supported your admission has been withdrawn. If you fly out and want to return, you need a new approved petition and, in most cases, a new visa stamp. Travel while a change of status or transfer is pending is treated as abandoning that filing under USCIS practice. Treat any trip during the 60 days as a one-way trip until an attorney tells you otherwise.
What happens to my H-1B if I get fired?
Your H-1B status is tied to the employer that filed the petition. Once employment ends, that employer must notify USCIS and the petition is withdrawn. Under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), USCIS may treat you as maintaining status for up to 60 consecutive days, or until your I-94 expires, whichever comes first. During that window you can have a new employer file a transfer, file a change of status, or prepare to depart. Being fired rather than laid off does not change the grace-period rule.
When does the H-1B grace period start and end?
It starts the day after your last day of employment and ends on day 60, counted from that last day, or on your I-94 expiry date if that comes first. For a last day of 15 September, day 1 is 16 September and day 60 is 14 November. The calculator above works out both dates from what you enter and tells you how many days remain today.
Does the 60-day grace period start on my termination date or my last paid day?
USCIS counts the grace period from the day after the cessation of employment, which in practice means the last day you are on payroll, not the day of the meeting where you were told. If your employer keeps you on payroll for two weeks of notice, the clock starts after those two weeks. This is why the first checklist item is to get your last day of employment in writing from HR. Garden leave and paid notice periods generally count as employment; severance paid after the last day does not extend it.
What if my I-94 expires before day 60?
Then your grace period ends on the I-94 date, not on day 60. The rule in 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) gives you up to 60 days or until the end of your authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. If your I-94 expires 20 days after your last day, you have 20 days. Enter the admit-until date from your I-94 under More options and the calculator uses it as the end of your grace period and flags it in the result.
Can I use the H-1B grace period more than once?
Only once per authorized validity period. If you already had a gap in employment during the same H-1B approval period and relied on the grace period then, USCIS may not grant it again. A new approved petition starts a new validity period, and with it a fresh grace period. The tool cannot see your petition history, so it lists this as a checklist item for you to confirm with your attorney.
Will I owe an exit tax if I leave the US after an H-1B layoff?
No. The expatriation tax under IRC Section 877A applies only to US citizens who renounce citizenship and to long-term green card holders (a green card in at least 8 of the last 15 years) who formally give it up. An H-1B holder who has never held a green card is outside the rule entirely. You will still file a final US return for the year, which may be a dual-status return if you leave mid-year, and FBAR and Form 8938 obligations continue for that year if you crossed the thresholds.
Laid off on H-1B? Make the next 60 days count.
Our US-based NRI advisors help you decide what to do with your 401(k), RSUs, and tax residency before the clock runs out.