Laid off on H-1B? The money side of the 60 days
$50,000 lasts 8.7 months at $5,721 a month. The 60 days cost $11,278. DHS has proposed removing the grace period, which is a proposal and not law.
On this page 4 sections
At $5,721 a month, $50,000 lasts 8.7 months (266 days), about four times the 60-day grace period. At these inputs the limit is days, not dollars: the 60 days themselves cost about $11,278 to live through. The money decisions inside them are the health-insurance windows, what to do about the lease and the flights, and how much cash a longer stay would take.
Status of the proposal, checked at federalregister.gov on 2 October 2026. On 11 September 2026 DHS published a proposed rule, "Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period" (91 FR 57807, FR Doc. 2026-18631, docket USCIS-2026-0364). It would remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) for E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and their dependents. Comments close on 10 November 2026. It is a proposal, not law. The proposal text carries no effective date, and the eCFR text current to 30 September 2026 still gives up to 60 days. Until a final rule takes effect, the current regulation applies; this post uses 60 days and shows the shorter cases as scenarios.
The numbers
Inputs, in one sentence: last paid day Friday 30 October 2026, $40,000 of cash plus $10,000 of severance after tax, $5,000 a month of spending that cannot be cut, health insurance through COBRA at $721 a month (the calculator's default), no other income, retirement accounts left out. The MoneyVibe runway-2026 engine did the arithmetic.
| Money on hand | Months | Days | Runs out | Days past the end of the grace period (29 Dec 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | 4.4 | 133 | 12 Mar 2027 | 73 |
| $50,000 | 8.7 | 266 | 23 Jul 2027 | 206 |
| $90,000 | 15.7 | 478 | 20 Feb 2028 | 418 |
Two changes to the $50,000 case: with no health insurance in the cost, the same money lasts 10.0 months (304 days). With $3,000 a month of other income, such as a partner's pay, it lasts 18.4 months (559 days).
The second question is what leaving costs. Take $11,000 for it ($4,000 of flights, $3,000 of shipping and selling up, $2,500 for ending a lease early, $1,500 of deposits) and measure it against the length of the stay. The grace period is the stay. A B-2 visitor bridge, filed before the authorized stay ends, adds months with living costs and no pay.
| Plan | Months of status | Living costs until status ends | Cost of leaving | Cash needed | Left over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No grace period (scenario) | 0.0 | $0 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $39,000 |
| 30-day grace period (scenario) | 1.0 | $5,639 | $11,000 | $16,639 | $33,361 |
| 60-day grace period | 2.0 | $11,278 | $11,000 | $22,278 | $27,722 |
| 60 days plus a 3-month B-2 bridge | 5.0 | $28,441 | $11,000 | $39,441 | $10,559 |
| 60 days plus a 6-month B-2 bridge | 8.0 | $45,604 | $11,000 | $56,604 | −$6,604 |
The 60-day row is the rule today. The shorter rows are scenarios, and the bridge rows depend on an approval that is not known in advance. The proposal's own cost analysis lists the same items as costs of a faster departure: a rental lease termination fee and flight tickets.
Why it works this way
The grace period. 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) says a worker in E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN status, and dependents, is not considered to have failed to maintain status solely because employment ended, for up to 60 consecutive days or until the authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter, once during each authorized validity period. DHS may eliminate or shorten the period as a matter of discretion, and the worker may not work during it unless separately authorized. USCIS guidance (a page now marked archived, last reviewed 24 January 2025) says the period starts the day after termination, which is typically the last day for which a salary or wage is paid, and that it can apply when the worker leaves voluntarily too.
What can extend the stay. The same archived USCIS page lists four actions that can keep a person in an authorized period of stay past 60 days when taken inside the grace period: a change of status application, an adjustment of status application, a "compelling circumstances" employment authorization application, or being the beneficiary of a nonfrivolous petition to change employer. For an eligible H-1B worker, work can begin as soon as USCIS receives the new employer's H-1B petition. A change to visitor status is filed on Form I-539 before the authorized stay ends, and USCIS's change-of-status page says not to assume approval until it arrives. A visitor may not work.
Return transportation. For H-1B workers, 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(E) makes the employer liable for the reasonable cost of return transportation abroad if the worker is dismissed before the end of the authorized admission. If the worker quits, the worker has not been dismissed. A complaint goes in writing to the service center that decided the petition.
COBRA. The Department of Labor's FAQs say the premium is the whole cost, the employee's share plus the employer's, plus two percent; continuation lasts 18 months after job loss; there are 60 days to elect from the later of the date coverage ends or the date the election notice arrives, and 45 days after electing to make the first payment; and coverage is retroactive to the day the job-based plan ended. In the example, coverage ending on 31 October 2026 gives an election window to 30 December 2026, one day after the grace period.
The Marketplace. HealthCare.gov says a person who loses job-based coverage has 60 days to apply, and coverage can start the first day of the month after the loss. It also says that from 1 January 2027 only green card holders, Cuban or Haitian entrants and Compact of Free Association migrants qualify for savings; other lawfully present statuses may enroll but pay the full premium. For a layoff in 2027, a Marketplace plan costs the quoted premium with no subsidy.
Retirement accounts. The calculator leaves them out. The IRS describes a 10% additional tax on early distributions from a 401(k) before age 59½ (Tax Topic 558), on top of income tax. The 401(k) withdrawal calculator shows what a cash-out keeps.
What changes the answer
- The last paid day. Dates in this post move day for day with it. The grace period ends 60 days after, and the insurance windows count from the date coverage ends, which is often a different day.
- Time left on the authorized stay. If the I-94 or the petition validity ends in under 60 days, the grace period ends then ("whichever is shorter"). The calculator takes the days left as an input.
- Severance and its timing. Severance is taxed as wages, so the amount that reaches the account is lower than the figure in the letter. The calculator counts it on the last day of work.
- Other income. A partner's pay changes the months more than most cost cuts: $3,000 a month moves the example from 8.7 months to 18.4.
- The status path. A new employer's petition, a change of status, a visitor bridge and leaving each have different costs and different dates. The second table prices the leave-now, shorter-grace and visitor-bridge cases.
What to do first
- Write down the last paid day and count 60 days from the day after. Add the insurance dates next to it: the COBRA election and first-payment windows, and the Marketplace 60 days.
- Talk to an immigration attorney inside the grace period about the status path. The money question is whether the cash in the table covers the path chosen, and the table above is the cash side only.
- Count only cash and severance, then run the numbers with the real spending, the real COBRA notice and any Marketplace quote in the H-1B layoff runway calculator. The return home or stay calculator covers the move itself.
The plan Laid off on H-1B strings these steps together with your numbers.
Not modelled: unemployment benefits (they vary by state, and eligibility for a visa holder is not assumed), tax on severance, a spouse's work authorization, the H-4 dependents' own dates, premium processing fees, and any rule change after 2 October 2026.
Not tax or legal advice. Indian rules as published on 2 October 2026; check with a Chartered Accountant before acting.