If I’m laid off on an H-1B, how long will my money last?
Enter your cash, severance and health-insurance cost to see how many months your money lasts, the date it runs out, and where the 60-day grace period ends.
Your status
H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-1, E-2, E-3 or H-1B1, and their dependents: the 60-day grace period rule applies. Other statuses have different rules.
Time left on your authorized stay (I-797 or I-94, whichever ends first) after your last day
The grace period is up to 60 days; DHS can shorten it.
MONTHS YOUR MONEY LASTSSHORT OF THE GRACE PERIOD
1.6months
At these inputs, $9,000 covers $5,721 a month ($5,000 of spending plus $721 of health insurance) for about 1.6 months (47 days). That is 13 days before the 60-day grace period ends.
Cash runs out
Day 47
Grace period ends (at most)
Day 60
Monthly drawdown
$5,721
Cash + severance
$9,000
UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT
Your deadlines and your cash, in order
- Day 0Last day of workPay stops. USCIS counts the grace period from the next day. Employer health cover ends on a date your plan sets, often the end of that month.
- Day 47Your cash runs out$9,000 at $5,721 a month.
- Day 60Grace period endsA new employer’s petition or a change-of-status application generally has to be filed by now, or you would need to leave the US. You may not work in between unless separately authorized.
- ≈ Day 60Health-cover windows closeAbout 60 days after employer cover ends: the COBRA election period is at least 60 days and a Marketplace application must be in within 60 days of losing cover. Your plan’s end date sets the exact day.
Your money runs out on day 47, and the grace period ends on day 60. Day 0 is your last day of work.
How your cash drains
Starting with $9,000, your balance falls by $5,721 a month and reaches zero in month 2.
What moves the needle
Each row re-runs the calculation with one change. Click to apply.How it's computed
FORMULA
Money = cash + severance (after tax)
Monthly drawdown = spending + health premium − other income
Months of cash = money ÷ monthly drawdown days = months × 30.4375
Grace period ends = last day of work + 60 days (or the end of your authorized stay, if earlier)
- Spending, the health premium and other income are steady monthly amounts. The premium is held flat for the whole runway, even past the 18 months COBRA can last, when you would need a Marketplace plan at its own price. Severance is counted as cash on your last day of work, after tax.
- The COBRA field starts at $721: the 2024 national average total premium for one person ($8,486 a year, AHRQ MEPS-IC) plus the 2% COBRA charge. Replace it with your COBRA notice. COBRA lasts up to 18 months; you have 60 days to elect it and 45 days to make the first payment.
- The grace period is up to 60 consecutive days from the day after employment ends, or until the end of your authorized validity period if that is sooner (the earlier of the dates on your I-797 approval notice and your I-94), once during each validity period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2); USCIS). DHS can shorten it, and you may not work during it unless separately authorized. Immigration rules change: confirm every date with an immigration attorney.
- From 2027 most work-visa holders no longer qualify for Marketplace premium tax credits (P.L. 119-21 §71301, enacted July 4, 2025), so a Marketplace quote for 2027 or later should be the full-price one.
- Not included: unemployment benefits (for a visa holder these depend on the state and the facts), unused vacation pay, unvested equity, tax on savings you withdraw, and the cost of a job search or a move.
WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS
Money: $9,000 cash + $0 severance = $9,000. Drawdown: $5,000 spending + $721 health insurance − $0 other income = $5,721 a month. $9,000 ÷ $5,721 = 1.57 months × 30.4375 = 47.9 days. The grace period ends 60 days after your last day of work, so your money ends before it.
SOURCES
[1]8 CFR § 214.1(l)(2) — Requirements for admission, extension, and maintenance of statusCode of Federal Regulations, via Cornell Legal Information Institute[2]Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of EmploymentUSCIS (archived page, reviewed January 24, 2025)[3]FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for WorkersU.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration[4]Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums: average total single premium, 2024 (MEPS-IC Research Findings #54)Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, December 2025[5]If you lose job-based coverageHealthCare.gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services[6]Public Law 119-21, § 71301 — Permitting premium tax credit only for certain individualsU.S. Government Publishing OfficeHSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Sep 29, 2026
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Questions about this result
Up to 60 consecutive days, or until the end of your authorized validity period if that is sooner (check the dates on your I-797 approval notice and your I-94), and only once during each validity period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)). The regulation and USCIS guidance (an archived page that USCIS marks out of date) say it starts the day after your employment ends, typically the last day you were paid, and DHS can shorten it. The same rule covers E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and their dependents.
USCIS lists four options: be the beneficiary of a new employer’s petition to change employers, file for a change of nonimmigrant status, file for adjustment of status, or, if you have an approved I-140 and face compelling circumstances, apply for a compelling-circumstances work permit. Working is prohibited during the grace period unless it is otherwise authorized, except that an eligible H-1B worker may start the new job as soon as the new employer’s petition is properly filed, and a timely change-of-status filing lets you stay while it is pending. Day 60 is the date to have filed by, not the date you must be gone; if none of these happens you may need to leave the US when it ends.
Possibly, and only your employer’s official termination date can settle it. USCIS counts the grace period from the day after the last day for which a salary or wage is paid, so pay that keeps you on the payroll, such as a notice period, can change your date. Whether a severance payment does is a question for your immigration attorney, and your employer can give you your official termination date. The calculator counts from the last day of work you enter and treats severance as cash on hand.
COBRA keeps your employer plan for up to 18 months, but you usually pay the whole cost, your employer’s share included, plus 2% (US Department of Labor). You have 60 days to elect it, counted from the later of the day your cover ends and the day you get your election notice, then 45 days to make the first payment; coverage is retroactive to the day your cover ended. A Marketplace plan needs an application within 60 days of losing job-based coverage (HealthCare.gov), and any premium tax credit depends on your income for the year. From 2027 credits are limited to permanent residents and a few other groups, which leaves most work-visa holders paying full price (P.L. 119-21 §71301, as enacted in July 2025). Enter both premiums to see the difference in months.
It depends on the state and the facts, so do not count on it. Each state sets its own rules, and federal law lets a state pay benefits on wages earned by an alien only if the person was lawfully present for the purpose of working (26 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(14)(A)). States also ask whether you are able and available for work, which a worker whose permission to work depends on one employer may struggle to show. If you are approved, enter the amount as other income.
It treats spending, premiums and income as steady monthly amounts. It does not include unemployment benefits, unused vacation pay, unvested equity, tax on savings you withdraw, or the cost of a job search or a move. Immigration rules and USCIS guidance change, so check current guidance and talk to an immigration attorney before relying on any date.
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