For years, the H-1B visa considered the American dream for thousands of skilled Indians. It promised global exposure, career growth, and financial stability. Today, that same visa has become a source of anxiety and constant uncertainty. Indians make up nearly 72% of H-1B holders, and with that dominance has come intense scrutiny.
Visa holders now worry about social media monitoring, sharply rising application costs being discussed in policy circles, and the basic challenge of securing visa appointment slots. The sense of security that once came with an approved H-1B is slowly fading.
Layoffs add a new layer of fear
Amid this already tense environment, layoffs have emerged as a major concern. A growing number of H-1B professionals, especially in tech, are asking a difficult question, what happens if you lose your job while on an H-1B? With discussions around a possible $100,000 visa fee and tighter hiring sentiment, many fear companies may hesitate to recruit laid-off H-1B workers.
A particularly troubling scenario is being discussed online. Some workers are laid off while they are outside the US but are still technically on payroll during a notice period. When they return to the US, they are sometimes stopped for secondary inspection at the airport.
In some reported cases, officers from US Customs and Border Protection allowed entry but gave a verbal warning that the worker can stay only until the payroll end date. No written document is issued, and the I-94 record continues to show the original visa expiry date. This can create deep confusion.
Immigration attorney responds
According to Gnanamookan Senthurjothi, immigration attorney and co-founder of Visa Code, who spoke exclusively to Financialexpress.com, the 60-day grace period under H-1B law is frequently misunderstood and does not apply in several situations that many workers assume it does.
He explains that the grace period is meant only to allow an H-1B beneficiary to remain inside the United States after a job loss in order to either find a new employer, change status, or prepare to depart. If the employee is laid off while abroad, or if they leave the US after a layoff, the grace period is no longer available.
In such cases, re-entering the US in H-1B status without an active qualifying job is not advisable, as CBP may determine that the individual does not meet the basic requirements for admission. Once a person departs the US, the grace period automatically ends and cannot be “resumed” upon return, even if a new job is later secured. Any re-entry after a layoff must be based on a valid status, such as an approved H-1B petition or another nonimmigrant visa.
He also notes that deferred inspection is generally not a remedy in these scenarios, since the issue is not a clerical error but a question of substantive eligibility, and verbal or unwritten CBP determinations at the port of entry typically cannot be corrected retroactively through USCIS filings alone.