The 60-Day Clock

An E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN worker (and their dependents) is not considered to have failed to maintain status solely because the job their status was based on ended, for up to sixty consecutive days or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is SHORTER — available once during each authorized validity period. This is discretionary, not automatic: DHS may eliminate or shorten it. No work authorization exists during this period unless separately granted.

For H-1B workers specifically, a new employer's H-1B petition allows work to begin as soon as the petition is properly FILED with USCIS — proof is the I-797C receipt notice — not once it is approved. This applies only if the person was previously in valid H-1B status, has not worked without authorization, is in an authorized period of stay at the time the new petition is filed, and the petition itself is non-frivolous. This portability right is specific to H-1B; it does not automatically extend to every category covered by the sixty-day grace period above.

Filing Form I-539 to change to B-2 visitor status before the authorized stay or grace period ends preserves lawful status while a decision is made — it does not grant any work authorization, and does not itself extend the sixty-day window; it converts remaining lawful time into visitor status rather than letting it lapse. This is a status-preservation move, not a path to employment.