Herman: A layoff shouldn’t uproot a Silicon Valley family

For a Silicon Valley worker on an H-1B visa, losing a job can threaten far more than a paycheck. It can place a family’s ability to remain in the United States at risk, even when that family has spent years building a life here.

That is why a newly proposed federal rule deserves the Bay Area’s attention. On Aug. 6, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a proposal titled “Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period” to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The proposal is still under review, and its full text has not been published, so its precise scope, exceptions and effective date remain unknown.

Under current rules, certain nonimmigrant workers — including people in H-1B status — may receive up to 60 days after their employment ends to find another sponsoring employer, change status or arrange an orderly departure. The period is discretionary and cannot extend beyond the worker’s authorized stay. It is not a promise of permanent residence or an open-ended right to remain. It is a narrow transition window that recognizes a basic reality: Careers and families cannot always be reorganized overnight.

In Silicon Valley, that reality is regional, not abstract. The Joint Venture 2026 Silicon Valley Index reports that 40% of the region’s residents are foreign-born. Many visa holders have spouses, children in local schools, leases or mortgages and deep ties to neighborhoods, faith communities and civic organizations.

Eliminating the grace period could also make workers less willing to report mistreatment or leave an unhealthy workplace, because losing a job would carry a sharper immigration consequence. A policy intended to enforce temporary-visa rules should not inadvertently give a single employer disproportionate control over a worker’s ability to remain with a family and community.

When a layoff happens it becomes an immediate immigration emergency. The disruption reaches classrooms, local businesses, housing arrangements and the colleagues left behind.

No one should prejudge a proposal that has not yet been published. Once the rule appears, the details will matter: whether any transition time remains, how dependents are treated, whether layoffs announced before the rule are protected and how quickly changes would take effect. Bay Area employers, worker advocates, schools and local officials should examine the text and participate in the public-comment process.

Silicon Valley depends on the movement of talent, but it also depends on the stability of families. The current grace period is modest, temporary and practical. If the federal government plans to remove it, the public deserves a compelling reason — and a workable alternative that does not turn an ordinary layoff into a family crisis.

Richard T. Herman is a nationally recognized immigration attorney and founder of Herman Legal Group. He has practiced immigration law for more than 30 years and is the co-author of “Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy.”