Termination checklist: last paid day if the 60-day grace period disappears

The deadline is the comment window

Put November 10, 2026 on the calendar now; the public comment period on the proposed rule closes that day. The proposal would end the 60-day post-employment status cushion for the affected nonimmigrant classes and their dependents.

The filing is captioned Eliminating the Discretionary 60-day Grace Period. The docket is USCIS-2026-0364, the RIN is 1615-AD22, and the rule would remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2). The proposal has no immediate effect; it takes force only after the agency finishes comment review and issues a final rule with an implementation date. After that, the work shifts to readiness.

The last paid day becomes the status deadline

If the rule becomes final, the worker, spouse, and children would lose lawful status on the day after the job ends, and they would have to leave unless they hold another permission to stay. DHS also acknowledges that some affected people could receive Notices to Appear, which begin removal proceedings. The proposal would push technology, healthcare, and consulting employers with large H-1B, L-1, or TN workforces to change offboarding and internal-transfer processes. Until the rule is final, treat the last paid day as a status deadline.

A termination letter can say one date, payroll can pay through another, and the employee can stop working on a third. The immigration record needs one date that can be defended. The last paid day is the cleanest anchor because it is usually in payroll, benefits, and the separation paperwork. That anchor is the date that drives the offboarding decision. For now, it is the date that tells you whether an extension, transfer, or withdrawal must be filed before status ends.

Keep one checklist for every sponsored separation

Use this list when a sponsored employee is being terminated, transferred, or offboarded. Each item should be answerable in a minute, and the answer should be in the file. The list is the paper trail that shows the company made a deliberate immigration decision.

• Confirm the visa class and dependents: Open the immigration file and payroll record, and note any spouse or children.
• Set the last paid day in writing: Make payroll, benefits, and the termination letter show the same date; correct the record before the file closes.
• Calculate the status end date: Start from the last paid day and note the applicable grace period or proposed end date.
• Decide extension, transfer, withdrawal, or departure: Make the decision before the status end date and record the action taken.
• Preserve the evidence: Keep the termination letter, payroll record, benefits cutoff, filing receipts, transfer or withdrawal documents, and the decision memo.

The list is short because the risk is narrow. A missing date can turn a routine separation into a status gap. A missing filing receipt can make a transfer look like a gap. Without a decision memo, the employer's position can look like an after-the-fact explanation. The memo should name the employee, the visa class, the last paid day, the status end date, the action taken, and the person who approved it.

The evidence file is the filing event

Build the offboarding file so it can stand alone. It should show who decided, what date was used, what immigration action was taken, and what evidence supported it. A departure record needs the departure date and the basis for the exit decision. A transfer file needs the new employer's filing and the old employer's withdrawal or consent. If the employee stays, keep the extension or other permission in the file.

On an internal transfer, the receiving entity owns the new filing, and the sending entity keeps the release. When a termination is final, close the file with a clear statement that no further status is being maintained. That statement protects the company if the employee later claims the separation was not final, or if the government asks why the status ended when it did.