Laid Off on a Work Visa? Start Here

The most portable of the work statuses after a layoff: a new employer can file a transfer, and you may be able to begin work on the receipt notice rather than waiting for approval. That portability is the reason most H-1B decisions come down to how fast you can find a sponsor. Start with the action plan, then use the countdown to fix your real deadline.

L-1 is the hardest case, because it depends on a qualifying corporate relationship between your employer abroad and the U.S. entity — something a new company cannot simply take over. There is no L-1 equivalent of H-1B portability. Most L-1 workers are choosing between a different role inside the same multinational group, a change of status, or a switch to another classification entirely.

O-1 is petition-based and tied to a specific employer or agent, so a new opportunity generally means a new petition rather than a transfer. There is no annual cap to wait for, which helps — but there is also no portability, so the timing question is how quickly a new petitioner can file. Your existing evidence of extraordinary ability usually carries over.

TN status is employer-specific and comes with a route that differs for Canadian and Mexican citizens, which changes both where you file and how fast a new employer can act. It is worth confirming early whether your plan is to stay in the United States and change employers or to re-enter with a new offer, because those are different processes.

Dependent and student statuses run on different clocks entirely. H-4 status follows the primary worker, so a layoff in the family can affect a spouse's status and any H-4 EAD. F-1 OPT and STEM OPT have unemployment-day limits that are far less forgiving than a grace period. If you are in one of these, the decision tree is the fastest way to see which questions apply to you.

Then day 60 is not your deadline — the earlier date is. This is the single most common miscalculation, and it is why the countdown asks for your I-94 date rather than assuming a flat 60 days from your last day.

The question becomes what the new employer needs from you and how quickly they can file. The checklist covers the documents to hand over, the questions to ask about timing, and the I-94 details that decide whether you can start work on the receipt.

An approved I-140 affects your priority date and can support H-1B time beyond the usual six-year limit, but it is not a substitute for maintaining status. What it does and does not protect after a layoff is the whole subject of that page.

H-4, B-2 and F-1 are each possible in the right circumstances, and each has a timing trap. Almost none of them authorize work on their own, so if you need to keep earning, a transfer is usually the path rather than a change of status.

Collect your I-797s, I-94, paystubs and separation letter while you still have HR and email access, and get an attorney consult booked. The checklist covers what to gather; the question builder turns your situation into a list to bring to that consult.