Departure

Termination of employment

Early termination by the department before the end date of the H-1B Approval Notice will result in the department being responsible for paying for reasonable cost of return transportation to the home country.

Departments and employees must notify the Office of International Affairs (OIA) of termination, complete an H-1B Departure Form, and submit the form to OIA.

New H-1B Grace Period

Effective January 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended its regulations and issued an action called the “Final Rule” that provides various benefits to H-1B visa holders. It is important to note that there is still no grace period for H-1B visa holders whose employment ends on same ending date of their approval notice, Form I-797. However, the final rule is still consistent with current practice where “Customs and Border Protection officers may annotate a Form I-94 entry stamp in a passport when admitting an individual in H-1B classification to reflect a grace period of up to 10 days at the end of the period of stay.” The final rule goes on to explain that “under existing regulations, DHS does not consider 10-day grace periods to be automatically provided, rather, they are provided through an exercise of discretion on a case-by-case basis.”

One of the most significant changes in the regulations affecting H-1B visa holders relates to those whose employment ends before the validity period of their petition, as listed on the Form I-797, who are now allowed a grace period of 60 days or until the end of the petition’s validity period (or time indicated on I-94), whichever is shorter.

The expressed purpose of the regulation update by DHS is to facilitate the ability of qualified nonimmigrants “to transition to new employment in the United States, seek a change of status, or prepare to depart the United States. Consistent with longstanding policy, DHS declines to authorize individuals to work during these grace periods.”

This is a relatively new H-1B regulation and may contradict previous instruction from our office or from DHS.

H-1B Departure Check List

If your employment in H-1B visa status at Ohio State ends before the validity period listed on your approval notice (Form I-797), please be aware of the following:

1. You must leave the United States according to the new regulation on the grace period above.
2. We recommend that you keep a copy of your resignation letter as well as a letter from the department confirming your last date of employment
3. When you leave the United States, please ask at the border for a stamp to prove your departure (if you cannot obtain one in the United States, ask one from the country where you enter)
4. If you have any plans of coming back as an H-1B at any time in the future, keep copies of your airplane ticket, rental or accommodation receipts outside of the United States, letters from the employer that can be used for proof to establish your residency outside of the United States
5. Remember to file taxes for last year and next year (for specifics you can contact the office OHR Tax Office at tax@osu.edu or 614-292-2311). You may want to attend a GLACIER Tax Prep workshop to obtain the enrollment information. You can also get more information at busfin.osu.edu/controller and also visit the Taxes page on our website for information about free tax preparation opportunities.
6. Your online access to Ohio State payroll (W-2) form will end once your Ohio State employment ends. In this respect please make arrangements with the department to mail you the W-2 next year.
7. Your access to Ohio State e-mail account will end once your Ohio State employment ends unless you graduated with a degree from Ohio State and have made arrangements with OIT to keep the forwarding option.