In the previous entry, we covered some of the guidelines related to staying in the U.S. after an H-1B visa expiration. In this entry, we will cover some of the thing that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is likely to do if they find out that your visa is expired and you are in the country illegally. The 2 most important things to the USCIS in determining their course of action are as follows: How long have you been staying illegally after your visa expiration, and did you resign or were you fired? If you resigned from your job, then the USCIS is not likely to give you much of a grace period at all. If you were fired, however, they are more likely to give you a slightly longer grace period. This is because, resigning from your position indicates that you anticipated leaving work, and should have therefore been able to prepare to leave the country. If you were fired suddenly, then it will require an extra amount of time to get things in order. Please keep in mind that there is no rule set in stone, and it is entirely up to the USCIS how long of a grace period you have. Also, it is worth remembering that if the position you were laid off from was your H-1B visa position, then your employer is legally obligated to provide you with one-way transportation back home. It has not been expressly stated whether this includes travel arrangements for your family or not, so to err on the side of caution, it’s a safe bet to assume it does not. If you have any questions about grace periods, or visa expirations in general, do not hesitate to contact an experienced immigration attorney immediately.