Work Rights
3guides
Unemployment benefits, your final paycheck, and the visa clock.
Unemployment insurance — who gets it and how to claimLose a job through no fault of your own and you can usually claim unemployment insurance. It's run by each state, amounts and duration vary widely, and you must be authorised to work to qualify.
Final paycheck, severance and keeping health insuranceThree practical questions the day you're let go: when the last paycheck arrives (state law decides), whether there's severance (usually optional), and what happens to your health insurance (COBRA — pricey).
Losing your job on a work visa — the 60-day clockFor visa holders, a layoff is two crises at once: income and status. H-1B and similar visa holders generally get a 60-day grace period to find a new sponsor, change status or leave.