H-1 status has several different components and documents which evidence that status. First, there is the labor condition application which is the prevailing wage determination which the employer must meet and which is approved by the Department of Labor. Second, we have the “petition” approved by Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) which states the dates during which employment is authorized. With this approved petition a visa can be obtained at a US consulate or status can be changed or extended in the US.
However, it is the third document, the I-94 card for proof of status which causes the confusion. Technically, the I-94 should accurately reflect the full amount of time the H-1 employee may remain in the US, including the time employment is authorized and the ten grace period after employment. The problem arises with the new online I-94 system which does not provide an I-94 at the port of entry but allows the H-1 employee to print one out from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) website. If the I-94 is obtained that way, please make sure it contains the ten day grace period if in fact you wish to leave the US after the employment authorization ends. If you plan on extending, changing or adjusting status in some way, then the grace period is really not an issue.
Finally, the stamp in the passport provided at the port of entry now, in lieu of the I-94, is another area of confusion since it usually indicates a stay which conforms to the validity of the petition (and therefore work authorized stay) rather than the petition dates and the grace period. Since CIS and CBP do not seem to be inclined to fix this system, it is best to be very careful with the Passport stamp received at entry, the I-94 available online and the dates on the approved petition when determining the end of authorized employment as an H-1, and the ten day grace period which follows it.