Final answer:
The Pauli exclusion principle is the rule respected when hydrogen completes its valence layer with the electron configuration 1s^2, allowing a maximum of two electrons in the same orbital with opposite spins.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rule respected when a hydrogen atom completes its valence layer, becoming 1s^2, is known as the Pauli exclusion principle.
The Pauli exclusion principle states that no two electrons can have the same set of four quantum numbers, which implies that a single orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons with opposite spins. In the case of hydrogen, when it gains an extra electron to become helium, its electron configuration is noted as 1s^2 indicating the two electrons are in the same 1s subshell.