IBM Consulting Ends Visa and Green Card Sponsorship for Most Roles
IBM will stop sponsoring visas and green cards for most roles in IBM Consulting, its largest unit, with more than 150,000 employees. The move comes as the Trump administration pressures big employers to rely less on skilled foreign workers.
IBM’s biggest division ends visa and green card sponsorship for most of its roles, the US technology company said in a statement. The change covers IBM Consulting, which employs more than 150,000 of IBM’s 264,300 workers worldwide.
Employees affected can keep working for IBM outside the United States or leave the company by the end of the year.
What IBM said
An IBM spokesperson said the unit joined US high-skilled visa programs to address skill shortages. "That participation has been declining for a number of years and as skill availability and client need have evolved, we have opted to discontinue visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of such roles in IBM Consulting," the spokesperson said.
IBM did not say how many employees the decision affects. Federal records cover the company as a whole, so they cannot show how many consulting staff rely on sponsorship.
H-1B approvals have been falling
H-1B visas let US employers hire highly skilled foreign workers. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data, IBM had 1,611 H-1B petitions approved in fiscal year 2026.
That compares with more than 2,000 in fiscal 2025 and nearly 3,000 in fiscal 2024. The figures may include amended or extended applications for existing employees, so they do not necessarily count new hires.
Pressure from Washington
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump’s administration presses large companies to cut their reliance on highly skilled foreign workers. Trump has claimed the H-1B program is often subject to fraud and takes work from skilled Americans.
In September 2025, the administration introduced a one-time $100,000 fee on some new H-1B petitions. That proposal is tied up in the courts.
In October, Vice President JD Vance announced that the administration was suspending Microsoft from a federal program companies use to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. Vance said the company had abused the Permanent Labor Certification process, often called PERM.
The administration also suspended a number of other tech companies from a program that lets H-1B workers apply for green cards. They included Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. The administration said it was cracking down on fraud and ensuring American workers were not laid off and replaced by foreigners.
The suspensions were announced within hours of Trump honoring Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Nadella, who was born in India, was one of six business leaders honored. Five were foreign-born US citizens, including Tesla boss Elon Musk and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
