On a Tuesday in November, IBM announced it will stop sponsoring US work visas and green cards for most roles in its consulting division, a unit of more than 150,000 people. The company frames the choice as the natural end of a long decline in its reliance on high-skilled visa programs, shaped by shifting skills and client needs. Yet the decision arrives in the wake of federal moves that have narrowed the routes foreign workers once used to build lives in America, and it leaves many of them to weigh distance from the country they had hoped to call home.
IBM Ends H-1B and Green Card Sponsorship for Most Consulting Roles Amid US Visa Scrutiny
Workers in affected roles may have to relocate outside the US or leave the country by the end of the year.
Leave by the end of the year, or keep working for IBM from outside the US
Mark
Why does this one matter, when IBM says it's just a gradual shift?
Mimi
Because of who it touches. IBM Consulting employs over 150,000 people, and sponsorship is ending for most of its roles. For those workers, sponsorship was the way to stay in the country.
Luke
Worth noting that "gradual shift" is IBM's own framing. The spokesperson said participation had been declining for years and that skills and client needs evolved. That's the company's explanation, not an independent finding.
Mark
And the government's actions last month?
Mimi
Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and TCS were suspended from Permanent Labor Certification, a key step toward green cards. Plus there's the $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions announced last year.
Luke
Right, but nothing in the reporting says IBM's decision was caused by those measures. The timing is suggestive; the link isn't established.
Mark
What happens to the workers?
Mimi
Bloomberg, citing a company document, says they can work for IBM outside the US or leave by year-end.
Luke
And that's one outlet's account of a document. We don't know how many people are affected, or what "majority of roles" means in headcount. That's still open.
Der Puls
- IBM will end H-1B and green card sponsorship for a majority of its 150,000-strong consulting workforce, abruptly closing a path to American residency.
- The move follows a federal suspension of major tech and outsourcing firms, including Microsoft, Infosys and TCS, from the Permanent Labor Certification process.
- A $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions has already raised the cost of bringing in skilled foreign workers, and companies are recalculating at scale.
- Affected employees may be offered work outside the US or face leaving the country by year-end, with the details resting on a single Bloomberg report.
- Watchers now ask whether other large employers will follow IBM in retreating from US visa sponsorship.
On a Tuesday in November, IBM announced it will stop sponsoring US work visas and green cards for most roles in its consulting division, a unit of more than 150,000 people. The company frames the choice as the natural end of a long decline in its reliance on high-skilled visa programs, shaped by shifting skills and client needs. Yet the decision arrives in the wake of federal moves that have narrowed the routes foreign workers once used to build lives in America, and it leaves many of them to weigh distance from the country they had hoped to call home.
On Tuesday, IBM told Reuters that it is ending US visa and green card sponsorship for most of the roles in IBM Consulting, a division that employs more than 150,000 people. For foreign-born workers in those jobs, it closes a route that had carried them into American work and toward permanent settlement.
A company spokesperson said IBM Consulting has leaned on high-skilled visa programs to fill gaps in talent, but that this reliance has been shrinking for years. Skill availability and client needs have changed, the spokesperson said, and the company decided to stop sponsoring most of these positions. IBM did not say how many people are affected.
Bloomberg News, citing a company document it said it had seen, reported what this means for employees: they can keep working for IBM from outside the US, or they must leave the country by the end of the year. Reuters has not been described as confirming that document, so this detail rests on Bloomberg's reporting alone.
The announcement comes amid a harsher climate for foreign tech hiring. Last month the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several large outsourcing firms, including Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, from the Permanent Labor Certification process, a key step toward a green card. Last year a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions sharply raised what it costs to bring in skilled workers. IBM, for its part, has tied its decision to its own business rather than to Washington's actions. What remains to be seen is whether other employers follow, and what becomes of the consultants as the year-end deadline draws near.
On Tuesday, IBM said it is ending US visa and green card sponsorship for a majority of the roles in IBM Consulting, the division that employs more than 150,000 people. The announcement was made through the company and reported by Reuters, and it closes off a route that foreign-born workers in those jobs had relied on to work and settle in the United States.
A company spokesperson told Reuters that IBM Consulting has used US high-skilled visa programs to fill skill shortages, but that its participation has been shrinking for years. According to the spokesperson, the company chose to stop sponsoring most such roles because skill availability and client needs have evolved. IBM did not, in the account available, say how many workers are affected.
The consequences for those workers are laid out in a separate report. Bloomberg News, citing a company document it said it had seen, reported that employees hit by the change can keep working for IBM outside the US, or they must leave the country by the end of the year. Reuters has not been described as confirming that document, and the detail comes from Bloomberg's reporting alone.
The decision lands in a tense climate for foreign tech hiring. Last month, the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several of the largest outsourcing firms, including Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, from the Permanent Labor Certification process. That process is a key step on the path to a green card for foreign workers, so the suspension hit one of the main pipelines from temporary work status to permanent residency.
There is also the matter of cost. Last year, the White House announced a one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B petitions, sharply raising the price of bringing in skilled workers on that visa. Together, the fee and the certification suspensions have changed the math for companies that used the programs at scale.
IBM's explanation points to its own business rather than to Washington. The spokesperson framed the move as the outcome of a long decline in use and of shifting client demand, and did not link it directly to the administration's actions. The timing, coming weeks after the suspensions, is what gives the announcement its context, but the company's stated reasons are the ones on the record.
What to watch is whether other large employers follow IBM in pulling back from visa sponsorship, and what happens to the affected consultants as the year-end deadline approaches.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
IBM chose to end sponsorship for most such roles as skill availability and client needs have evolved.— IBM spokesperson, to Reuters (paraphrased)
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