IBM halts H-1B, green card sponsorship for most consulting roles

IBM has ended H-1B visa and green card sponsorship for most roles in its US consulting business. The shift leaves affected immigrant employees facing overseas work or departure by year-end.IBM to stop sponsoring H-1B visas, green cards for most consulting roles.Tech giant IBM has decided to discontinue H-1B visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of roles within its US consulting business, amid the Trump administration's growing crackdown on legal immigration and scrutiny of employer-sponsored visas.The decision will affect immigrant workers in IBM Consulting who rely on the company for work visa sponsorship and a pathway to permanent residency in the United States. According to Bloomberg, affected employees have been given the option of continuing to work for IBM from outside the US or leaving the company by the end of the year.Confirming the development, an IBM spokesperson told Newsweek that the company's participation in high-skilled visa programmes had been declining for several years."IBM Consulting participates in U.S. 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. The move covers applications under the H-1B programme and the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process, which is the first step in the most common employment-based green card category. The process, also known as labour certification, requires employers to demonstrate that qualified American workers are not available for the positions being offered.It remains unclear what will happen to existing H-1B employees who are no longer eligible for green card sponsorship through the company. Newsweek said it had sought clarification from IBM on the issue. According to US Department of Labor data, IBM applied for more than 1,100 H-1B visas in the 2026 fiscal year, which ended on September 30. However, the number of these workers who subsequently pursued permanent residency was not immediately clear.IBM's visa applications are considerably lower than those of other major technology companies. Amazon applied for more than 13,715 H-1B visas by the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, around 11 times IBM's figure. Apple, Meta and Microsoft each sought roughly four times as many visas.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TIGHTENS SCRUTINYIBM's decision comes as the Trump administration intensifies its scrutiny of the H-1B visa programme and the employment-based green card pathway.The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire foreign professionals in specialised occupations. It is initially granted for three years and can generally be extended for another three years. Employers seeking to retain workers permanently typically begin the green card process through PERM labour certification.The programme has faced criticism over allegations that companies prefer foreign workers because they can be hired at lower wages, even as American employees face layoffs.In October, Vice President JD Vance announced that Microsoft and several other major companies would face suspension from the PERM programme over alleged fraud concerns."We want people to invest in the United States of America, particularly the American technology sector," Vance said at an October 8 press conference, adding that companies should continue expanding while employing American workers.The Department of Justice has also reached settlements with Instacart and OpenAI over alleged misuse of the PERM system, involving job advertisements that authorities said appeared to favour foreign workers.IBM, however, has not been publicly named by the Trump administration as a company facing action over alleged PERM violations.The latest decision marks another setback for immigrant professionals in the US technology sector, where employer-sponsored visas have traditionally served as an important route to long-term employment and permanent residency.- Ends