IBM Consulting halts visa sponsorship for most US roles

IBM has announced that it will cease sponsoring US foreign worker visas and green cards for the majority of roles within its largest business division. A company spokesperson informed Reuters on Tuesday that the decision specifically targets the consultancy unit of the technology giant.

The company stated that its involvement in US high-skilled visa programs has been on a downward trend for several years. Executives noted that the move reflects how skill availability and client requirements have changed over time.

IBM Consulting is the largest part of the company, employing more than 150,000 people out of IBM’s total global workforce of 264,300. This significant reduction in sponsorship opportunities affects a large portion of the firm's international employees.

In recent years, IBM has become less dependent on H-1B visas, which are designed for highly skilled foreign workers. Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that only 1,611 H-1B petitions were approved for the company in fiscal year 2026.

The announcement arrives at a time of heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration, which has urged major corporations to reduce their reliance on highly skilled foreign labor in the United States. President Donald Trump has argued that the visa program is frequently subject to fraud and often displaces skilled American workers in favor of immigrants.

Last year, the administration introduced a new requirement for a one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B petitions. This financial measure aimed to make the program less attractive for employers and more selective for applicants.

In October, the government further tightened regulations by suspending several technology companies from a program that allows H-1B workers to apply for green cards. Officials said the action was part of a broader effort to combat fraud and ensure that American workers were not being laid off only to be replaced by foreign colleagues.

The list of suspended companies included Adobe, Microsoft, and major IT services firms Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services, all of which are significant users of the H-1B visa program.

The suspensions were announced just hours after President Trump honored Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Nadella, who was born in India, was one of six business leaders recognized during the ceremony.

Five of the six honorees were foreign-born US citizens. The group included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who immigrated from Russia with his family as a child.