IBM Ends H-1B Visa and Green Card Sponsorship for Most Consulting Jobs — What It Means for Foreign Workers
IBM, one of the oldest and biggest technology companies in the world, has told its consulting workers that it will no longer sponsor US work visas and green cards for most roles in its largest business. The decision, announced on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, affects foreign workers in IBM Consulting — a division with more than 150,000 employees — and it comes as the Trump administration tightens the rules for hiring skilled workers from abroad.
For the workers caught in the middle, the choice is now a hard one. They can keep working for IBM from a country outside the United States, or they can leave the company by the end of the year. IBM has not said how many people are affected, and it has not said which roles, if any, will still qualify for sponsorship.
The move matters far beyond IBM. It is the latest sign that the door to the American tech industry is getting narrower for foreign professionals — including the thousands of Pakistani and South Asian engineers, developers and consultants who have built their careers on the H-1B visa.
What IBM announced
IBM said on Tuesday that it is ending US visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of roles in IBM Consulting, the division that advises companies on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and IT systems. Consulting is by far IBM’s largest business, with more than 150,000 workers around the world, according to the company’s own website.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which said it had seen an internal document shared with managers in the division this week. IBM later confirmed the decision to Reuters and other news organisations.
An IBM spokesperson said the company’s use of high-skilled visa programmes had been falling for years. The full statement said:
“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.”
In plain words: IBM says it needs fewer foreign workers than it used to, and it no longer wants to pay for their visas and green cards in most consulting jobs.
Who is affected
The change covers two things that matter most to foreign tech workers in America.
First, H-1B visa petitions. The H-1B is the main US work visa for skilled foreign professionals — the visa that lets a company hire an engineer, data scientist or consultant from another country to work in the United States. Without an employer’s sponsorship, a foreign worker cannot get or renew an H-1B.
Second, PERM applications. PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management. It is the labour certification step that comes first in the most common route to an employment-based green card — the permanent residency that lets a foreign worker live and work in the US without depending on one employer. Stopping PERM sponsorship cuts off the path to a green card for workers in the division.
IBM has not said how many workers this covers. It has also not said whether the change hits people who already hold H-1B visas, or only new applications.
What is clear is that the decision is limited to IBM Consulting. IBM is not ending immigration sponsorship across the whole company. But because consulting is the company’s biggest division, the change still touches a very large number of jobs.
The two choices workers now face
According to the internal document seen by Bloomberg, affected employees have been given two options:
- Move abroad and keep the job. Workers can continue working for IBM from a country outside the United States. IBM has not said where those workers would be based, or on what terms.
- Leave the company by the end of the year. Workers who cannot or do not want to move must leave IBM by 31 December 2026 — less than two months from the announcement.
For a worker who has spent years in the US, built a life there, and is waiting for a green card, neither option is easy. Moving abroad means leaving home, family and community behind. Leaving the company means finding a new employer willing to sponsor a visa — in a market where other companies are also pulling back — or leaving the United States altogether.
Why IBM is doing this now
IBM says the decision is about its own business needs, not politics. Its spokesperson stressed that participation in high-skilled visa programmes had been declining for years, and that the availability of skilled workers in the US and the needs of its clients had changed.
But the timing is hard to ignore. The decision comes in the middle of a wider crackdown on foreign hiring by the Trump administration.
Last year, the White House announced a one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B petitions — a charge that made it far more expensive for companies to bring in foreign workers. The administration has also increased scrutiny of companies that hire foreign tech workers, saying it wants to stop abuse of the visa system.
Anthony D’Esposito, the Inspector General of the US Department of Labor, linked IBM’s decision to that crackdown, according to WION. The message from Washington is clear: companies that rely heavily on foreign workers should expect much closer attention.
IBM’s own numbers show the trend was already under way. According to US Department of Labor data, IBM applied for more than 1,100 H-1B visas in the 2026 financial year, which ended on 30 September. That is far below the company’s hiring of foreign workers in earlier years, and it fits the picture of a company that was already stepping back from the visa system.
IBM’s shares fell about 1 percent on Tuesday morning after the news was reported.
What is the H-1B visa, in simple terms?
The H-1B is a US visa that lets an American employer hire a foreign worker for a skilled job — typically in technology, engineering, science or medicine. The employer must sponsor the worker, which means filing paperwork, paying fees, and proving that the job needs specialised skills.
Each year, the US government limits the number of new H-1B visas. The demand is far higher than the supply, so visas are handed out through a lottery. Once a worker has an H-1B, they can usually stay in the US for up to six years, and many use that time to apply for a green card — permanent residency — through their employer.
That is why an employer’s decision to stop sponsoring visas is so serious. Without a sponsor, a worker cannot renew their visa, and without PERM sponsorship, they cannot move towards a green card. For many foreign workers, the employer is not just a job — it is the key to staying in the country.
What is PERM, and why does it matter?
PERM is the first step in the most common way a foreign worker gets a green card through their job. Before a company can sponsor a worker for permanent residency, it must first get a labour certification from the US Department of Labor. That certification proves there are no qualified American workers available for the job.
The process is slow and expensive, and it can take years. But for workers from countries with long green card waiting lists — including India and China, where the backlog stretches for years or even decades — starting PERM early is essential. Every month of delay pushes the green card further away.
By stopping PERM sponsorship for most consulting roles, IBM is not just ending new visa applications. It is also closing the door to permanent residency for workers who may have been waiting years for their turn.
What this means for Pakistani and South Asian tech workers
IBM’s decision hits hardest at the workers who depend most on employer sponsorship — and that includes a large number of professionals from South Asia. Workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries in the region form a big share of the foreign tech workforce in the United States, and many of them work in consulting, the exact division IBM is changing.
For Pakistanis dreaming of a tech career in America, the lesson is clear. The H-1B route is still open, but it is getting harder, more expensive and less certain. A job offer from a big company is no longer a guarantee that the company will sponsor your visa or your green card. Workers need to ask the right questions before accepting a role: Will the company sponsor my H-1B? Will it start my green card process? And what happens if the policy changes?
For Pakistanis already working in the US, the advice is the same. Do not assume your employer will keep sponsoring you. Check your visa status, know your green card timeline, and keep a backup plan. If your employer stops sponsoring, you may need to find a new sponsor quickly — or be ready to move.
There is also a wider message for Pakistan’s own tech industry. As the US becomes a harder place for foreign workers, skilled Pakistani engineers may look closer to home, or to other countries that are still welcoming tech talent, such as Canada, the UK, Germany and the Gulf states. Pakistan’s growing IT and software sector could benefit if experienced workers decide to return — but only if the jobs and the pay are there to keep them.
Could other companies follow?
IBM is one of the first big tech companies to make such a sweeping change, but it may not be the last. Other large employers of foreign workers — including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and the big Indian IT firms — are watching the same political climate and the same rising costs.
According to US Department of Labor data, Amazon applied for more than 13,175 H-1B visas in the 2026 financial year — far more than IBM’s 1,100-plus. If companies of that size start to pull back, the effect on foreign workers would be much larger.
For now, though, IBM’s move is a company decision, not a change in the law. Nothing about the H-1B programme itself has changed. Other employers can still sponsor visas and green cards, and workers at other companies are not affected by what IBM has done.
What has changed is the signal. A company as old and as established as IBM has decided that sponsoring foreign workers in its biggest business is no longer worth it. That tells every other employer — and every foreign worker — which way the wind is blowing.
What happens next
Several questions remain unanswered, and the answers will matter a great deal to the workers involved.
First, how many people are affected? IBM has not given a number. IBM Consulting has more than 150,000 employees worldwide, but only a share of them are foreign workers on US visas. Until IBM says more, the scale of the impact is unknown.
Second, which roles still qualify? IBM said sponsorship is ending for the “majority” of roles — which means some roles will still be sponsored. The company has not said which ones.
Third, what happens to workers already in the green card queue? If a worker’s PERM application is already under way, will IBM finish it, or stop it halfway? The company has not said.
And fourth, where will the workers who move abroad actually go? IBM has offices in many countries, including India, where much of its consulting work is already done. But the company has not said whether affected workers will be offered roles in specific countries, or on what terms.
Workers, lawyers and industry groups will be watching for those answers in the coming days. For now, the workers in IBM Consulting have a deadline — the end of 2026 — and a difficult choice to make.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly has IBM decided?
IBM is ending US visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of roles in IBM Consulting, its largest division with more than 150,000 employees. The change covers H-1B visa petitions and PERM labour certification, the first step towards an employment-based green card.
What options do affected workers have?
According to Bloomberg, which saw an internal company document, affected workers can either continue working for IBM from outside the United States, or leave the company by the end of 2026.
Does this affect all of IBM?
No. The change applies only to IBM Consulting. IBM has not ended immigration sponsorship in its other divisions. But consulting is the company’s biggest business, so the change still affects a large number of jobs.
Why is IBM doing this?
IBM says its participation in high-skilled visa programmes has been declining for years, and that skill availability and client needs have changed. The decision also comes as the Trump administration tightens rules on foreign hiring, including a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions announced last year.
I work at another company on an H-1B. Am I affected?
No. This is IBM’s own decision, not a change in US immigration law. Your visa and green card process depend on your own employer, not on IBM.
How many H-1B visas did IBM apply for last year?
According to US Department of Labor data, IBM applied for more than 1,100 H-1B visas in the 2026 financial year, which ended on 30 September 2026.
Conclusion
IBM’s decision to end visa and green card sponsorship for most consulting roles is a small story about one company — and a big story about the direction of the American tech industry. For years, the H-1B visa was the bridge that carried skilled workers from Pakistan, India and dozens of other countries into the world’s largest tech economy. That bridge is still standing, but it is getting narrower, more expensive and less certain.
For the workers inside IBM Consulting, the next few weeks will be stressful. They must choose between leaving the country they have made home and leaving the company they work for. For everyone else watching — workers, students, and families planning a future in tech — the message is to plan carefully, ask hard questions before signing a contract, and never assume that a big employer’s sponsorship will last forever.
The tech world is still full of opportunity. But as IBM has just shown, the rules of the game can change with a single company announcement.
Sources
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
