IBM Ends US Visa Sponsorship for Most Consulting Roles
IBM is ending US visa and Green Card sponsorship for a majority of positions within its consulting division, giving affected foreign workers a strict deadline to relocate outside the country or resign.
- IBM is discontinuing H-1B visa and Green Card sponsorships for most roles in its 150,000-strong consulting unit.
- Affected foreign employees must relocate to an IBM office outside the US or leave the company by the end of the year.
- An IBM spokesperson told Reuters that participation in US high-skilled visa programs had already been declining for years.
- EU agency eu-LISA has taken IBM, Atos, and Leonardo to court over multi-year delays in building Europe's Entry/Exit System.
The decision impacts staff across IBM Consulting, the technology firm’s largest operational unit, which employs more than 150,000 people globally. The latest IBM news comes as corporations face tighter regulatory scrutiny over foreign talent programs in the United States.
Relocate abroad or leave by year-end
Foreign professionals working in the US on sponsored visas inside the consulting arm have been informed of the shift. Under the updated policy, workers whose roles are no longer eligible for sponsorship must transition to IBM offices outside the US or leave the firm by the end of the year.
The policy change hits foreign professionals hard, including Indian engineers and consultants who rely on H-1B visas and employment-based Green Card applications to remain in the US. IBM has not exempted most consulting roles from the new restriction, effectively cutting off the primary pathways to permanent residency for staff in those positions.
Declining participation and policy shift
IBM Consulting previously relied on US high-skilled visa programs to fill critical technical gaps. However, an IBM spokesperson told Reuters that the unit’s participation in these visa programs has been declining for several years.
The company said the decision was prompted by changing skill requirements across its operations, alongside long-term strategic adjustments in how it deploys workforce talent. While the consulting arm once routinely used visa sponsorships to address skill shortages, executives determined that most roles in the division will no longer carry that benefit.
Crackdown on foreign tech workers
The policy shift arrives amid a broader regulatory crackdown by the Trump administration, which has tightened rules surrounding the H-1B visa program and increased oversight on companies hiring foreign labor.
IBM isn’t the only IT giant pulling back on immigration support. Major industry peers, including Microsoft, Infosys, and TCS, have similarly scaled back or ended Green Card sponsorships for various US roles as regulatory costs and enforcement scrutiny mount.
EU agency sues over border system delays
In separate IBM news outside the immigration domain, European Union agency eu-LISA has launched legal action against IBM, French IT provider Atos, and Italian defense group Leonardo.
The agency filed court proceedings following years of delays in building the EU’s planned Entry/Exit System (EES), Financial Times reported. The digital system is designed to track non-EU travelers entering and exiting the Schengen area. The agency stated that the legal dispute will not disrupt its current operational systems.
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