International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) announced that it is ending immigration sponsorship for some of the roles in its largest division. This comes after the crackdown by the Donald Trump government on the visa program that's served as a talent pipeline for the tech industry thus far.
“We have opted to discontinue visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of such roles in IBM Consulting,” a company spokesperson said.
The IBM division impacted by this decision participated in “US high-skilled visa programs” to address skill shortages, the spokesperson also said. However, participation reportedly has been declining for many years while the skill availability and client need have evolved, the spokesperson added.
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The company has acquired Red Hat, HashiCorp and Confluent as a push to refashion itself as a high-growth software company. At the same time, its consulting business has lagged, with the division’s growth largely being flat since 2024.
What happens to impacted workers?
Those impacted by IBM's latest move can continue to work with the company outside the US, or they can leave at the end of the year, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal document.
{{/usCountry}}Those impacted by IBM's latest move can continue to work with the company outside the US, or they can leave at the end of the year, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal document.
{{/usCountry}}The document was reportedly shared with managers of the pertinent division this week. As per IBM's site, consulting is its largest division with more than 150,000 workers.
Trump's crackdown on H-1B, green card programs
The reliance on foreign workers in the tech industry has long been a flashpoint in the immigration debate. Since Trump returned to office last year, the administration has pressed on tech giants to do more and hire workers from the US itself.
Trump, as part of his effort, has made it tougher for companies to use H-1B to attract overseas talent. These changes have included proposals for $100,000 filing fees for most candidates, and tightening how H-1B visas are awarded in the annual lottery, which gives priority to companies offering the highest salaries.
Last month, the administration also accused Microsoft Corp., Adobe Inc. and other companies of abusing the US worker visa program and suspended them indefinitely from using it. Microsoft has been one of the largest users of H-1B visas for a long time, having secured approval for 3,828 in 2026, as per USCIS.
IBM managed to secure 1,611 H-1B approvals in the 2026 budget year which ended on September 30, as per USCIS data. This is a fall from 2025 numbers, when the company had 2,045 such approvals. USCIS data further shows that since 2009, IBM has sponsored H-1B workers 27,863 times, making it the 20th among the visa's sponsors.