IBM Consulting Drops H-1B and Green Card Sponsorship for Most US Roles, Giving Affected Workers Until Year End

IBM is ending visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of roles in IBM Consulting, and workers in those roles can keep working for IBM from outside the US or leave the company at year-end, under a document circulated to managers. The change covers IBM Consulting, its largest division, which employs more than 150,000 people and accounts for over half the company's workforce. An IBM spokesperson confirmed the change to Newsweek on Tuesday. The change stops short of every role, and IBM did not say which roles are exempt. For affected consultants, the useful answers sit in federal rules on what happens when a sponsored job ends, which set the grace period, the transfer process and what survives of a green card case. For Metaintro readers working in the US on an H-1B, or hoping to, this guide walks through those rules in order.

What Exactly Did IBM Announce About Visa Sponsorship?

The decision halts H-1B and so-called PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process applications for high-skilled workers within its consulting business. IBM tied the move to skill availability and client need. An IBM spokesperson said the unit 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, an IBM spokesperson said, according to the Newsweek report.

Who Inside IBM Consulting Is Affected, and What Is Still Unclear?

The word that matters is majority. IBM's wording leaves room for exceptions, and no one has said how many people are affected. IBM drew the line at consulting rather than companywide.

One open question concerns people already on an H-1B. The question of what would happen to workers on existing H-1Bs who would not be able to apply for a green card now was put to IBM by Newsweek, which ran its story without receiving an answer.

The year-end timing comes from the document behind the story, since Bloomberg first reported the change, citing a document circulated to managers this week. The option to work abroad suggests that some roles could be relocated rather than eliminated, in TNW's analysis.

How Many H-1B Visas Does IBM Use?

IBM applies for relatively few visas each year compared to other major companies. U.S. Department of Labor data showed IBM applied for over 1,100 H-1B visas in Fiscal Year 2026, a year that ended on September 30. Labor condition filings are an early step and do not equal approved petitions.

Approvals have fallen. IBM received 1,611 H-1B approvals in the fiscal year ending September 30, compared with 2,045 the previous year, based on USCIS data. For scale, Amazon applied for more than 13,715 visas by the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2026, 11 times that of IBM.

Consulting relies heavily on people delivering projects for clients, and staffing costs have a direct effect on margins, and consulting companies have traditionally been among the largest users of the H-1B program, making the sector particularly exposed to changes in immigration rules, in TNW's analysis.

What Is PERM, and Why Does Ending It Stop a Green Card Case?

PERM is the first step of the most common green card category used by employers. A permanent labor certification allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States, and in most instances, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain a certified labor certification application from the DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

The employer does the work and carries the obligations. The Department of Labor must certify that there are not sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers, and employers must have a prevailing wage determination for the job opportunity issued from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's (OFLC's) National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC) prior to filing a PERM application. Employers must determine the actual minimum requirements and job duties for the job opportunity, and complete any required pre-filing recruitment and Notice of Filing, and all employers must also comply with 20 CFR 656.10 regarding the Notice of Filing.

PERM is the labor certification process required for many EB-2 and EB-3 green-card cases, and USCIS adjudicates the subsequent Form I-140 immigrant petition.

How Long Can an H-1B Worker Stay After a Job Ends?

The rule is in federal regulation. An H-1B worker and their dependents shall not be considered to have failed to maintain nonimmigrant status solely on the basis of a cessation of the employment on which the alien's classification was based, for up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter, once during each authorized validity period.

Three limits come with it. The grace period applies once during each authorized validity period, DHS may eliminate or shorten this 60-day period as a matter of discretion, and unless another rule authorizes it, the alien may not work during such a period.

The window can be used to find a new employer to file an extension of stay request on their behalf, to file an application to change to a new nonimmigrant status, such as becoming the dependent of a spouse, or to leave. If the employer ends the job, the employer will be liable for the reasonable costs of your return transportation if they terminate your employment before the end of your period of authorized stay, but is not responsible for the costs of your return transportation if you voluntarily resign.

A pending proposal targets this rule. DHS has three work-visa proposals in the pipeline, including one that would eliminate the 60-day grace period after a job ends, and that proposal is not in effect.

Can an Affected Worker Move to a New Employer on an H-1B?

Yes, through H-1B portability, and the clock starts with the new employer's filing. A worker changing employers may begin working for the new employer as soon as they properly file a non-frivolous Form I-129 petition on your behalf, or as of the requested start date on that petition, whichever is later.

Two conditions apply. The worker must not have been employed without authorization from the time of your last admission into the United States, and the new employer must properly file a new, non-frivolous petition before your H-1B period of authorized stay expires. Under portability, your employment is authorized until USCIS has made a decision on the Form I-129, and if the petition is denied, your authorization to work based on portability ceases upon denial of the petition.

The large H-1B payment has a carve-out for people already in the US. The presidential proclamation does not apply to a petition filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 21, 2025, that is requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for an alien inside the United States where the alien is granted such amendment, change, or extension. If USCIS finds the worker ineligible for the change, for example if the alien departs the United States prior to adjudication of a change of status request, the Proclamation will apply. Separately, in the court decision that struck down the H-1B fee, a federal court on June 8, 2026, issued an order that vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions. If that order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment. The administration has since proposed a replacement fee of $103,265 through formal rulemaking, one of the proposed H-1B and OPT fees.

What Happens to a Green Card Case That Is Already Under Way?

The answer turns on how far the case has gone. A worker whose immigrant petition is approved can keep its place in line. Under the regulation, an approved first, second or third preference employment-based petition accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition. That date is lost if USCIS revokes approval because of reasons including fraud, or a willful misrepresentation of a material fact or a determination by USCIS that petition approval was based on a material error.

Timing around a withdrawal matters. If an employer asks to withdraw a petition that has been approved for fewer than 180 days, and any corresponding adjustment application has not been pending for at least 180 days (or has not been filed), USCIS automatically revokes the approval of the petition. A withdrawal 180 days or more after the approval of the petition, or once a related green card application has been pending for 180 days or more, leaves the petition valid for priority date retention. A new employer would still need to file its own PERM and I-140 to use that date.

Workers further along have a stronger option. If an I-485 based on an approved or pending Form I-140 has been pending with USCIS for 180 days or more since the receipt date, the applicant can file Supplement J to request job portability under INA section 204(j) to a new, full-time, permanent job offer. The new job must be in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job offered to you in the Form I-140.

Workers with a PERM on file also have an extension rule. A worker may be eligible for an H-1B extension beyond the sixth year if at least 365 days have passed since a labor certification was filed with the Department of Labor on your behalf (if such certification is required) or an immigrant visa petition was filed with USCIS on your behalf. That extension is lost if the worker fails to file an adjustment of status application or apply for an immigrant visa within 1 year of an immigrant visa being available, and a new 1-year period starts if the unavailability of an immigrant visa interrupts that year.

For years, sponsoring foreign workers was a routine part of hiring in the US technology industry, according to the TNW report on the IBM decision.

Is Working for IBM Outside the US a Route Back Later?

It can be, though nothing in IBM's announcement promises it. A worker who spends a continuous year with IBM outside the United States in a qualifying managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role could later return on an L-1 transfer. The rules below cover managers and executives. The L-1A category covers intracompany transferees who are executives or managers. To qualify, the employee must generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States, and must be seeking to enter the United States to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.

The rules on stay are fixed. Employees who are not opening a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years, with extensions until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.

An L-1 return is not subject to the H-1B lottery, but it takes time and depends on IBM wanting the worker back, in an immigration attorney's analysis for Immigration Analytics.

How Does This Fit With Other Recent Changes to Sponsorship?

The IBM decision follows a different kind of change. Under an Oct 8, 2026 move, the Department of Labor will stop accepting new PERM applications and suspend processing of pending PERM applications involving Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini. IBM is not on that list.

At the announcement, officials alleged misuse of employment-based immigration programs by these companies and cited investigations, and those allegations should be distinguished from a final finding of wrongdoing, in the view of the law firm WR Immigration. The government's announcement did not allege that Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, or Capgemini violated any PERM regulation, in an analysis by the law firm Willkie Farr and Gallagher. Under the regulation, an initial suspension may last up to 180 days and can be extended while an investigation or judicial proceeding remains unresolved.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

For IBM Consulting staff on an H-1B, the calendar is the whole story. Year end is the exit date in the IBM document, and the grace period runs from the end of the employment, so the weeks before the last working day matter. Start talking to employers that sponsor now, because portability lets you start work once the new employer properly files its petition.

Your green card stage decides your options. Someone who already qualifies for Supplement J is in a different position from someone whose PERM was never filed. Before the last day, get copies of your petition approval notice, PERM filing date and adjustment receipt.

The wider signal is for job seekers who need sponsorship anywhere. If you need a visa, ask about sponsorship in the first conversation with any employer, and treat an offer as conditional until a petition is filed.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: When a sponsor pulls back, your calendar becomes your strategy. Map every date in your case before your last day, and you will have choices instead of a countdown.

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People Also Asked

Q: Is IBM ending visa sponsorship for all of its US employees?

A: No. The change covers the majority of such roles in IBM Consulting, and IBM did not say which roles are exempt.

Q: How long does an H-1B worker have after their job ends?

A: Generally up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter, once during each authorized validity period, DHS may eliminate or shorten this 60-day period as a matter of discretion, and the worker cannot work in that period unless otherwise authorized.

Q: Can I keep my green card priority date if my employer withdraws my petition?

A: Usually yes, if the petition was approved, because the regulation accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition, unless approval is revoked for reasons such as fraud or material error. The withdrawal timing rules are in the USCIS Policy Manual.

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