The announcement comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s crackdown on visa programs for skilled foreign workers.
Published November 10, 2026
US technology giant IBM has announced it will stop sponsoring US foreign worker visas and green cards for most positions in its largest division.
A company spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday that the company’s consulting arm has chosen to end sponsorship for most roles.
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The company said participation in the U.S. high-skilled visa program has declined in recent years, adding that the decision was made “in response to evolving skills availability and customer needs.”
IBM Consulting employs more than 150,000 of IBM’s 264,300 employees worldwide.
IBM has reduced its reliance on so-called H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers in recent years. The company approved just 1,611 H-1B applications in fiscal year 2026, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on major companies to reduce their high-skilled foreign workforce in the United States. President Donald Trump has argued that the program is often fraudulent, taking jobs away from skilled Americans and giving them to immigrants.
Last year, the administration announced it would require a one-time $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions.
In October, the administration announced it would suspend many technology companies from a program that allows H-1B workers to apply for green cards, in an effort to crack down on fraud and ensure American workers are not fired and replaced with foreign nationals.
In addition to Adobe, the suspended companies included top H-1B employers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Microsoft.
The suspension was announced within hours of President Trump awarding Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Innovation.
Indian-born Nadella was one of six business leaders honored by President Trump. The five are foreign-born U.S. citizens, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who emigrated from Russia with his family as a child.
