US Employers Pull Back Visa Sponsorship, Narrowing Routes for Guinean Workers

IBM is scaling back H-1B visa and green card sponsorship for most roles in its Consulting division, adding to a series of US immigration measures affecting skilled foreign workers. The change comes as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown.

The developments land heavily on Indian professionals: Indians account for approximately 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions, according to the figures cited.

Key facts

• IBM is cutting H-1B visa and green card sponsorship for most roles in its Consulting division.
• The US Department of Labor has suspended Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services from using the PERM labour certification process.
• A proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period for certain temporary workers, including H-1B holders, has attracted more than 31,000 public comments.
• Indians make up about 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions.

What is changing?

IBM is scaling back its sponsorship of both H-1B visas and green cards, with the pullback covering most roles in its Consulting division. The source does not give an effective date for the change, nor does it say how many workers or open roles are affected.

In a separate step, the US Department of Labor suspended five companies — Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services — from using the PERM labour certification process. PERM is the process employers use to sponsor a worker for permanent residence. The source does not state how long the suspension lasts or when it began.

Who is affected?

The measures concern skilled temporary workers in the United States on H-1B visas and those seeking green cards through employer sponsorship. Indians are the group most exposed: the source states they account for approximately 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions.

What is proposed for temporary workers?

A proposal to remove the 60-day grace period for certain temporary workers, including H-1B visa holders, is under consideration. That grace period is the window workers have after a job ends before they fall out of status. The proposal has drawn more than 31,000 public comments, but the source gives no decision date and does not say whether or when the change would take effect.

What this means for travellers

Indian professionals and other skilled workers already in the US on H-1B visas, or hoping to be sponsored for one, face fewer sponsorship options at IBM's Consulting division and a blocked PERM route at the five suspended employers. Anyone relying on the 60-day grace period after a job loss should keep track of the pending proposal, since no final decision has been announced.

Several details remain unannounced, including the effective dates of IBM's cutback and the PERM suspensions, and the outcome of the grace-period proposal.