IBM's decision to end visa and green card sponsorship for most consulting roles has rattled foreign tech workers, who now say the same uncertainty is reshaping their careers, spending and plans to stay in the US.

Business Insider reported this week that IBM cited "evolving skill availability and client needs" for pulling sponsorship from the majority of its consulting division jobs. For visa holders, the signal matters more than the policy itself: if a company of IBM's scale can step back from sponsorship, others can follow.

Ashok Kumar, a tech lead at a large corporation and an H-1B holder, said exactly that. He knows the mechanics of a forced job search firsthand. When he lost his job in 2019, the visa rules gave him 60 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor him. He succeeded, but he expects the next search to be harder if sponsorship dries up across the industry.

"You can do everything right, build a career at a company like Microsoft, and still not feel secure about your future here," one Microsoft employee said.

What has changed for foreign workers?

IBM's move did not land in a vacuum. In October, the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six major IT services companies from the Permanent Labor Certification program — a required step in the employment-based green card process. The suspension blocks those companies from filing new PERM applications or advancing pending ones.

The administration said the suspensions target companies that misuse the program to favor foreign workers over American workers. Microsoft has disputed the allegations.

Separately, the administration has sought to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, though federal courts have blocked the measure so far.

Kumar's employer was not among the suspended companies, but the news intensified his worries about where sponsorship is heading. He said friends he discussed it with shared those concerns.

"Everyone was worried about their future," he said.

How is the uncertainty hitting daily decisions?

The Microsoft employee preparing her final attempt at the H-1B lottery first ignored Instagram reels about the PERM suspension that friends sent her. When she finally watched one, she learned her own employer was on the list.

Even if the lottery selects her, she worries the PERM suspension creates another obstacle between her and a green card — and between her and a long-term future in the US.

One tech worker on an F-1 STEM OPT visa has delayed buying a car because he doesn't know how long he can stay in the country. He is weighing a move to Canada or the UK.

"My friends are indeed panicking and getting restless," he said.

Are all visa holders reacting the same way?

No. Several workers pointed out that the PERM suspension currently affects only a handful of companies. One Big Tech visa holder said he is not especially concerned because he has no long-term immigration plans in the US.

Others have chosen to disengage entirely from immigration coverage.

"It's exhausting to follow everything so I'm staying away from all of it," one tech visa holder said.

Aman Goyal, a product manager on an H-1B visa, has taken a third path. Goyal arrived in the US in 2023, was laid off last year and considered searching for work abroad before landing a new role in the Seattle area. He said visa challenges remain a concern as he weighs his long-term future, but the opportunities still outweigh the uncertainty for now.

"I'm definitely interested in continuing to be here, meeting and building my network as much as possible, as well as learning about the next phases of AI as much as possible," Goyal said.

For practitioners tracking talent flows, the pattern is clear: fewer sponsorship channels, longer green card timelines and a pending $100,000 visa fee are already altering where skilled workers spend, work and plan to live.