H-1B Extensions Face a Friday Deadline and a New Test at IBM

Public comments close on Friday, November 13, on a federal proposal that would make work visa extensions in the United States harder to win, and the deadline lands in the same week IBM said it will stop sponsoring visas and green cards for most roles in its consulting arm. The two moves are separate. One is a proposed rule that has not changed any law. The other is one employer's decision. Together they explain why H-1B is the most searched term in the United States this morning.

The proposal, published by the Department of Homeland Security on October 14, is titled Removing Deference to Prior USCIS Determinations of Eligibility. It would delete one regulation, 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5). That rule tells officers at US Citizenship and Immigration Services to defer to their own earlier approval when they review an extension that involves the same employer, the same worker and the same facts. If the proposal is finalised, an extension would face the same full review as a new petition.

What changes, and what does not

Nothing has changed yet. The current deference rule stays in force while the department reads comments. After November 13, the department can publish a final rule, revise the proposal or drop it. No effective date exists, because no final rule has been published.

The reach is wider than H-1B. The proposal covers every petition filed on Form I-129, the form employers use for nonimmigrant workers. That includes H-1B specialty workers, L-1 transfers inside a company, O-1 workers of extraordinary ability, and TN, E, P and R-1 categories. H-1B files make up more than 75 percent of Form I-129 volume, according to legal analyses of the proposal, so H-1B workers and their employers would feel most of the change.

The department accepts in its own proposal that ending deference would bring more requests for evidence, the formal letters in which an officer asks for more proof before deciding. One legal analysis of the department's figures puts the delay from one added request for evidence at about 64 calendar days. For a worker whose status runs on a fixed end date, that delay is the practical risk: the case is still legal, but it stays undecided for longer.

The IBM decision

IBM confirmed on November 10 that it will discontinue visa and green card sponsorship for the majority of roles in IBM Consulting, its largest division, which employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. In its statement, reported by Reuters and Bloomberg, the company said: "IBM Consulting 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."

A company document reviewed by Bloomberg says affected staff were told they can keep working for IBM from outside the United States or leave the company by the end of 2026. IBM has not said how many workers are affected, and it has not listed which roles, if any, keep sponsorship. Federal data cited in industry reporting shows IBM secured 1,611 H-1B approvals in the fiscal year that ended on September 30, down from 2,045 the year before.

The IBM decision does not cancel anything by itself. It does not end an existing H-1B approval, an approved I-140 petition or a pending green card case. It changes what one large employer will file in future, and consulting is one of the biggest routes through which Indian technology workers have entered the US job market.

Why it matters

For workers, the two stories meet at extension time. Most H-1B holders renew every three years. A renewal that today leans on the last approval could, under a final rule, be judged from the start again, with more evidence requests and longer waits. For employers, the cost is planning: a project staffed on the assumption of a routine renewal carries more risk than it did a month ago.

The wider setting matters too. In September 2025 the White House imposed a one-time fee of 100,000 dollars on new H-1B petitions, a measure now being fought in court. The deference proposal is a separate step, taken through the slower rule-making route, which is why the comment record built by November 13 will matter if the final rule is later challenged.

Key numbers

Comments close on Friday, November 13, 2026, under docket USCIS-2026-0529 on Regulations.gov. The proposal was published on October 14, 2026, at 91 FR 65119. IBM Consulting employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. IBM secured 1,611 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2026. One added request for evidence can add about 64 days to a case, on the department's own figures as analysed by immigration lawyers.

What happens next

Workers and employers who want a say have until Friday to file a comment through Regulations.gov under the docket number. Comments sent by email or post do not count. After that, watch for a final rule in the Federal Register. Until one appears, extensions are decided under the rule that exists today, and anyone telling you the law changed on November 13 is wrong.