The Trump administration suspended eight major technology companies from the US Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme on 8 October, halting their ability to file new applications or have pending ones processed , a move that blocks the primary employer-sponsored route to a US green card.
Acting Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling made the announcement alongside Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Todd Blanche at a press conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Sonderling named Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini in the action. Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended, with Sonderling citing "multiple active federal investigations" into both companies.
The Department of Labour will not accept new PERM applications from the named companies, nor process those already pending. The move is part of a broader government push to investigate alleged abuse of H-1B visas and other immigration programmes, with officials arguing that foreign-worker hiring practices have shut American workers out of jobs.
Sonderling alleged that since 2009, the companies alone had requested almost three million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications. Officials said the suspensions would last as long as investigations require, and that the administration has the tools to extend them indefinitely.
The action does not cancel existing H-1B visas held by employees at these companies. PERM is a separate process, and is generally required before an employer can file petitions for most employment-based green cards.
For workers, the practical consequences differ by stage. Indian professionals who have already applied for PERM and whose applications are pending could find their processing delayed indefinitely, with no clarity yet from the administration on how those cases will be treated. For employees who have not yet started PERM, the disruption is more immediate: if their employer cannot file a new application, they may have to wait before beginning the standard employer-sponsored green card route at all.
Industry responses have been measured. India's IT industry body Nasscom sought to allay fears, stating the move will not have a major impact on Indian tech companies and that relatively few employees transition from H-1B visas to permanent residency through PERM. TCS said in a BSE filing that its PERM applications were in single digits over the last two years, and that it does not expect the suspension to affect its workforce strategy or customer engagements.
With PERM applications suspended for the targeted companies, eligible workers may have to remain on temporary visas for longer. Other green card routes including applications based on extraordinary ability or national interest remain available in theory, but can take years and are not guaranteed.
Neither Vance nor Sonderling announced when, or whether, the suspensions would end. The government has not yet published a formal order or additional details on the legal process going forward.
Source: CNBC
