The Donald Trump administration has suspended eight major technology and IT services companies, including Indian firms Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies, from a key US employment-based immigration programme used to sponsor foreign workers for Green Cards.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspension, naming six major IT outsourcing companies alongside Microsoft and Adobe. The US Department of Labour on Thursday announced the decision, which covers Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. The move is part of the administration’s wider crackdown on skilled foreign workers, with officials alleging that companies have used immigration programmes at the expense of American employees. The eight companies are: The restrictions apply to the companies’ participation in the PERM labour certification process.
US officials said the government would stop accepting new applications and processing pending cases under the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme involving these companies.
The programme requires employers to demonstrate that there are not enough qualified and available US workers for a particular position and that employing a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed Americans. The US government has accused major technology companies of using foreign-worker programmes to replace American employees with overseas recruits, allegedly to reduce labour costs. Vice President JD Vance has argued that companies should prioritise American workers rather than rely on foreign employees while cutting domestic jobs. The administration has presented the decision as part of its efforts to curb alleged immigration fraud and protect employment opportunities and wages for American workers. PERM, or Permanent Labour Certification, is an important stage in the employer-sponsored Green Card process. It allows eligible US employers to seek labour certification for foreign workers they intend to employ permanently. The process requires employers to establish that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the US labour market. Once labour certification is secured, the employer can proceed with the relevant employment-based immigration petition. For many skilled foreign professionals, including Indian employees working in the technology sector, PERM provides a route from temporary employment status to permanent residency. The suspension means the affected companies cannot submit new PERM applications or move forward with pending applications covered by the order. This could interrupt the Green Card process for employees whose permanent residency applications depend on employer-sponsored labour certification. Indian professionals working for the affected companies could face delays in securing permanent residency, particularly if their Green Card applications depend on the PERM route. However, the suspension is directed at the labour certification programme and does not, by itself, cancel existing H-1B visas. The H-1B is a temporary work visa, generally allowing eligible skilled foreign workers to remain employed in the US for up to six years, subject to the applicable rules. The immediate concern for affected employees is that they may have to remain on temporary visas for longer while their route to permanent residency is disrupted. The implications will depend on each worker’s immigration status and the stage of their application. The PERM route is not the only way to obtain permanent residency. The suspension could also make it harder for the affected companies to recruit and retain skilled professionals from abroad. Permanent residency is an important consideration for many foreign workers deciding whether to pursue long-term careers in the United States. For Indian IT companies with substantial US operations, the immediate challenge will be managing affected employees and their immigration timelines while the restrictions remain in force. The move marks another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten skilled-worker immigration and place greater emphasis on hiring American workers.
Vance specifically criticised Microsoft, alleging that the company had laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visa approvals and nearly 3,000 Green Cards. Sonderling said the companies covered by the suspension had sought nearly three million foreign workers since 2009. Together, they had received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications, he said. Other pathways include certain family-based applications and self-petition options available to eligible individuals, such as the EB-1A category for people with extraordinary ability and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver.
