U.S. suspends eight tech firms from green‑card PERM programme

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announces PERM suspension for eight firms

On Thursday, October 8 2026, U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance, declared a freeze on the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme for a group of the world’s largest IT‑outsourcing companies. Sonderling said the Department of Labor would not accept any new PERM applications nor process pending ones from the named firms.

"I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini,"

Keith Sonderling, U.S. Labor Secretary, via PTI

He added that Microsoft and Adobe were also being suspended because of “multiple active federal investigations.” The announcement was framed as part of an anti‑fraud effort tied to ongoing criminal probes led by the Department of Labor’s Inspector General.

Eight companies placed under the green‑card ban

The suspension list includes Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft, and Adobe. The Daily Jagran and Lok Mattimes list “Tata,” while Asianet News mentions “TCS.” Both versions are reported as part of the administration’s action.

According to Sonderling, the companies have collectively “requested nearly three million foreign workers since 2009,” and have “received over 230,000 H‑1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.”

Impact on Indian technology professionals and green‑card backlogs

Indian nationals comprise a large share of the H‑1B workforce in the United States, many of whom rely on PERM certification as the gateway to employment‑based green cards. The suspension does not void existing H‑1B status, but it freezes the ability of affected employers to advance workers to the next immigration stage.

As Vice President JD Vance stated, "The H-1B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers." He also accused Microsoft of abusing the system, saying "There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft."

"If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants."

J.D. Vance, Vice President, via White House News Conference

Broader immigration crackdown and related policy moves

The PERM suspension follows a suite of immigration restrictions introduced under the Trump administration. In September 2025, a $100,000 payment requirement was imposed on certain new H‑1B petitions involving workers outside the United States; the rule was later extended to September 21 2027.

As reported by the White House, "more than 700 petitions" had incurred the fee since its inception. The administration also introduced a weighted H-1B selection system favoring higher-skilled and higher-paid workers, resulting in a 92% decline in H-1B registrations from the largest IT outsourcing firms.

The Labor Department indicated that the suspension will remain “as long as it needs to,” with the possibility of indefinite extension unless the firms address the alleged violations. Future updates are expected as the Department of Labor’s Inspector General concludes its investigations, leaving the fate of thousands of Indian professionals hanging in the balance.