The US Department of Labour on October 8 suspended Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant and Capgemini from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, a key step in the employment-based green-card process for foreign workers.
Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said the department would not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the companies, while Vice President JD Vance accused firms of misusing worker-visa programmes and urged them to prioritise American workers. The administration said the action was driven by alleged abuse and, in Microsoft’s and Adobe’s cases, multiple active federal investigations.
‘Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jobs’
Sonderling said the affected companies had collectively requested almost three million foreign workers since 2009, received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and secured over 100,000 permanent labour certifications. He claimed this represented “hundreds of thousands of jobs” taken from American workers.
Vance singled out Microsoft, alleging that it laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 while receiving more than 6,000 H-1B approvals and filing 3,682 PERM applications, with nearly 1,000 linked to positions from which American workers had been laid off. “Stop defrauding the American worker,” Vance said, urging companies to stop using foreign workers for jobs that Americans could perform.
PERM Suspension
PERM, or Permanent Labour Certification, generally requires an employer to demonstrate that there are no qualified, willing and available American workers for a particular position before sponsoring a foreign worker for permanent residency.
The latest suspension therefore creates uncertainty for employees whose green-card applications depend on their employers completing this stage. However, the move does not itself cancel existing H-1B visas or already-approved green cards. The Trump administration’s action comes amid a broader crackdown on employment-based immigration, including heightened scrutiny of H-1B visas and a separate investigation into J-1 visa practices at nine universities.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Protecting local employment and ensuring that immigration programmes are not misused are legitimate policy goals, but allegations of fraud or unfair hiring practices should be established through transparent investigations and due process rather than assumed from the outset.
At the same time, foreign professionals working legally in the America should not be treated as disposable numbers in a political debate: behind every delayed green-card application is a person whose career, family and future may be affected. A fair system should protect American workers while also respecting the contribution and rights of skilled migrants.
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