US suspends Microsoft, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and other tech firms from labour programme: ‘Stop defrauding American worker’

Which technology companies were suspended, and what did the US Department of Labor stop doing for them?

The Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Infosys, Cognizant, Tata, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Capgemini and Adobe from the US Permanent Labour Certification Programme. The action targets the route companies use to support certain foreign workers seeking permanent residency. It matters because the companies can no longer move new or pending PERM cases through the Labor Department while the suspension remains.

US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the department would stop accepting new applications involving the companies. It would also stop processing pending permanent labour certification applications. Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions would be indefinite. The administration accused the companies of making allegedly illegitimate representations and abusing the system.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The suspension could affect some employees’ green-card applications, although the article does not say every application will be denied. Sonderling also said multiple active federal investigations were underway, while the administration urged the firms to hire more US workers.

What is the PERM programme, and how does it help an employer sponsor a foreign worker for permanent residency?

PERM, short for the Permanent Labour Certification Programme, allows a US employer to seek labour certification for an eligible foreign worker. That certification supports an employment-based application for permanent residency. It matters because it connects a company’s job offer with the immigration process leading to a green card. The programme can include workers who entered the United States through H-1B visas.

In practical terms, an employer submits a PERM application to the Department of Labour. The employer seeks certification for a specific foreign worker and job. If the application is approved, the certification can support the employer’s next steps in sponsoring that worker for permanent residency. The article focuses on the Labor Department’s role in accepting and processing these applications.

The suspended companies can no longer submit new PERM applications through the department, and pending cases involving them will not be processed during the suspension. The administration accused the companies of making allegedly illegitimate representations. The companies did not immediately comment.

How large was the foreign-worker activity cited by the administration—how many H-1B approvals and permanent labour certifications did the named companies receive?

Since 2009, the named companies received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labour certifications, according to Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling. The figures show the scale of the companies’ use of temporary foreign-worker visas and the PERM route toward permanent residency. Sonderling also said the companies had requested nearly three million foreign workers.

The figures were presented at a Washington briefing with Vice President JD Vance and the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force. Sonderling argued that this level of foreign-worker hiring came at the expense of American employees. He described the certifications as representing hundreds of thousands of jobs taken from US workers, while the administration accused the companies of abusing the system.

The numbers are administration figures cited in the article, not an independent assessment. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The suspensions now halt new and pending PERM applications involving the companies, potentially affecting some workers’ green-card cases.

What could the suspension mean for foreign employees whose green-card applications are being supported by these companies?

The suspension could prevent affected companies from advancing certain foreign employees’ green-card applications. That is because the Labor Department said it would stop accepting new PERM applications and processing pending ones involving the named companies. PERM is often a required stage in an employer-supported path to employment-based permanent residency.

For example, a foreign employee whose company has a pending PERM application may see that case stop moving while the suspension is in place. An employee whose company planned to file a new application may be unable to begin that stage through the department. The article does not say that every green-card application will be rejected or that existing green cards will be revoked.

Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions would be indefinite, suggesting they will remain until the administration’s concerns are addressed. The companies did not immediately comment. The practical effect will depend on each employee’s case and any later decision by the administration, but the article identifies delays and blocked processing as the immediate risks.

How are H-1B visas and PERM-based green-card applications connected, and why might an H-1B worker later need PERM certification?

H-1B and PERM serve different stages of an employment-based immigration process. H-1B is a temporary work visa route. PERM is a Labor Department certification route that an employer may use when supporting an eligible foreign worker’s application for permanent residency. The article specifically notes that some PERM workers may have entered the United States through H-1B.

For example, a company might employ a worker under H-1B and later seek permanent residency for that employee. The employer could then pursue PERM certification as part of the green-card process. PERM does not turn an H-1B visa into a green card by itself; it supports the employer’s permanent-residency sponsorship process. The article does not describe every later immigration step.

That connection explains why the suspension matters beyond new hiring. A company may still have workers who entered through H-1B but now depend on PERM processing for progress toward permanent residency. Halting new and pending PERM cases could therefore disrupt some employees’ longer-term applications.

What must an employer generally show in a PERM application about recruiting US workers before sponsoring a foreign worker for permanent residency?

The article does not spell out PERM’s recruitment requirements. Under the standard PERM process, an employer generally must conduct required recruitment for the offered job and show that no able, willing, qualified and available US worker can fill it. The employer must also attest that hiring the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.

The recruitment is meant to test whether qualified US workers are available before the employer sponsors a foreign worker for permanent residency. Employers typically document the job’s requirements, recruitment steps, applications and results. The Department of Labor reviews the certification request rather than simply accepting the employer’s claim. Exact requirements can depend on the job and worker category.

That background helps explain the administration’s criticism. Officials accused the suspended companies of making allegedly illegitimate representations in their applications and urged them to employ more Americans. The article does not establish whether any company violated a particular recruitment rule, and the companies did not immediately respond.

What is the difference between a temporary work visa, such as H-1B, and permanent residency, commonly called a green card?

A temporary work visa, such as H-1B, allows a foreign worker to work in the United States for a limited period under the visa’s conditions. Permanent residency, commonly called a green card, gives a person a longer-term legal status to live and work in the country. It is not the same as temporary visa permission. The article identifies H-1B as a programme connected to temporary foreign-worker employment and PERM as a route supporting permanent residency.

For example, a worker may enter through H-1B and later have an employer seek permanent residency. The employer may use PERM certification as part of that process. The worker’s H-1B status and the employer’s PERM application are therefore related but separate. A PERM suspension can affect progress toward a green card without automatically changing the worker’s existing H-1B status.

This distinction explains the practical concern in the article. The Labor Department stopped accepting new and processing pending PERM applications involving the named companies. That could delay some workers’ green-card applications, while the article does not say that H-1B permissions were themselves cancelled.

Key Facts:

📌 Microsoft and Adobe were among eight companies suspended from PERM.

📌 The Labor Department stopped accepting new applications involving the companies.

📌 Pending permanent labour certification applications involving them will not be processed.

📌 PERM allows employers to seek labour certification for eligible foreign workers.

📌 Certification can support employment-based permanent residency applications.

📌 Some PERM beneficiaries previously entered through the H-1B programme.

📌 The companies received over 230,000 H-1B approvals since 2009.