US freezes green-card processing for Microsoft, Adobe workers

What exactly has the US government frozen, and which companies and applications are affected?

The US Labour Department has stopped accepting new applications and processing pending permanent labour certification applications involving eight named technology companies. The action targets a key stage in many employment-based green-card cases. It is part of the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on employment-based immigration and follows allegations of abuse, although the companies have not been found guilty of those allegations.

The affected companies are Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant and Capgemini. PERM applications are involved, not every immigration application connected to these firms. The department said the suspension would remain while it investigates the companies’ use of the system.

The freeze means these employers cannot submit new covered PERM applications or move pending ones through Labour Department processing. It does not cancel existing green cards or remove every immigrant’s status. The companies’ employment-based immigration plans may face delays while the investigation continues.

What is PERM, and why is it required for many employer-sponsored green-card applications?

PERM is the permanent labour certification system used by many US employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence. It is an important screening step before many employment-based green-card applications can proceed. The process matters because it tests whether bringing in a foreign worker could harm American workers’ pay or workplace conditions.

An employer generally must demonstrate that the proposed foreign hire will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of American workers. The administration has also accused some employers of posting ineffective job advertisements before claiming qualified American workers were unavailable. Those allegations are part of the broader investigation described in the article.

PERM therefore connects an employer’s immigration request to the domestic labour market. In this case, the Labour Department froze new and pending PERM applications for eight companies while examining their practices. The affected companies have not been found guilty of the alleged violations, so the freeze is an investigative action, not a finding of wrongdoing.

How is an H-1B visa different from a permanent green card, and how can an H-1B worker move from one status to the other?

An H-1B visa supports temporary employment in the United States, while a permanent green card allows a person to live and work there permanently. They are different immigration statuses. The article discusses both because companies used H-1B applications while also seeking permanent labour certifications for foreign workers.

A typical employer-sponsored route can involve the employer obtaining PERM certification, then pursuing an immigrant petition and permanent-residence application for the worker. PERM is the labour-market step. It requires the employer to show that hiring the foreign worker will not adversely affect American wages and working conditions. The exact route and timing can vary by case.

The freeze affects the PERM stage, not all H-1B activity or every immigrant’s existing status. Microsoft said about 80 per cent of its H-1B applications last fiscal year involved existing employees seeking extensions or changes of status, rather than new hires. It also said H-1B workers received the same pay as comparable employees.

How many foreign workers and labor certifications have the affected companies sought or received since 2009?

The affected companies have sought nearly three million foreign workers since 2009, according to Labour Department data cited by Reuters. That figure shows the large scale of their involvement in employment-based immigration. It combines the companies’ requests over many years, rather than describing only the applications caught by the latest freeze.

The same data records more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications. H-1B approvals relate to temporary skilled-worker employment. Permanent labour certifications relate to the PERM process used in many employer-sponsored green-card cases. These are different measures and should not be added together as unique workers.

The numbers help explain why the administration is examining the companies’ practices. Officials allege that some employers used weak job advertising to claim qualified Americans could not be found. However, the companies affected by the latest action have not been found guilty. The Labour Department’s freeze is in place while investigations continue.

What could happen to foreign workers and their employers while pending PERM applications cannot be processed?

Foreign workers with pending PERM applications may face delays in an employer-sponsored permanent-residence process. Their employers cannot have those covered applications processed while the Labour Department’s suspension remains active. A delayed PERM stage can postpone later steps in the green-card route, although the article does not specify individual case outcomes.

Employers also cannot submit new PERM applications involving the eight named companies. That may disrupt hiring plans and the permanent-residence sponsorship of workers. The freeze is linked to an investigation into how the companies used the certification system, including allegations about job advertising and claims that qualified American workers were unavailable.

The action does not automatically cancel existing green cards or strip all immigrants in the United States of status. It is focused on employment-based immigration and remains temporary while the administration investigates. The article does not say when processing will restart or what final decisions will follow.

What must an employer prove about wages, working conditions, and American workers before receiving PERM certification?

PERM requires an employer to demonstrate that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect American workers’ wages and working conditions. This requirement is meant to prevent employment-based immigration from weakening the pay or treatment of workers already in the US labour market. It is a central reason the Labour Department reviews these applications.

The administration has accused some employers of posting ineffective job advertisements and then claiming qualified American workers could not be found. That alleged pattern could make it appear that employers tested the US labour market without genuinely seeking domestic candidates. Officials say such practices could allow foreign workers to be hired at lower wages.

The companies affected by the latest suspension have not been found guilty of those allegations. Their applications are frozen while the administration investigates their use of PERM. The article does not provide the outcome of those investigations, so it is not yet clear whether any company will face penalties or lose access to the process.

How do employment-based immigration programs try to balance employers’ need for specialized workers with the goal of protecting domestic labor markets?

Employment-based immigration programs try to meet two goals at once. Employers can seek workers with needed skills, while the system checks that foreign hiring does not harm American workers. PERM is one important safeguard for permanent employment sponsorship. It requires employers to address wages, working conditions and the domestic labour market.

The article describes allegations that some employers posted ineffective job advertisements and then claimed qualified American workers could not be found. If proven, such practices could undermine the balance by making foreign hiring appear necessary without a genuine search for US workers. The administration says some employers then hired foreign workers at lower wages.

The latest freeze shows how that balance is being enforced. The Labour Department stopped new and pending PERM processing for eight companies while investigating their practices. At the same time, Microsoft disputed claims that it replaced American workers and said most of its H-1B filings involved existing employees. The final effect depends on the investigations’ findings.

Key Facts:

📌 The freeze covers eight named technology companies.

📌 Both new and pending PERM applications are affected.

📌 The suspension will remain during the investigation.

📌 PERM is required for many employer-sponsored permanent residence cases.

📌 Employers must protect American workers’ wages and working conditions.

📌 The named companies have not been found guilty of the allegations.

📌 H-1B status supports temporary employment; a green card provides permanent residence.