Indian IT giants radically reduced green card applications even before US crackdown, data shows

The US government suspended eight technology companies from the PERM labor-certification program. The affected firms include Indian IT giants Tata Consultancy Services, HCL, Infosys, and Wipro, along with Cognizant. PERM is normally required before an employer can sponsor a foreign worker for an employment-based green card.

The government said permanent residence for H-1B workers could undercut American workers. Yet company data shows that demand for the process had already fallen. TCS received only two PERM approvals in 2026, compared with 1,804 in FY2024. Wipro received none in 2026, while Infosys received none in 2025 or 2026.

The companies say the suspension should have limited effect because they are hiring more locally and using fewer H-1B workers. TCS plans to hire 15,000 people in the United States over five years. NASSCOM also said transitions from H-1B visas to permanent residence are now relatively limited.

PERM labor certification is a US Department of Labor process for employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based green cards. It usually comes first because the employer must demonstrate that the job can be offered without displacing a qualified American worker.

The process begins with the Department of Labor setting a prevailing wage for the position. The employer then advertises the job domestically and considers interested applicants. If no qualified American workers are found, the company can ask the Department of Labor to approve PERM certification.

That approval does not itself grant permanent residence. Instead, it allows the company to move forward with a green card petition for the foreign worker. This makes PERM a key gateway in the employment-based process. The article says the suspended companies had already greatly reduced such applications, limiting the immediate effect of the suspension.

The decline was dramatic across the companies examined. Tata Consultancy Services received 1,804 PERM approvals in FY2024 but only two in 2026. That represents a 99.8% decrease in two years. Both 2026 approvals were for applications submitted in 2024, according to PermTrack.

Other firms showed the same direction. Wipro had 506 approvals in FY2025 but none in 2026. Infosys received 87 approvals in 2024 and none in FY2025 or FY2026. HCL America and HCL America Solutions received 66 approvals by June 30, 2026, down from 350 in FY2025. Cognizant fell from 1,235 approvals in FY2024 to none in FY2025 and FY2026.

These figures measure approvals, not necessarily applications filed during the same year. Processing delays can separate filing dates from approval dates. Still, the pattern supports the companies’ statements that they have sharply reduced reliance on the PERM route.

The US government justified the suspension by arguing that granting permanent residence to foreign workers on H-1B visas could undercut American workers. In that view, companies sponsoring foreign employees for permanent residence might reduce opportunities for people already seeking jobs in the United States.

PERM addresses that concern through a labor-market test. The Department of Labor sets a prevailing wage, and the employer must advertise the position domestically. Only if no qualified American workers are found can the employer seek PERM certification. Approval then permits the company to continue toward a green card petition.

The article presents this as the government’s stated rationale, not as a detailed finding about each company’s individual hiring practices. It also reports that the companies had already reduced PERM use, expanded local hiring, and decreased dependence on H-1B visas. Their statements suggest the policy’s practical effect may be limited for their current workforce strategies.

When a company is suspended from the PERM program, it cannot use that labor-certification route for sponsoring foreign employees during the suspension. This matters because PERM is normally the first required step before an employer can pursue an employment-based green card for a foreign worker.

The usual process requires a prevailing wage, domestic recruitment, and a finding that no qualified American worker is available. If the Department of Labor approves PERM, the employer can move ahead with a green card petition. A suspended company therefore loses access to that standard starting point for new cases.

The article does not detail every possible immigration option or explain the suspension’s duration. It does show why the immediate effect may be smaller than expected. TCS said its PERM applications had been in single digits for the previous two years, while several other companies had received no recent approvals. Their hiring strategies increasingly emphasize US-based workers.

The companies are shifting toward a larger domestic workforce instead of relying heavily on immigration sponsorship. NASSCOM said Indian technology companies have significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas while steadily expanding local hiring in the United States.

TCS offered the clearest example. It plans to hire an additional 15,000 people in the United States over five years. The company also said its PERM applications had been in single digits during the last two years. That means its workforce strategy increasingly depends on hiring people locally rather than moving large numbers of foreign workers toward permanent residence.

Immigration attorney Ellen Freeman said firms have been preparing for restrictive immigration changes and are already hiring many American workers. She also said companies are avoiding high costs when they can. The article does not identify a separate replacement visa program. Instead, it describes a business shift toward local recruitment and fewer H-1B-to-green-card transitions.

These three parts describe stages in an employment-immigration pathway. An H-1B visa allows a company to employ a foreign worker in the United States. If the employer later wants to sponsor that worker for permanent residence, it generally begins with PERM labor certification.

PERM is the labor-market test. The Department of Labor sets a prevailing wage, and the employer advertises the job domestically. If no qualified American worker is found, the employer can request PERM approval. The article says that approval lets the company move ahead with a green card petition for the foreign worker.

A green card provides permanent residence, while H-1B status is the temporary employment status discussed in the article. The sequence therefore runs from H-1B employment to PERM certification and then toward an employment-based green card. The companies now say relatively few workers are making that transition, because local hiring has expanded and H-1B reliance has declined.