Trump's green card curbs test Indian tech workers' American dream

The US has suspended the eight companies from hiring skilled international workers permanently through the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM. New and pending applications have been frozen. This matters because PERM is often the first major step toward an employment-based green card.

PERM requires an employer to seek certification for a foreign worker’s job. In practical terms, the process is intended to show that hiring the worker will meet US labor needs under the program’s rules. After PERM, an employer can generally continue the green-card sponsorship process through later immigration filings.

The affected workers are mainly people already in the US on temporary H-1B visas. The suspension does not automatically cancel their H-1B status, but it blocks or delays this permanent-residency route through the named companies. Other routes may exist, including categories for exceptional accomplishments or national interest, but experts say few alternatives are feasible for many workers.

The article names Microsoft, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL Technologies among the eight suspended companies. It does not identify the remaining three firms. These companies are important employers of Indian technology professionals, but the article does not provide a reliable count of workers connected to the frozen PERM pathway.

The broader pool is large. The article describes a familiar route used by millions of Indians: an engineering degree, a technology job, a US posting, repeated visa renewals, and then a green card. It also says Indians hold a majority of H-1B visas, the temporary visa used by specialists.

That does not mean every Indian H-1B worker is seeking a green card through PERM. Company statements suggest current exposure may be limited. Wipro says over 80% of its US workforce is locally hired, while TCS reported single-digit PERM applications recently. Therefore, the article supports a broad connection, not an exact headcount.

Losing access to PERM can interrupt an H-1B worker’s planned transition from temporary status to permanent residency. The worker may still be able to remain in the US under valid H-1B rules, but the employer cannot move forward normally through the frozen labor-certification pathway. The result is delay and uncertainty rather than an automatic removal.

The human impact can be severe. A senior executive told the BBC that people he knew had spent years in the US while their green-card applications had not moved. Some were willing to return to India, but their children did not want to leave because they had grown up in America.

Workers could consider another employer or a different green-card category. However, changing jobs is difficult during technology layoffs, cost-cutting and rapid AI adoption. The article also says it is unclear whether other firms would hire affected immigrants because of possible retaliation fears, narrowing practical choices.

Indian technology workers are exposed because the common career route described in the article begins with a US technology posting on an H-1B visa. Indians hold a majority of H-1B visas. Many then depend on employer-sponsored PERM applications to seek permanent residency, so a restriction at that stage affects a particularly large community.

The pathway also creates long-term dependence. Workers may renew temporary visas, spend years building careers, and raise children in the United States while waiting for green cards. The article quotes an executive who said some families are ready to return to India, but their children resist because they grew up in America.

The uncertainty extends beyond paperwork. Stop AAPI Hate reported increased anti-South Asian online sentiment since the 2024 election. JD Vance also called H-1B professionals “foreign indentured servants,” a remark India’s foreign ministry described as deeply offensive. Together, policy pressure and hostility may make workers reconsider staying or moving to the US.

The source article does not provide a numerical backlog for Indian employment-based green-card applicants. It also does not state a maximum waiting time. It only describes people who have spent several years in the United States while their green-card applications have not moved, showing that delays can be prolonged.

More broadly, waiting time depends on the employment-based category, the worker’s priority date, annual visa limits and country-of-chargeability rules. India has historically faced especially heavy demand in employment-based categories, so applicants can experience much longer waits than workers from countries with fewer applicants. This background comes from established US immigration knowledge, not from the article.

The practical effects are significant. Workers may remain tied to temporary status and an employer while waiting. Families may become rooted in the US, especially when children grow up there. The article says tighter rules could lead some people to reconsider their future, while others may decide not to move to America at all.

The article identifies two broad alternatives to PERM. People with exceptional accomplishments may qualify for a category that bypasses labor certification. Workers whose efforts advance US national interests may also use a category that does not require the usual PERM process. These routes focus on the person or the national benefit, rather than a standard employer labor certification.

The article also begins describing investment-based permanent residency, saying applicants can qualify by investing at least “$80,” but the supplied text ends there. Under current US rules, the EB-5 program generally requires $800,000 in a qualifying targeted employment area or $1.05 million otherwise, plus creation of at least ten full-time jobs. These figures are established outside knowledge.

Eligibility is not automatic. Applicants must meet detailed requirements and pass later immigration stages. Ahmet Gulek told the BBC that alternative routes exist, but not many may be feasible. For workers without exceptional credentials or substantial capital, PERM’s suspension may remain a serious obstacle.

The system separates temporary work from permanent immigration. H-1B is a temporary visa for specialists, allowing an approved employer to employ a qualifying worker. It does not itself grant permanent residency. A worker seeking a green card often needs an employer-sponsored immigrant petition, and many employer cases first require PERM labor certification.

PERM is the labor-market stage. The employer applies for certification before proceeding with the permanent-residency case. The worker then needs an approved immigrant petition and an immigrant visa number to become a permanent resident. Some categories, including certain exceptional-ability and national-interest cases, can bypass PERM. These mechanisms explain why freezing PERM can disrupt a worker’s long-term plans.

US law generally makes 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas available each fiscal year, including qualifying family members. Separate per-country limits usually restrict any one country to about 7% of that annual total, although unused numbers can shift between categories and countries. Demand, preference categories and priority dates determine when applicants can proceed.