Washington: The United States has suspended eight major technology companies, including Indian IT giants Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro, from a programme that allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. The decision by the Trump administration has raised concerns among Indian professionals seeking to settle in the country through employment based immigration.
The suspension, announced on October 8, affects the Permanent Labor Certification programme, commonly known as PERM. The programme is an important step in the process through which eligible foreign workers can apply for employment based green cards, allowing them to live and work permanently in the United States.
The companies affected are Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. The list includes Indian IT services companies, US technology firms and the French technology services company Capgemini.
US Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the action in Washington. The administration said the suspensions followed concerns that some employers had used immigration programmes in ways that disadvantaged American workers.
The US Department of Labor said it would stop accepting new applications and processing pending PERM applications involving the affected companies. Vance said the suspensions would remain in place for as long as necessary.
The administration has alleged that some employers use recruitment practices that make it difficult for qualified American workers to secure advertised positions before turning to foreign employees. However, the announcement did not establish that all eight companies had committed fraud.
Sonderling said the companies had sought almost three million foreign workers since 2009. According to figures cited by the administration, they had received more than 230,000 H 1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.
These figures reflect the cumulative scale of applications and approvals reported by the administration. They do not represent the number of workers currently employed by the companies in the United States, nor do they independently establish wrongdoing.
Vance also criticised Microsoft, alleging that the company had laid off 6,000 American workers while benefiting from thousands of H 1B visas and green cards. The allegation formed part of the administration's argument that employment based immigration programmes require closer scrutiny.
Microsoft disputed the suggestion that most of its H 1B applications involved bringing new workers into the country. The company said around 80 per cent of approximately 6,000 applications filed in the previous fiscal year were for extensions or changes in the status of existing employees.
Microsoft also said that new employees covered by the remaining applications were already legally present in the United States. It stated that these employees represented about one per cent of its US workforce and maintained that H 1B employees were paid comparably to other workers performing similar jobs.
The decision has drawn attention in India, where technology companies have long relied on international assignments and employment based immigration to support their operations.
Nasscom, India's technology industry association, said Indian technology companies had significantly reduced their dependence on H 1B visas while expanding local recruitment in the United States. The association also said that the number of employees moving from H 1B visas to permanent residency through PERM was relatively limited.
India's Ministry of External Affairs criticised the US decision on October 9, saying the move did not advance the shared ambitions of the two countries. The ministry highlighted the mutual benefits of skilled talent mobility and said the suspension could affect the permanent residency process for eligible employees of the companies involved.
The ministry also clarified that the PERM programme is separate from the H 1B visa system. The suspension does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H 1B visas or the status of their holders and dependents. India also described Vance's reported remarks about H 1B visa beneficiaries as deeply offensive.
Tata Consultancy Services said the suspension would not affect its workforce strategy or customer engagements. The company reported that its PERM applications had been in single digits over the previous two years.
TCS also said its US workforce strategy focused on local recruitment and campus hiring. It reiterated its plan to hire an additional 15,000 employees in the United States over the next five years.
The immediate impact on Indian technology companies is expected to be limited, according to analysts cited in recent reporting. However, prolonged uncertainty about permanent residency could make it harder for companies to retain some employees and plan their long term workforce needs.
The consequences for individual workers will depend on the stage of their immigration applications. Employees whose permanent residency plans depend on the affected companies could face delays while the restrictions remain in place.
PERM generally requires employers to demonstrate that there are not enough qualified, willing and available US workers for a particular position and that employing a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of comparable American workers. Labour certification is an important preliminary step, but further immigration procedures are usually required before a worker receives a green card.
The suspension does not automatically cancel existing H 1B visas or revoke green cards already granted. Nor does it mean that all Indian professionals working in the United States are affected by the decision.
The move forms part of the Trump administration's wider effort to tighten oversight of employment based immigration. The government says the measures are intended to protect American workers, while technology companies and industry representatives argue that access to international talent supports innovation and business growth.
The duration of the suspensions, the outcome of the investigations and the treatment of individual applications remain unresolved. For Indian technology companies and professionals seeking permanent residency, the decision has introduced further uncertainty into an already complex immigration process.