Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking at a press conference in Washington, said the Department of Labor will bar eight major outsourcing firms—TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe—from filing new PERM applications and will reject any pending submissions. The announcement follows investigations into alleged wage suppression and labor‑abuse claims that the firms allegedly used foreign workers to undercut U.S. labor standards.
PERM, or Permanent Labor Certification, is the first hurdle in an employer’s quest to sponsor a foreign worker for a U.S. green card; it requires the employer to prove that no qualified U.S. worker is available and that hiring a foreign national will not depress wages. The program is a critical bridge between temporary H‑1B status and permanent residency, and its suspension means that the affected companies cannot advance any employee toward legal permanent residence.
The eight firms together have filed nearly 3 million H‑1B requests since 2009, securing roughly 230,000 green‑card approvals and representing more than 70% of all Indian professionals granted H‑1B status each year. A spokesperson for the National Organization for Software and Technology Professionals said the decision could leave thousands of Indian engineers stranded in the U.S. without a clear path to residency, while companies have indicated they may seek judicial relief.
The Department of Labor will cease accepting new applications from the firms starting today, and pending cases will be held in abeyance until the investigation concludes. The firms have been advised to file a federal suit to challenge the suspension, and industry analysts predict the ruling could delay or derail the green‑card process for the next 12 to 18 months, prompting a flurry of appeals and potential policy revisions.