The U.S. government has suspended several major Indian IT firms and some American tech giants from the Permanent Labour Certification Program (PERM), which is used to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. This move, announced by US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, targets companies like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant, Wipro, HCL, Microsoft, Capgemini, and Adobe, affecting their ability to hire talent on H-1B visas and seek permanent residency for employees. Vice President JD Vance claims these actions are necessary because companies are allegedly replacing American workers with foreign labor, citing examples like Microsoft laying off 6,000 U.S. workers while filing for thousands of H-1B visas and green cards. This decision is seen as a significant blow to Indian tech professionals working in the U.S., impacting recruitment strategies and compliance costs for involved companies.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The US government has suspended major Indian IT firms and US tech giants from a programme employers use to sponsor foreign workers for green cards.
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employers → suspend → cards
The move, seen as a major blow for Indian workers employed in the US, comes as president Donald Trump intensifies his crackdown on talent-based immigration.
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Trump → see → immigration
The Trump administration suspended Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant, Wipro, and HCL, along with Microsoft, Capgemini, and Adobe, from the programme used to apply for green cards for employees residing and working in the US on H-1B visas.
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administration → suspend → visas
US labour secretary Keith Sonderling announced: "I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Program (PERM) some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world."
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I → announce → world
India’s foreign ministry on Friday said Washington’s decision to curb the Perm “does not advance shared ambitions”.
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decision → say → ambitions
Analysts have warned that companies could face higher hiring and compliance costs for their reliance on US talent.
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companies → warn → talent
Thursday's actions mark the broadest strike yet against skilled-worker immigration programmes, while putting some of the top American research universities on notice.
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actions → mark → notice
Vice president JD Vance claimed companies were using the Perm to replace American employees with foreign workers and undercut their wages.
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companies → claim → wages
"If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants," he told the White House.
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he → do → servants
Vance claimed Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B temporary worker visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
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Microsoft → claim → visas
Microsoft is the largest filer of Perm applications, according to data from the US labour department.
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Microsoft → accord → department
Under Perm, which most employment-based green cards require, employers must show a foreign hire will not hurt US workers' wages or jobs.
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hire → base → wages
Perm serves as a critical bridge between temporary work status and a green card for many foreign skilled workers employed in the US.
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Perm → serve → US
Many IT firms employ hundreds of thousands of workers who typically start on temporary work visas such as the H-1B, and later seek permanent residency.
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who → employ → residency
The US government said that for seven companies, it would not accept any new Perm applications or process any pending ones.
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it → say → ones
Perm came into effect in 2005, aiming to speed up the long processing times experienced under the previous paper-based "Alien Employment Certification" programme.
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Perm → come → programme
Under the programme, the labour department allowed an employer to sponsor a foreign worker for permanent residency.
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employer → allow → residency
The process is initiated by qualified US employers, and not individual workers.
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process → initiate → employers
For companies, recruiting foreign talent could become harder, as many workers overseas view the path to permanent US residency as a key reason for taking a job.
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workers → recruit → job
The H-1B visas are intended for high-skilled roles.
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visas → intend → roles
Tech companies are the primary users of the programme, with almost three-quarters of approvals granted to workers hailing from India.
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quarters → grant → India
The H-1B visa programme has long been targeted by Trump’s supporters, who argue that the system undercuts American workers and is plagued by abuse.
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system → target → abuse
Microsoft said about 80 per cent of the H-1B applications it filed in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of current employees, not to hire new workers.
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it → say → workers
Trump's crackdown on foreign talents
The Perm suspension for tech giants is part of Trump's broad effort to reduce the number of foreign-born people in the US and curtail their pathway to residence and citizenship.
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suspension → reduce → residence
Since taking office, Trump has stepped up efforts to look into alleged misuse of H-1B and Perm programmes, which include undercutting wages and fraudulent filings.
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which → take → wages
The crackdown could have significant implications for Indian professionals, who represent a substantial proportion of H-1B visa holders and employment-based green card applicants.
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who → have → holders
Critics say the tech companies undercut American workers, luring people from overseas who are often willing to work for less than American tech workers do.
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workers → say → less
Staffing companies such as Tata Consultancy Services often supply Indian workers to corporate clients.
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companies → supply → clients
In a 2020 report, the Economic Policy Institute found that 60 per cent of the H-1B positions certified by US Labour Department were assigned wages below the median for the job.
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cent → find → job
Sonderling said Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini had since 2009 sought almost three million foreign workers, and had received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.
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Cognizant → say → approvals
"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies," he said.
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he → accept → companies
Last month, the labour department froze Cognizant's green card filings and officials began an investigation into alleged fraud and human trafficking involving the H-1B and Perm systems.
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officials → freeze → systems
"Threats to American workers will not be tolerated," said labour department inspector general Anthony D'Esposito on X.
In September last year, the labour department launched an enforcement drive called "Project Firewall"
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department → tolerate → drive
as a White House proclamation imposed a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions for workers hired from abroad.
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proclamation → impose → workers
The labour secretary on Thursday added: “This administration knows that American workers are the best and brightest in the world.
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workers → add → world
These jobs that were stolen from them should have gone and will now go to Americans first, not foreigners, and especially not foreign fraudsters…
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that → steal → Americans
We are cutting off the head of the snake."
Will Indian IT Tech firms suffer?
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firms → cut → snake
Indian IT firms are unlikely to face near-term fallout from the US suspension of a key green-card programme, analysts have said.
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analysts → face → programme
Sumit Singhania, head of research at Bajaj Broking, warned that companies could face higher hiring and compliance costs as they increasingly rely on US talent and subcontracting, potentially weighing on margins.
However, Indian IT firms accounted for less than two per cent of the Perm applications filed between October 2024 and September 2025, according to ICICI Securities.
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firms → warn → Securities
It added that prolonged uncertainty around residency could increase attrition among US-based workers.
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uncertainty → add → workers
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
