An investigation was also ordered into the J-1 visa programme for research scholars at nine major universities, including Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Caltech. The move, announced by the US Department of Labor, prevents the affected companies from filing new PERM applications and processing pending PERM cases.
US officials said the action was taken over alleged misuse of foreign worker programmes and concerns about the impact on American jobs. Vice President JD Vance, who announced the action jointly with Sonderling, called H-1B workers “foreign indentured servants” and the companies “visa mills,” arguing the practice has shut Americans out of the job market. The US government’s decision to suspend several major technology firms, including Infosys , Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Cognizant, HCLTech, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe, from the PERM labour certification programme could significantly delay Green Card pathways for thousands of foreign workers, particularly Indians employed on H-1B visas.
Workers who haven’t started PERM. If their employer cannot file a new PERM application, they may have to wait before beginning the standard employer-sponsored green card route. They also cannot establish a priority date through a new PERM filing during the suspension.
Workers with an approved PERM or I-140. Lawyers who analyzed earlier suspensions at other companies said approved PERM certifications, approved I-140 petitions and existing H-1B status were not wiped out. Under Labor Department regulations, an initial suspension during a fraud investigation can run up to 180 days and be extended while the investigation is unresolved, so lawyers warn employers not to assume processing resumes automatically.
Because of high demand and country-based numerical limits, that matters especially for Indian professionals, who already face lengthy queues.
The Labor Department has said it will not process pending applications involving the named companies during the suspension. Officials have not said how long the suspension will last or how the companies can get it lifted. The priority date sets a worker’s place in the green card queue. Workers with a pending PERM. In practice, long-pending cases that were already waiting could be frozen where they stand. It is unclear whether already approved labor certifications or immigrant petitions will be affected, and officials have not given guidance. That may not carry over to this action, so affected workers should ask their attorneys. Visa and work status. A PERM suspension is not the same as cancelling H-1B visas. It does not by itself change a worker’s current status. It’s important to note that this decision of the US government does not cancel the existing H-1B visa s. Also, the employees presently working on a valid H-1B visa in the IS can continue to work as per their current visa approvals. But the workers relying on employer-sponsored Green Cards may face some major delays in obtaining permanent residency. Also, the workers whose PERM applications are pending, or who were planning to start the process, could witness delay in immigration timelines. For H-1B holders, time is a concern. Under federal law, H-1B workers can generally extend beyond the six-year limit only if a PERM was filed at least a year before that limit is reached. Workers who cannot get a PERM filed may need to consider other options, such as changing employers. This is general background, not guidance specific to this suspension, and an immigration attorney should advise on individual cases. The action marks one of the most significant recent restrictions on the employment-based Green Card process for major technology companies. the freeze effectively blocks a crucial pathway to permanent residency for employees of the affected firms, raising uncertainty for thousands of foreign professionals awaiting Green Cards While workers can continue to hold H-1B status. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.