Overview
- The Labor Department announced on Thursday, October 8 that it will not accept new or process pending Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applications from Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.
- PERM is the employer step most workers use to move from H-1B temporary status to an employment-based green card and the suspension therefore blocks that route for employees at the named firms while probes continue.
- Officials said the action follows allegations that companies certified a lack of qualified U.S. workers while hiring foreign staff and that the eight firms together filed large volumes of H-1B and PERM requests since 2009; the suspensions do not cancel existing H-1B visas.
- The Department of Labor Inspector General created a visa‑fraud strike team, prosecutors are involved, and subpoenas have been issued to nine major universities as part of broader investigations into exchange and employment visa use.
- Companies have disputed the accusations, India’s government has protested the move, affected employers may seek legal remedies, and the suspension raises immediate risks for workers nearing H-1B time limits and for firms’ long‑term hiring plans.