Overview
- The Department of Labor announced on Thursday, October 8 that it will stop accepting new PERM permanent‑labor certification petitions from Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini and will not process pending cases for those firms.
- The suspensions are indefinite and do not cancel current H‑1B visas or already issued green cards but they pause a common employer pathway for H‑1B holders to obtain permanent residence.
- Vice President J.D. Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling accused the companies of using H‑1B and PERM to replace U.S. workers with lower‑paid foreign labor and cited cumulative figures since 2009 to justify the move; the affected firms, led by Microsoft, say most recent filings were extensions or status changes and dispute the government’s portrayal.
- Separately, the DOL opened probes into nine elite universities over alleged misuse of J‑1 exchange visas and the Labor inspector general has issued subpoenas as part of that review.
- The action is part of a broader push by the administration that includes proposed new fees for H‑1B and student work programs and could delay many employees’ paths to green cards while raising questions about enforcement standards and evidence.