Overview
- The Labor Department announced Thursday that it will not accept or process new or pending Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applications for Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.
- PERM is the Labor Department step employers use to show hiring a foreign worker will not harm U.S. workers and is required before most employer-sponsored green cards, and the suspension does not immediately cancel existing H-1B work visas.
- Vice President J.D. Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling cited aggregate company-level visa and certification figures to justify the action and said enforcement will continue while investigations proceed.
- Labor’s inspector general has served subpoenas on nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, to probe alleged misuse of J-1 exchange visas and possible risks to federally funded research.
- Companies disputed the administration’s portrayal, saying many recent filings were extensions or status changes, and legal challenges and procedural reviews are expected as the freeze could block a common path to permanent residency for thousands of foreign tech workers.