Overview
- The Labor Department on Thursday announced it will not accept or process new or pending PERM permanent-labor certification applications for Microsoft, Adobe, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant and Capgemini.
- PERM is the Labor Department step employers use to certify they tried to hire U.S. workers before sponsoring a foreign employee for a green card, and the suspension stops that route to permanent residency without automatically cancelling current H-1B visas.
- Officials released aggregated company data and said subpoenas have been issued to nine universities as the department set up a visa-fraud strike team to coordinate wider investigations and potential prosecutions.
- Affected companies have publicly disputed the government’s characterisation of their filings, with Microsoft saying most petitions were extensions or status changes for existing employees, and legal challenges are expected.
- The freeze creates a time-sensitive risk for H-1B workers who rely on PERM to obtain six-year H-1B extensions and could prompt talent shifts, increased hiring costs, or moves of work offshore if the suspension persists.