Labor Department Suspends Eight Companies from PERM Green-Card Program

What happened: On October 8, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the Department of Labor was suspending eight employers from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. Sonderling said the department would not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the companies.

PERM is a labor-certification step commonly required before an employer can sponsor a worker for certain employment-based green cards.

What officials said: Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of abusing the system and said the restrictions were intended to protect American workers. Sonderling said Microsoft and Adobe were suspended amid multiple active federal investigations. These are the administration’s allegations and stated rationale; investigations are not findings of wrongdoing.

Company response: Microsoft said about 80% of its H-1B applications in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of current employees rather than hire new workers. It also said its H-1B employees are paid the same as other employees doing comparable work. Reuters reported that other named companies did not immediately comment or declined to comment.

Status: The suspensions were announced today. Vance said they would last “as long as it needs to”; no fixed end date was reported. The reports reviewed describe the announced action and active investigations, not adjudicated findings of wrongdoing against all eight companies.

Sources: Reuters · The Washington Post