US Labor Department Suspends Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Firms from PERM Green Card Program

On October 8, 2026, the United States Department of Labor suspended eight of the world's largest technology and IT services companies from the Permanent Labor Certification program, known as PERM. The companies are Microsoft, Adobe, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, and Capgemini. The suspension bars them from filing new green card sponsorship applications and halts the processing of any pending permanent labor certification applications. Vice President JD Vance said the action would be indefinite.

PERM is the first and most important step for an employer that wants to sponsor a foreign worker for an employment-based green card. Before a company can petition for a worker's permanent residency, it must obtain a labor certification from the Labor Department. That certification is meant to prove that there are no qualified American workers available for the job and that hiring a foreign worker will not harm the wages and working conditions of US workers. The H-1B visa, by contrast, is a temporary work permit and is not directly affected by the PERM suspension.

The announcement was made at a briefing in Washington by Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who appeared alongside Vice President Vance, the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force. 'I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labor Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini,' Sonderling said. He added that the department was also suspending Microsoft and Adobe. 'We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,' he said. Sonderling noted that since 2009, just these companies alone had requested almost three million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals, and obtained over 100,000 permanent labor certifications. 'That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers,' he said.

Vance went further, accusing the companies of abusing the system. He singled out Microsoft, saying no US company had abused the program more. 'The fraud is that they're making representations when applying for this program that are fundamentally illegitimate and therefore ultimately illegal,' Vance said. He also said, 'Stop defrauding the American worker. Stop importing an indentured servant to do a job that an American worker would happily do.' Sonderling said multiple active federal investigations were underway. The same news conference included an announcement by Labor Department inspector general Anthony D'Esposito of an investigation into alleged J-1 visa fraud involving nine major American universities.

Key Facts

The Hindu reported on October 8 that the suspension covers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft, and Adobe. The report quoted Sonderling's statement that the department would not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies. It also noted that the announcement was made with Vance, the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, by Sonderling's side.

Mint reported on October 9 that the Trump administration accused the companies of abusing the system used to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. The report said Vance called the companies' representations 'fundamentally illegitimate and therefore ultimately illegal' and that he singled out Microsoft for having abused the system more than any other US company. Mint also reported that Vance said the suspensions would be indefinite and that Sonderling said multiple active federal investigations were underway.

CNBC reported on October 10 that the PERM suspension does not affect H-1B visas, which are temporary work permits, but that H-1B approval data shows how heavily these companies rely on foreign workers. According to the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, Amazon had 19,178 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025 and Meta had 6,294, making them the top two sponsors, and neither was suspended. Microsoft was third with 6,258 approvals. All eight suspended companies rank among the nation's top 50 H-1B sponsors, and Adobe is the smallest, at number 45. The data cuts both ways: two-thirds of Microsoft's H-1B approvals last year went to people already working at the company, and Amazon brought in nearly four times as many H-1B workers new to the company but was not on the suspension list.

CNBC also reported that Vance accused Microsoft of replacing the 6,000 workers it laid off in 2025 with people on H-1B work visas. The report checked that claim against USCIS data.

The Federal reported on October 11 that Infosys expects no material impact on its operations from the suspension. In a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, the Bengaluru-headquartered firm said it welcomes the opportunity to work with the US Department of Labor and related government agencies to address any queries. 'We do not anticipate yesterday's announcement of such suspension to have a material impact on the organisation,' Infosys said. It added that it has invested in building a strong local workforce and technology and innovation hubs in the United States.

Analysis

The suspension is a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration fraud, but the data suggest it may be more symbolic than economically devastating for the targeted companies. Industry data indicates that Indian IT firms have sharply curtailed their green card filings in recent years. TCS filed just two PERM applications in US financial year 2026, down from 513 in 2025 and 1,804 in 2024. HCL submitted 59 filings in 2026 compared to 323 in 2025. Wipro filed 257 applications in 2024 and 523 in 2025, though of the 257 in 2024, 169 were denied and 88 were withdrawn. Those numbers are a fraction of the companies' overall US hiring.

Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL Technologies, said Indian IT companies accounted for less than 1,400 of the 117,849 PERM certifications last year, which is less than 2 percent. TCS said its PERM applications had dropped to single digits in the last two years and that it intends to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years. Those statements, together with Infosys's regulatory filing, indicate that the immediate operational impact may be limited.

What this really means is that the PERM suspension is less about the volume of pending green card applications and more about the political message it sends. By naming Microsoft and Adobe alongside the IT outsourcing firms, the administration is broadening its target beyond traditional outsourcing companies to include some of the most recognizable American technology brands. The move signals that no company, however prominent, is immune from scrutiny of its immigration practices.

The bigger picture here is that the suspension could reshape how technology companies plan their long-term US workforce strategies. If PERM is no longer a reliable path to permanent residency for foreign workers, companies may shift more roles to existing US citizens and permanent residents, accelerate hiring in other countries, or rely more heavily on temporary visas. The data also show the limits of the administration's argument: Amazon, which had 19,178 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025, was not suspended, even though it brought in nearly four times as many H-1B workers new to the company as Microsoft. That discrepancy raises questions about how the administration selected the eight companies and whether the action is driven by evidence of fraud or by political targeting. The investigation announced by the Labor Department's inspector general into J-1 visa fraud at nine universities suggests a broader review of visa programs is underway.

Why It Matters

The PERM suspension affects the primary route to an employment-based green card for thousands of foreign workers at these companies. While the H-1B visas remain valid, the inability to process pending PERM applications means that workers who were on the cusp of obtaining permanent residency may face years of additional uncertainty. For companies, the suspension complicates succession planning and the retention of key employees who might otherwise leave for countries with more predictable immigration systems.

The action also carries significant reputational risk for the named companies. Being publicly accused of defrauding American workers and of abusing the immigration system can damage relationships with clients, investors, and potential employees. Microsoft, which was singled out by Vance, must now defend its hiring practices at a time when it is already under scrutiny for its 2025 layoffs of 6,000 workers. That the layoffs were followed by H-1B hiring is the core of Vance's accusation.

More broadly, the suspension is part of a wider pattern of immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. The simultaneous announcement of a J-1 visa fraud investigation involving nine universities shows that the administration is examining multiple visa categories at once. For the technology industry, which relies heavily on foreign-born engineers and scientists, the message is that the rules of the game are changing quickly and unpredictably.

Next Up

The companies have not yet announced legal challenges, but Infosys has said it welcomes the opportunity to work with the Labor Department to address queries. TCS has said it plans to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years, a commitment that may be tested by the suspension. The Labor Department's inspector general investigation into J-1 visa fraud at nine universities is ongoing, and Sonderling said multiple active federal investigations are underway involving the suspended companies.

Vance and Sonderling have described the suspension as indefinite, and no timeline for lifting it has been provided. The administration may face pressure from business groups and from companies that were not suspended, such as Amazon and Meta, to clarify the criteria for the action. Whether the suspension leads to formal charges, settlements, or policy changes remains to be seen, but for now, the eight companies are barred from using the PERM program, and their pending applications are frozen.