Cognizant, Infy, Tata among IT firms suspended for US green card programme

US Labour Department suspends Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe from the permanent labour certification programme.

The US on Thursday suspended IT firms Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme.

 The announcement was made by US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, with Vice President JD Vance, the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, by his side.

 "I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini," Sonderling said.

 He said the Department of Labour is also suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the program.  "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.

 "Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost three million foreign workers. They've received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications," Sonderling said.

 "That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers," Sonderling said.