US green card suspension: What it means for Indian IT workers on H-1B visas

Trump administration halts green card processing for select tech firms: Impact on Indians decoded

The Donald Trump administration has suspended processing under a key US employment-based immigration programme for select technology and IT services companies, including Indian IT majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Cognizant.

 

The announcement was made by Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling during a press conference on October 8, 2026. 

 

The companies named in the October 8 announcement also include French IT services firm Capgemini and US technology companies Microsoft and Adobe. The US Department of Labor will stop accepting new applications and processing pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification programme, known as PERM, for the affected employers while investigations into alleged fraud and compliance violations continue. 

  

During the announcement, Vice President J wD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension was driven by concerns about employers’ use of employment-based immigration programs, including allegations that large volumes of H-1B and PERM filings occurred alongside workforce reductions and may have impacted opportunities for U.S. workers. 

 

Sonderling also cited the extensive use of employment-based immigration programs by the affected employers, while Vance pointed to cases that the administration believes warrant further investigation.

 

The move could create uncertainty for Indian professionals whose employers are sponsoring them for US permanent residency, commonly known as a green card. However, the suspension concerns the PERM route to permanent residency; it is not an announcement cancelling the H-1B visa programme or automatically revoking existing H-1B visas. 

 

The administration has alleged that some employers misused the labour certification system and displaced American workers with lower-paid foreign workers. 

 

What is PERM and why does it matter?

PERM, or Program Electronic Review Management, is the US Department of Labor’s process for certifying that an employer can sponsor a foreign worker for a permanent job in the US without adversely affecting American workers’ wages, working conditions or employment opportunities. 

 

For most employer-sponsored green cards, the process works in three broad stages:

 

PERM labour certification

The employer establishes the required wage and conducts recruitment to test whether qualified US workers are available.

 

I-140 immigrant petition

After labour certification, the employer generally files an immigrant petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

 

Green card

The worker can proceed to the final stage when eligible and when an immigrant visa is available under the applicable category and priority-date rules.

 

The current suspension disrupts the first stage for affected employers. Workers whose cases have not reached PERM filing could be unable to start the usual employer-sponsored process while the suspension remains in force. 

 

Which companies have been affected?

The eight companies named in reports of the October 8 action are:

•  Indian IT services companies: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Cognizant.
• Other technology companies: Microsoft, Adobe and Capgemini.

 

The suspension is targeted at the named employers. It does not, based on the information available as of October 9, establish a blanket ban on all Indian nationals or all technology companies. Immigration law firm Envoy Global said the authorities had not yet clarified the duration of the suspension, the reinstatement process or whether previously approved labour certifications and immigrant petitions would be affected. 

 

How will this affect Indian professionals working in the US?

The impact will depend on where a worker is in the green card process.

1. Employees who have not started PERM

These workers could face the most immediate disruption. If their employer cannot file a new PERM application, they may have to wait before beginning the standard employer-sponsored green card route. They would also be unable to establish a priority date through a new PERM filing during the suspension

 

2. Employees with pending PERM applications

The Department of Labor is reported to have halted processing of pending applications involving the affected employers. This could delay progress for workers who were already waiting for a decision. The precise treatment of individual cases has not yet been clarified. 

 

3. Employees whose PERM has already been approved

Their position may be different from that of workers still waiting for labour certification. The authorities have not clarified whether already approved certifications or subsequent immigrant petitions will be affected. Workers should not assume that an existing approval has automatically been cancelled. 

 

4. Employees approaching the H-1B six-year limit

This could be a particularly important concern. Under certain conditions, US rules allow H-1B holders to extend their stay beyond the usual six-year limit while pursuing employment-based permanent residency. A delay in starting PERM could complicate that planning for some employees, depending on their individual circumstances and eligibility for extensions. 

 

Does this mean H-1B visas have been cancelled?

No. The PERM suspension is not the same as cancelling H-1B visas. 

The H-1B is a temporary work visa for eligible professionals in speciality occupations. PERM, by contrast, is generally a step towards employer-sponsored permanent residency. An employee may continue to hold valid H-1B status even if the green card process is delayed, provided the employee continues to meet the applicable immigration requirements. 

 

However, a worker's ability to remain in the US depends on their visa status, expiry dates and eligibility for extensions. Those nearing the end of their permitted stay should seek individual immigration advice rather than assume the suspension has no consequences.

 

Why is the US administration taking this step?

The Trump administration has said it is investigating alleged misuse of employment-based immigration programmes, including concerns about recruitment practices, wage suppression and the displacement of US workers.

 

During the announcement, Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling argued that some employers had used foreign-worker programmes in ways that disadvantaged American workers. Envoy Global noted that investigations were continuing and that no final agency findings were announced at the press conference. 

 

What are experts saying? 

Nasscom: Immigration and skilled talent mobility are different issues

 

Industry body Nasscom on Thursday said that immigration and skilled talent mobility are "two distinct issues" that should not be viewed through the same lens.

 

The industry body emphasised that the H-1B visa programme has historically played an important role in addressing short-term skill gaps in the US and will continue to be used to address short-term talent gaps.

 

"However, over the past few years, Indian technology companies have significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas, while steadily expanding local hiring and building a strong domestic workforce in the US," the Nasscom statement said.

 

It said these companies work with the majority of US Fortune 500 companies, enabling them to innovate and grow, and generating more local jobs.

 

Vivek Wadhwa, Indian-American entrepreneur: Big tech firms are not the real problem

 

Wadhwa criticised the administration’s decision, arguing that major technology companies are not the principal abusers of the visa system. He said the focus should instead be on IT staffing intermediaries and recruiters that exploit the system for profit.

 

Chad Sparber, Colgate University: Restricting skilled immigration could backfire

 

"It is a fallacy to think that you can protect American workers by keeping skilled foreign workers out of the country. You think that foreign talent competes with Americans within our borders, they’ll certainly compete with Americans by working abroad,"  Chad Sparber, Director of the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs at Colgate University told Reuters.

 

Ahmet Gulek, Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford’s Immigration Policy Lab, said that permanent residency is the primary way for talented foreign workers to stay in the country and without it, some will leave, and some will not come in the first place, even temporarily.

 

Peter Bade, Corporate Immigration Partners: The suspension is not a blanket shutdown

 

Bade, a managing attorney specialising in corporate immigration, said the reported suspensions apply to specific employers and do not amount to a programme-wide shutdown. Employers that have not received a government notice can generally continue managing PERM cases under existing rules.

He also advised companies to review their recruitment practices and documentation as government scrutiny increases.

 

"Employers that have not received notice from DOL or another agency can generally keep managing PERM cases under the existing rules. Still, the activity points to a clear theme: this Administration is looking closely at how employers run their PERM program, and conduct the labor market test. Now is a good time to check that your company’s PERM program remains compliant," said Bade.