The Trump administration has suspended eight major tech companies from a key green card pathway. The PERM program suspension could stall the permanent residency hopes of thousands of Indian IT professionals in the United States.
The US Labor Department barred Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) system. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said no new filings from these firms will be accepted, and pending applications will not move forward for now.
Which Companies Face the PERM Program Suspension?
Six IT services firms were suspended directly: Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended, with the department citing ongoing federal investigations. Sonderling said these companies have sought about three million foreign workers since 2009. An allegation or investigation, however, is not proof of wrongdoing.
What It Means for Indian IT Professionals and H-1B Holders
The suspension does not cancel any H-1B visa or automatically end anyone’s job. PERM is the first step toward an employment-based green card, and H-1B is a separate, temporary work visa. Workers who have not yet been filed for will have to wait, and those with pending cases face delays. Nasscom said the move affects one green card route, not the H-1B program.
Vance’s Allegations and Microsoft’s Rebuttal
US Vice President JD Vance has accused large employers of exploiting the H-1B system. He argues the program is meant to fill roles that Americans cannot, yet some companies use it to replace American staff with cheaper foreign labor.
Vice President JD Vance announces the suspension of the PERM Program for Microsoft: "Thanks to an ongoing investigation, we have decided to suspend the PERM program for Microsoft, which means they will no longer be able to take those H-1Bs and apply for permanent resident status within the United States of America. Now our message to Microsoft and to any other foreign or domestic corporation is quite simple. We obviously want you to thrive in the United States of America. We want people to invest in the United States of America, particularly the American technology sector. We’re the biggest boosters of your industry. We want you to continue to grow and to employ a lot of people, but we want you to employ American workers. And so our message to Microsoft is, you’re great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers. You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants."
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) October 8, 2026
Vance singled out Microsoft. He claimed the company laid off about 6,000 American employees in 2025. In the same period it won more than 6,000 H-1B approvals and filed 3,682 PERM applications, roughly 1,000 of them tied to positions affected by those layoffs.
Microsoft disputed the picture. It said that of the roughly 6,000 H-1B petitions it filed last fiscal year, about 80 percent covered extensions or status changes for existing employees. The remainder involved people already living legally in the US. The company said the petitions amounted to about one percent of its US workforce. It added that most of its US employees are American citizens and that H-1B workers receive pay equal to their peers. Democratic lawmaker Pramila Jayapal criticized the Microsoft suspension, calling it an attack on legal immigrants.
