Federal authorities in the United States have taken decisive action regarding green card processing by barring eight prominent technology corporations from the Permanent Labour Certification program. The suspension applies to Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft, and Adobe. Through this critical pathway, employers are normally permitted to sponsor foreign staff holding H-1B visas for permanent residency. US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling made the official announcement, appearing alongside Vice President and anti-fraud task force head JD Vance.
Freeze on New Petitions and Existing Pending Files
Keith Sonderling outlined the specific measures taken against the global IT outsourcing providers, identifying Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, and Capgemini, while confirming that software majors Microsoft and Adobe were removed from the initiative as well. According to Sonderling, the Department of Labour will not accept any fresh Permanent Labour Certification submissions connected to these organisations. Furthermore, the authorities have suspended all processing on applications that were already pending review.
Scrutiny over Visa Volumes and Domestic Workforce Impact
Addressing past recruitment practices, Sonderling stated that these eight enterprises alone requested roughly 30 lakh foreign personnel since 2009. Over that timeline, the companies secured more than 2 lakh 30 thousand H-1B visa approvals alongside over 1 lakh permanent labour certifications. Sonderling alleged that this extensive reliance on overseas talent effectively stripped hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities away from American professionals.
Process Requirements and Vance's Critique of Academic Visas
Vice President JD Vance highlighted procedural gaps in the employment certification framework, pointing out how the mechanism that led to Microsoft's suspension is supposed to operate. Under the rules, employers must publicly advertise open vacancies within the United States before approaching the labour department. Organizations are obligated to verify a genuine shortage of qualified domestic workers to justify sponsoring a foreign hire for permanent resident status.
JD Vance also criticized certain universities, claiming they engaged in improper practices regarding foreign student entry routes. He specifically referenced the J-1 visa category, which grants temporary admission for foreign nationals participating in study and work-related exchange programs. These measures follow an earlier initiative from September, when the Trump administration proposed comprehensive rule changes concerning the H-1B visa system.
