{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "US Suspension on Permanent Labor Certification Unlikely to Dail Indian IT Firms as Green Card Filings Drop",
  "summary": "The US has suspended eight major tech firms including TCS and Infosys from the permanent labor certification program, yet a pre-existing slump in green card filings indicates minimal practical fallout for Indian IT giants.",
  "content": "A fresh move by the United States government to suspend several major technology service providers from its permanent labor certification program has triggered scrutiny across the global IT corridor. However, an analysis of recent workforce filings demonstrates that the operational damage to leading Indian software firms is poised to be minimal. The insulation stems directly from a sharp, voluntary reduction in green card petitions filed by Indian IT corporations for the current fiscal period, rendering the administrative penalty largely inconsequential to their current operational run rate.\n\nWashington Restricts Eight Technology Giants Under Labor Rules\nThe punitive action initiated on Thursday barred eight prominent technology enterprises from accessing the program that enables employers to sponsor foreign staff for long-term residency. The list of affected entities features Indian IT industry pillars Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and HCLTech, alongside multinational giants Capgemini, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Adobe. These corporations collectively employ tens of thousands of Indian technology professionals across their global and American operations. In detailing the justification behind the clampdown, the US administration asserted that utilization of the foreign labor pathway was eroding job openings for domestic American workers.\n\nSteep Contraction in Green Card Filings Led by TCS\nRecords compiled through permanent labor certification (PERM) filings show that corporate reliance on permanent residency sponsorship has drastically shrunk. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) submitted a mere 2 green card applications during US fiscal year 2026. This collapse in application volume marks a dramatic contrast from the company's past filings, where it lodged 513 applications in fiscal 2025 and 1804 applications in fiscal 2024.\n\nA matching trajectory is evident at HCLTech, which registered just 59 PERM submissions in 2026, dropping down from 323 petitions recorded in fiscal 2025. Wipro submitted 257 filings in 2024, of which 169 were denied while the employer chose to withdraw 88 requests. Subsequently, Wipro submitted 523 applications in fiscal 2025. Infosys posted 87 PERM filings in 2024, though its corresponding filing metrics for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 were not made available.\n\nNegligible Presence in Total PERM Certifications\nContextualizing the operational scale of this suspension, former HCLTech chief executive officer Vineet Nayar highlighted the actual volume on social media. Vineet Nayar noted, \"Indian IT companies accounted for less than 1,400 of the 117,849 PERM certificates issued last year. That is under 2 percent. So the direct hit could be lower than initial estimates.\" This data underscores that despite public perceptions, Indian outsourcing firms have come to represent an extremely narrow sliver of all foreign labor approvals granted by Washington.\n\nMultinational Filing Footprints and the Mechanics of PERM\nAccording to data logged by the PERM Tracker portal, French multinational Capgemini submitted 98 filings in fiscal 2026, after recording 361 in 2025 and 300 in 2024. Cognizant registered 1236 filings in 2024, with its volume figures for both 2025 and 2026 remaining unlisted in available datasets.\n\nAdministered directly by the US Department of Labor, the permanent labor certification acts as the legal clearance allowing an organization to formally hire a foreign specialist for permanent employment on American soil. For thousands of engineers and consultants already stationed in the United States on temporary work visas, clearing the PERM benchmark constitutes the very first statutory requirement on the multi-year path toward securing an official green card and permanent residency.\n\nWhat this means for you\nWhile Indian IT firms face minimal operational disruption due to their already reduced dependence on green cards, tech workers on temporary visas face fresh delays in securing permanent residency.\n\n• Across India for IT firms: Tech services exporters will avoid sudden disruption to client delivery and daily operations. Because new sponsorship filings had already tapered off drastically, balance sheets and project workflows will absorb the restriction comfortably.\n• For Indian engineers in the US: Technology professionals seeking lawful permanent residence face an immediate procedural freeze. Employees at the eight listed enterprises cannot advance the initial labor certification stage until the suspension is resolved.\n• On tech career paths: The traditional expectation of securing American residency through Indian tech giants faces heightened hurdles. Companies may increasingly shift focus toward offshore delivery models or local hiring within the United States.\n• For IT sector equity investors: Systemic fears regarding severe revenue blows to Indian tech heavyweights are mostly mitigated. With Indian firms representing under 2 percent of annual PERM issuances, corporate operating margins should remain stable.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe United States administration introduced the suspension over concerns that extensive foreign permanent staffing was curtailing employment opportunities for domestic American workers.\n\n• Displacement concerns for domestic labor: US authorities claimed that foreign hiring through the permanent certification pipeline reduced job openings for local citizens. This regulatory stance led to the targeted suspension of eight tech giants across India, the US, and Europe.\n• Pre-existing corporate shift away from filings: Indian IT majors had already curtailed their green card sponsorship filings dramatically over recent fiscal years. By fiscal 2026, TCS filed only 2 petitions, reducing the collective Indian IT share of certifications to under 2 percent of the total volume.\n• Ongoing administrative review: The suspension took effect on Thursday, and full procedural clarity regarding the reinstatement path remains pending. Authorities have not yet detailed whether structural compliance modifications will allow these firms back into the program.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Which technology firms have been suspended by the US?\nThe US has suspended TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Capgemini, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Adobe from the permanent labor certification program.\n\n2. Why did the US government suspend these companies?\nAuthorities claimed the program was reducing job opportunities for domestic American citizens.\n\n3. How many green card filings did TCS make in fiscal 2026?\nTCS submitted only 2 green card applications in fiscal 2026, down sharply from 1804 filings in fiscal 2024.\n\n4. What proportion of total PERM certificates belonged to Indian IT firms?\nAccording to former HCLTech CEO Vineet Nayar, Indian IT companies accounted for fewer than 1400 out of 117849 certifications, which is below 2 percent.\n\n5. What happened to Wipro's PERM applications in 2024?\nOut of 257 applications filed by Wipro in 2024, 169 were rejected and 88 were withdrawn by the company.\n\n6. What is the purpose of the PERM certificate?\nIssued by the US Department of Labor, PERM is the permanent labor certification that serves as the mandatory first step toward obtaining a green card.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/business/grina-karda-niyamon-para-american-roka-ke-bavajuda-indian-it-diggajon-ke-karobara-para-bara-snkata-nahin-46289",
  "category": "Business",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-11",
  "tags": [
    "Green Card",
    "Indian IT",
    "TCS",
    "Infosys",
    "US Department of Labor",
    "HCLTech",
    "Wipro",
    "Work Visa"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}