Green Card Crackdown Hits Indian IT Firms Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL

WASHINGTON, DC- The Trump administration on October 8 suspended a key employment-based green card process for eight major technology and outsourcing companies, including India’s Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL Technologies, as Vice President JD Vance announced a crackdown on alleged visa fraud.

The action also covers Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. It bars the companies from filing new applications under the Permanent Labor Certification program and halts the processing of pending applications involving them.

US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the decision at a press conference led by Vance, citing ongoing criminal and federal investigations.

“Due to ongoing criminal investigations led by the Department of Labor’s Inspector General Anthony DiEsposito, who will get into this shortly, I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labor Certification Program some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini,” Sonderling said.

He added that Microsoft and Adobe were also being suspended because of multiple active federal investigations.

“We will not accept or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,” he said.

The Permanent Labor Certification program, commonly known as PERM, is a key step in the process through which employers sponsor foreign workers for employment-based permanent residence in the United States.

Sonderling said the eight companies had collectively sought nearly three million foreign workers since 2009. According to figures he presented, they had received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.

The administration did not release company-specific findings or details of the alleged violations during the press conference.

Vance accused employers of using the H-1B programme to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.

“The H-1B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers,” he said.

Vance singled out Microsoft, alleging that the company had laid off 6,000 American workers while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.

He said the administration wanted companies to change their hiring practices rather than leave the American market. Asked whether the suspension was temporary or permanent, Vance said it would remain in place “as long as it needs to.”

He added that the administration had tools to continue the suspension indefinitely but wanted companies to improve their practices.

The Justice Department also announced investigations into companies suspected of favoring foreign workers over Americans. US Attorney General Todd Blanche said criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits were among the possible enforcement measures.

The suspension could have significant implications for Indian technology professionals and outsourcing companies operating in the United States, many of which rely on employment-based immigration programmes to place skilled workers with American clients.

The action specifically targets permanent labor certification applications involving the eight companies. PERM is separate from the H-1B programme, which allows employers to hire foreign workers in qualifying specialized occupations. The suspension does not, by itself, cancel existing H-1B visas or green cards. (IANS)