In a major setback for thousands of Indian tech professionals working in the United States, the Donald Trump administration has suspended several major technology firms from a key green card program. Top IT service providers, including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Cognizant, alongside tech giant Microsoft, have been barred from filing new permanent residency applications for foreign employees.
US officials cited active federal investigations into alleged visa fraud and concerns over local employment as the reason for this decision. The administration stated that companies must focus on hiring local talent instead of relying heavily on foreign workers. Under this move, the US Department of Labor will not process any new or pending labor certification applications submitted by these suspended companies.
What is PERM?
PERM stands for Program for Electronic Review Management. It is the crucial first step required for foreign skilled employees mostly working on temporary H-1B visas to apply for an Employment Based Green Card(Permanent Residency) in the United States.
Through the PERM process, a US employer must legally prove that there are no qualified, willing, and available American workers to fill a specific job position. Once the US government tests and verifies the local labor market and approves the PERM application, the foreign employee can move forward with their official green card application.
