Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, Tata And More: US Freezes Green Card Route For Major Firms

The US government has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six major IT outsourcing companies from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, accusing the firms of alleged fraud and seeking to push companies to hire more American workers.

US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the action on Thursday, naming Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini alongside Microsoft and Adobe. “We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies,” Sonderling said, according to Reuters.

The PERM process requires an employer to obtain certification from the Department of Labour that no qualified, willing and available US worker can fill a particular position. It is required for most employment-based green card applications.

Firms Suspended

Vice President JD Vance said Microsoft was among the companies being targeted as part of the administration’s effort to address what it described as abuse of the foreign-worker system.

“Our message to Microsoft is: You're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers,” Vance said at a White House event, according to Reuters.

The White House’s Rapid Response account said the administration was suspending Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the Permanent Labour Certification programme, while Microsoft and Adobe were being suspended because of “multiple active federal investigations”.

The move does not amount to a finding of wrongdoing against the companies.

Vance's Wage Claim

Vance also sought to make the case for tighter scrutiny of foreign-worker programmes, arguing that they can allow companies to reduce labour costs.

In remarks posted by the White House vice president’s account, Vance said H-1B workers in the US earn about $20,000 less than American citizens in comparable positions, while workers brought in by foreign outsourcing companies earn $48,000 less.

Vance described the practice as companies bringing in foreign workers, laying off American employees and undercutting US wages. Those figures and characterisations were presented by Vance and were not independently established in the supplied sources.

Fraud Investigations

The latest suspensions come as the Labour Department’s inspector general expands investigations into alleged foreign labour fraud, worker exploitation and potential human trafficking.

In a September 18 statement, Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said investigators had already issued dozens of subpoenas and executed search warrants. The department had also suspended visa applications from Cognizant and Cloudera pending a criminal investigation.

“The subpoenas are real. The search warrants are real. The investigations are real,” D’Esposito said, adding that the investigation would pursue allegations of fraud, exploitation and trafficking.

The administration is also investigating nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, over allegations involving international students and US wages. Labour Department officials said subpoenas had already been served in those investigations.

The latest action places some of the world's largest IT outsourcing firms, including several major Indian companies, under heightened scrutiny as Washington moves to tighten enforcement of US foreign-labour rules.