GUWAHATI: The United States on Thursday, October 8, suspended eight major IT companies, including Indian firms Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and HCL Technologies, from its Permanent Labour Certification Programme PERM), a key step in the employment-based Green Card process.
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The other companies affected are Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. The decision means the US Department of Labour will not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving these companies.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the decision alongside Vice President JD Vance and the head of the US Anti-Fraud
Task Force.
“I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme 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 from the programme.
“Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost three million foreign workers. They've received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications,” Sonderling said.
He further alleged that the programme had resulted in American workers losing jobs.
“That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers,” he said.
*JD Vance Criticises Hiring of Foreign Workers*
US Vice President JD Vance also criticised the companies over their hiring practices, alleging that foreign workers were being brought in at the expense of American employees.
“You bring in indentured servants from outside the country, you lay off American workers and, if you’re a corporation, you make a ton of money by undercutting the wages of American workers, replacing them with people who frankly shouldn’t be in the United States of America to begin with,” Vance said.
*India Calls Remarks Deeply Offensive*
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement on Friday, October 9, responded to the US decision and Vance's remarks, defending the contribution of Indian professionals to the American economy.
“We believe that such descriptions are unwarranted and ignore the fact that Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem,” the MEA said.
“Indeed, the history of the United States itself has been shaped by generations of immigrants whose labour, enterprise and innovation have contributed to its growth and prosperity. Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” the statement added.
*What Does the Suspension Mean for H-1B Visa Holders?*
The MEA clarified that the PERM programme is different from the H-1B visa programme, which allows US employers to hire foreign professionals for specialised occupations.
“It should be noted that PERM is distinct from the H-1B visa programme. The suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of H-1B visa holders and their dependents,” the MEA said.
However, the ministry noted that the decision could affect the Green Card process for eligible employees of the companies concerned.
The suspension does not automatically invalidate existing H-1B visas, but it could disrupt or delay the permanent residency process for affected employees.
