US Suspends 8 IT Companies, Including TCS and Infosys, From Green Card Program

The US government has suspended several large IT companies from the PERM programme, the first step in getting a Green Card for skilled foreign workers. The move is part of a wider crackdown on foreign workers under President Donald Trump.

Which Indian Major IT Firms Are Affected by the PERM Suspension?

The companies named are Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini. Cognizant’s suspension was announced last month. The US did not share the allegations, the number of applications affected, or how long the suspension will last.

What Is the PERM Process?

PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management. Employers use it to get labour certification before sponsoring a foreign employee for a green card.

1. The employer files it on behalf of the worker.
2. The employer first gets a prevailing wage determination and carries out the required recruitment.
3. The aim is to show that hiring a foreign worker will not hurt the jobs, wages or working conditions of US workers.
4. Once the Labour Department certifies the case, the employer can move to the next stage.

How Does the PERM Process Differ From an H-1B Visa?

The H-1B is a temporary, non-immigrant work visa for professionals in specialty occupations. PERM is part of the route to permanent residency, so it is a different track.

Why Did the US Government Ban Large Indian IT Firms?

1. The US cites alleged fraud and says these firms’ foreign hires reduced jobs for Americans. Authorities are investigating H-1B and PERM misuse, including wage undercutting, fraudulent filings, and displacement of American workers. 
2. According to a report, since 2009 these companies have sought permanent residency for nearly 3 million foreign workers.
3. They also received over 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 labour certifications. The US administration described this as hundreds of thousands of jobs taken from Americans.

How Does the US Suspension Affect Indian Workers?

1. Workers whose cases have not reached PERM filing face delays. Fresh filings are blocked, so they cannot get a priority date or enter the Green Card queue.
2. India already faces a heavy backlog. In the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, the EB-2 category for India was “unavailable” for final action, and the EB-3 final-action date was January 1, 2014. Per-country limits make this worse for India.
3. H-1B holders near the six-year limit may be hit hard, because staying longer requires an early labour certification. Workers with approved petitions who are only waiting for a Green Card number can still get extensions of up to three years at a time, subject to the rules.
4. Existing queues are not cancelled, but new entries are frozen.