US Freezes PERM Green Card Route For Tech Giants As H-1B Visa Row Escalates

The US administration has initiated a major immigration crackdown by suspending several leading IT companies from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program, a mandatory initial step for employment-based green cards. Impacted entities include major Indian IT firms Infosys, Tata, Wipro, and HCLTech, French company Capgemini, and US tech giants Microsoft, Adobe, and Cognizant. Under the suspension, firms cannot submit fresh requests or process pending filings, impacting permanent residency pathways for foreign professionals. US Vice President JD Vance stated the companies face scrutiny over alleged visa fraud and replacing domestic employees with foreign labour. Meanwhile, US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal criticised the decision, asserting that the PERM framework ensures mutual economic benefit without displacing local workers, while warning that restrictions undermine legal pathways for immigrants.