US suspends 8 IT firms from Green Card programme

• The Trump administration suspended eight IT firms from a programme to apply for green cards for foreign workers.

• The announcement was made by Vice President J.D. Vance, Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the action under the aegis of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force.

• Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata/TCS, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini would be suspended from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) Programme.

What is the reason behind this decision?

• The Vice President referred to foreign workers hired on H1-B visas as foreign indentured servants and the companies using the programme as visa mills.

• Senior US officials cited alleged fraud as the reason behind the move, saying companies have been using the program to replace American workers with cheaper foreign workers.

• It is the latest step in the Trump administration’s crackdown on skilled foreign labour.

• Vance said companies are using the PERM programme to replace American employees with foreign workers and undercut their wages.

Vance singles out Microsoft

• Vance said the Department of Labour is suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the programme due to multiple active federal investigations.

• There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft, he said.

• Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 after certifying that it could not find qualified American employees. However, the company was approved for more than 6,000 H-1Bs and filed 3,682 PERM applications, including nearly 1,000 applications for the same positions as the laid off American workers, he said.

What is PERM Programme?

• The Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme came into effect in March 2005, aiming to speed up the long processing times experienced under the previous paper-based ‘Alien Employment Certification’ programme.

• A permanent labour certification issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the US. 

• In most instances, before the US employer can submit an immigration petition to the Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain a certified labour certification application from the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). 

• The DOL must certify to the USCIS that there are not sufficient US workers able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.

• Microsoft is the largest filer of PERM applications, according to data from the US labour department. 

• The PERM program serves as a critical bridge between temporary work status and a green card for many foreign skilled workers. 

• Many IT firms employ hundreds of thousands of workers who typically start on temporary work visas such as the H-1B, and later seek permanent residency.

• Indian professionals account for over 70 per cent of all approved H-1B petitions annually.

• Without the option to be sponsored by their employer under PERM, foreign workers could lose a key route to permanent residency and would have to stay on temporary visas for longer. 

What is a Green Card?

A Green Card is officially known as a Permanent Resident Card. It is an identity document issued by the US government that allows a non-citizen to live and work permanently in the United States.

Why is it called Green Card?

• The principle of registering and fingerprinting foreigners (commonly referred as aliens) was established in the Alien Registration Act of 1940 (Smith Act).

• The Smith Act required all foreigners in the US 14 years of age or older who remained in the country 30 days or longer to register and be fingerprinted with the US government before such 30 days were over, whether they were present lawfully or unlawfully, temporarily or permanently. 

• These registered aliens were issued an Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form AR-3).

• This card was later revised as AR-3A and AR-103.

• In 1946, the US government began issuing different types of registration documents based upon the status of the alien in the US. 

• Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) were issued Form I-151 (Alien Registration Receipt Card), which contained a green tint and led to the card being commonly referred to as a “Green Card”.

• In 1964, the card’s colour changed to pale blue. The next year it became dark blue.

• Despite the changing colour, Americans and immigrants continued to refer the I-151 as the Green Card and to refer to LPRs as “Green Card holders”.