US suspends Permanent labour certification program for Infosys, Wipro, Tata, Microsoft and others

Summary

PERM and H-1B investigations

U.S. officials announced that the Department of Labor is suspending PERM permanent labor certification applications involving the following technology companies: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft, and Adobe. Officials said no new applications from those firms would be accepted and pending applications would not be processed while investigations are underway. Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions could continue until the companies change their practices.

The administration’s central allegation is that some employers and outsourcing firms misuse H-1B visas by claiming specialized positions cannot be filled by U.S. workers, then hiring foreign workers at lower wages and later seeking permanent residency for them through PERM. Vance argued that workers on employer-tied visas can be vulnerable to exploitation and that the system is used to displace American workers. Officials presented these claims as the basis for investigations and enforcement; the announcement did not establish that every named company had committed fraud.

Vance cited Microsoft as an example, saying it laid off about 6,000 U.S. workers while receiving 6,300 H-1B visa approvals and nearly 3,000 green cards. He also cited estimated wage gaps of about $20,000 between H-1B workers and comparable U.S. workers, and $48,000 when workers were brought in through outsourcing firms.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the named companies had sought nearly 3 million foreign workers since 2009 and received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and 100,000 PERM certifications.

J-1 visa investigations

Officials also announced investigations into alleged J-1 visa misuse at nine universities: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State, and MIT. Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said subpoenas had been served.

D’Esposito raised concerns about foreign researchers working on federally funded projects, possible wage undercutting, and whether foreign influence or visa violations could put U.S. research at risk. Officials cited a figure of roughly 61% foreign nationals among postdoctoral researchers and federally funded workers at the institutions, compared with a stated national average of 38%.

Enforcement actions and fraud figures

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would investigate employers suspected of favoring foreign workers and could pursue criminal cases, civil actions, or settlements depending on the evidence.

D’Esposito announced a visa-fraud strike team and a “most wanted” list of 16 alleged fraudsters. He also cited task-force totals of 171 indictments, 203 convictions, 80 arrests, more than 70 search warrants, and over $1 billion identified for taxpayers. Officials separately cited about $20–22 billion in fraud uncovered by the broader task force or Labor Department.

Officials’ stated goals and responses

During the press questions, Vance said the goal was to make companies prioritize American hiring, not to damage the technology sector. He described the suspensions as a means of changing company behavior.

Vance said the administration wanted to preserve visas for genuinely exceptional specialists while discouraging their use to replace U.S. workers. Officials also urged Congress to reform the visa programs. Vance defended the administration’s economic record, citing investment and manufacturing growth, and said it would consider ways to recover taxpayer funds allegedly used to subsidize low-wage labor.

Presenters and contributors

• JD Vance, Vice President
• Keith Sonderling, Labor Secretary
• Todd Blanche, Attorney General
• Stephen Miller
• Anthony D’Esposito, Labor Department Inspector General
• Andrew Ferguson, co-chair of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud

Other officials credited by speakers: Andrea Lucas and Harmeet Dhillon.