US visa chaos:Microsoft, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant suspended from green card programme over alleged H-1B abuse

The Trump administration has stepped up its crackdown on the US immigration system, suspending major technology companies including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, Capgemini and HCL from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme amid allegations of abuse of H-1B visas and the employment of foreign workers. US Labour Department official Keith Sonderling said the department has suspended some of the world’s largest IT outsourcing firms, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, from the Permanent Labor Certification Program. He also said Microsoft and Adobe have been suspended from the programme due to “multiple active federal investigations”. Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of fraud. Vance said, “If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants.” The administration’s move comes amid a broader crackdown on the H-1B visa programme, which Trump supporters have long accused of undercutting American workers and being vulnerable to abuse. Microsoft had not immediately responded to AP’s request for comment. The announcement comes a day after the administration proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking work authorisation through the Optional Practical Training programme. What is the H-1B visa programme of the US? The H-1B visa programme is a policy of the US government that allows employers to obtain the services of highly specialised non-immigrant professionals from other countries. Immigrants and non-immigrants are two different kinds of individuals who work in America. Non-immigrant visas are issued to professionals or aliens who wish to work temporarily in the US, while immigrants can live and work indefinitely in the country. According to the US Labour Department, “The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the US workforce by authorising the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorised to work in the United States.” What is Permanent Labour Certification? It is an important part of the process of obtaining a green card. A company has to show the US government that there is no qualified US worker available for the job for which it wants to hire a foreign employee. It is called Permanent Labour Certification, or PERM for short. How is it linked to a green card? Many foreign employees obtain green cards through employer-sponsored employment. For this, the company usually has to complete the PERM process first. Therefore, a suspension of PERM could halt or delay the further processing of green card applications. Does this mean Indians’ green cards have been cancelled? No. The decision does not mean that green cards held by Indian employees have been cancelled. It will mainly affect employees whose green card applications are currently in process or those planning to apply for one. Why will Indians be directly affected? Companies such as Tata, Infosys, Wipro and HCL employ a large number of Indian IT professionals in the US. Many of these employees are in the US on H-1B visas and later apply for green cards through their employers. The suspension involving these companies could therefore delay green cards for such employees. Will the H-1B visas of Indians working in the US be cancelled? No. H-1B visas and green cards are separate. An H-1B visa allows a foreign employee to work in the US for a specified period. A green card allows an employee to live and work permanently in the US. Therefore, the PERM suspension will not automatically cancel an employee’s H-1B visa. What about those who already have a green card? Their green cards will not be cancelled because of this decision. The action mainly affects people whose green card applications are currently being processed or those planning to apply for one. Will all Indian IT employees be affected? No. The decision will particularly affect employees whose green card applications are being processed with the help of these companies or those planning to apply through them. Employees who are working only on H-1B visas will not have their visas automatically cancelled because of this decision. How many Indians will be affected? The US government has not yet said how many Indian employees will be affected by the decision. It is also unclear how long the suspension will remain in place. However, with major Indian IT companies such as Tata, Infosys, Wipro and HCL among those affected, a large number of Indian employees could face delays in their green card plans. What happens next? For now, new PERM applications from these companies will not be accepted, while processing of pending applications will also remain on hold. When the green card process for employees of these companies will resume will depend on the US government’s next decision. ​