US freezes PERM green-card filings at Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, TCS and four other employers

The US Department of Labor has stopped accepting new permanent labour certification (PERM) applications from eight employers and has stopped processing the ones already filed. The eight are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspension on 8 October 2026 at a White House press conference led by Vice President JD Vance. PERM is the first step in most employer-sponsored green cards, so the freeze hits H-1B workers at these companies whose green-card process has not yet passed that stage. The H-1B programme itself is not suspended. India's Ministry of External Affairs said on 9 October that the move "does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas".

Background

Before an employer can sponsor most foreign workers for an EB-2 or EB-3 green card, it has to test the US labour market and get a labour certification from the Department of Labor showing that no qualified US worker is available for the job. Only then can it file the immigrant petition (Form I-140) with USCIS. A federal regulation, 20 CFR 656.31(b), lets the department suspend processing for any employer under investigation for possible fraud or wilful misrepresentation in the PERM programme. Officials cited ongoing investigations, and said Microsoft and Adobe were included because of multiple active federal investigations. No charges have been announced against any of the eight companies, and a suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing.

What exactly changed

Sonderling said the department will not accept any new PERM applications, or process any pending ones, involving the eight employers. Under the regulation, a suspension can initially last up to 180 days. After that the department may resume some or all cases, or extend the freeze until investigations or court proceedings end. Vance said it would "last as long as it needs to". Officials did not say what happens to PERM applications that were already certified, to approved I-140 petitions, or to pending green-card applications (Form I-485). The companies can still employ workers on H-1B visas. Vance said Microsoft cut about 6,000 US jobs last year while receiving about 6,300 H-1B approvals and nearly 3,000 green cards. Sonderling said the eight companies together had requested nearly three million foreign workers since 2009. Microsoft responded that "the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans". At the same event, the Labor Department's Inspector General announced investigations into J-1 exchange-visa use at nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and Caltech.

Who it affects

The people most exposed are H-1B workers at these eight companies who had not yet reached the I-140 stage. Many are Indian nationals already facing long EB-2 and EB-3 waits. Take a software engineer in year four of H-1B at an IT services firm whose PERM was due to be filed this autumn. H-1B status normally ends after six years. US rules allow one-year extensions beyond that only once a labour certification or I-140 has been on file for at least 365 days, and if the employer cannot file, that clock does not start. Someone whose PERM has been pending for more than a year is in a better position, because the extension rule turns on the filing date and a suspension is not a denial. Workers with an approved I-140 can usually keep its priority date if they move to a new employer. The exception is when the approval is later revoked for fraud, or the labour certification itself is revoked.

What this means in practice

If you work for one of these employers, write down three dates: when your six years of H-1B run out, when your PERM was filed (if it was), and when any I-140 was approved. Then ask your employer's immigration counsel how the freeze affects your case. A new employer can sponsor you, but it has to start its own PERM. If you have had an I-485 pending for 180 days or more, the job-portability rules for green-card applicants may let you move to a similar role without starting over. Keep your current status valid while you weigh your options. For the wider picture, see our [United States guide](/country-guides/united-states), the [visas and status field guide](/field-guide/visas-status), and this week's proposed [$70,000 OPT fee](/news/us-opt-fee-70000-proposed-rule-october-2026).