US suspends eight tech firms from green-card process

The U.S. Department of Labor has suspended eight technology companies from the PERM labor-certification program, halting new applications and processing of pending cases involving them, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced Thursday. The action affects an employment-based green-card step used by employers sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residency. The companies are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. Sonderling announced the suspensions alongside Vice President JD Vance, citing active federal investigations into alleged fraud or abuse of the labor-certification system. The allegations have not been established as findings that the companies committed wrongdoing. PERM, or Permanent Labor Certification, generally requires employers to show that qualified U.S. workers are not available for a position before pursuing an employment-based green card for a foreign worker. It is distinct from the H-1B program, which allows eligible foreign workers to work temporarily in the United States.