The move was announced by senior US officials on Thursday. The US government is suspending eight major IT companies from a programme linked to green cards for skilled foreign workers.
Officials said the companies were being suspended over alleged fraud and as part of an effort to encourage companies to hire more American workers.
Microsoft and Adobe were among the companies named in the suspension. US Vice President JD Vance directly addressed Microsoft while announcing the policy. The US government will stop both new and pending applications from these companies under the programme. The programme at the centre of the action is called PERM. Under the PERM process, a company must get certification from the US Department of Labor before it can file petitions for most employment-based green cards. PERM is meant to show that an American worker is not available for a particular job.
Senior US officials said the government was taking action against these companies as part of its wider push to ensure American workers get more job opportunities, according to Reuters. He said Microsoft is a major American company but must make sure it hires American workers. Vance said, “You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers”, as cited by Reuters. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the action also covers several other major IT companies. He specifically named Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini along with Microsoft and Adobe, according to Reuters. Sonderling said the government will not accept new applications or process pending permanent labour certification applications involving the companies. Employers seeking certification have to establish that there is no qualified, willing and available US worker for the specific position, according to Reuters.
