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# 8 Tech Firms Suspended From Green-Card Certification Program
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/eight-tech-firms-suspended-green-card-certification/
- Published: 2026-10-08T16:33:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T16:33:02.000Z
- Description: The Labor Department suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six IT-services companies from new and pending PERM labor certifications, disrupting a key employment-based green-card pathway while federal fraud investigations proceed.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Breaking News

The Labor Department suspended eight major technology and IT-services companies from new and pending permanent labor certifications Thursday, immediately disrupting a required step in many employment-based green-card cases. Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini are covered by the action, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said during a White House news conference reported by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/us-suspending-permanent-residency-program-for-microsoft-vance-says-2026-10-08/?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

Sonderling said the department would neither accept new applications nor process pending ones involving the companies. Vice President JD Vance alleged that employers had abused the system to replace U.S. workers with lower-paid foreign labor, singling out Microsoft in a public [post](https://x.com/VP/status/2108215063702036519?ref=theamericanquorum.com). The administration had not released case findings supporting each allegation by midday Thursday, and Microsoft and the other named companies had not issued substantive public responses.

The suspension matters because the Permanent Labor Certification program, commonly called PERM, is the federal gateway employers generally must clear before sponsoring a worker for permanent residency. It is not a cancellation of the H-1B temporary-worker program, and it does not by itself revoke current employees’ visas. It does, however, freeze a central route from temporary work status to a green card at some of the country’s largest technology employers.

## What the suspension blocks

Under the [PERM process](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent?ref=theamericanquorum.com), an employer must demonstrate that there are not enough qualified, willing and available U.S. workers for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not depress comparable wages or working conditions. Once Labor certifies an application, the employer may submit an immigrant petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The employee cannot independently substitute for the employer in that process.

The immediate effect therefore falls on both future filings and cases already awaiting Labor Department action. The system was processing analyst-review cases filed in December 2025 as of October 5, and the latest [federal data](https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes?ref=theamericanquorum.com) showed an average 336-day processing time for determinations completed in August. That backlog means Thursday’s suspension could reach workers and employers whose recruitment and filings began many months ago.

The [H-1B program](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations?ref=theamericanquorum.com), by contrast, authorizes temporary employment in specialty occupations. A worker may hold H-1B status without an approved PERM case, although the permanent-residency process can affect long-term retention and, in some circumstances, eligibility to remain beyond the usual six-year limit.

## Fraud claims remain allegations

Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 U.S. workers last year while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. He described that comparison as evidence that foreign workers had replaced Americans. The figures do not, by themselves, establish that the layoffs and visa approvals involved the same jobs, locations or workers, and the administration did not present detailed case evidence at the announcement.

The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/h1b-visa-program-vance-microsoft-e7b3a407f822702b269ee277d21343ea?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/10/08/trump-officials-block-microsofts-access-program-employee-green-cards/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) likewise reported that the duration of Microsoft’s suspension and the specific conduct under investigation remained unclear. Those gaps are consequential because a temporary investigative hold and a final finding of program fraud carry different legal and operational implications.

## Nine universities face a parallel inquiry

Administration officials also announced investigations into Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California at Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University and MIT over alleged misuse of J-1 exchange visas. Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said subpoenas had been served as investigators examine possible visa abuse, improper financial relationships and risks to federally funded research.

The university inquiry is separate from the eight-company PERM suspension and does not establish wrongdoing by the schools. It follows a related federal [proposal](https://www.theamericanquorum.com/colleges-face-70000-fee-international-student-work/) that would require colleges to pay $70,000 before recommending an international student for Optional Practical Training. Together, the actions show a widening federal effort to scrutinize employment routes used by companies, universities, students and skilled foreign workers.

## What remains unresolved

The government has not said how long the suspensions will last, whether affected employers may challenge them immediately or how pending cases will be handled if a company is later cleared. It also has not quantified how many workers or applications are frozen. The next material evidence will be written suspension notices, agency guidance for pending cases, company responses and any court challenges testing Labor’s authority and procedures.

For now, the confirmed development is narrower than a broad H-1B shutdown but more immediate than a proposed rule: eight employers can no longer move new or pending PERM applications through Labor’s certification system. The administration’s fraud theory remains to be tested against the underlying records, while affected workers face uncertainty in a process that already takes close to a year on average.