The Trump administration says the companies will be barred indefinitely from a labor-certification program used to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. Officials allege abuse but did not cite specific cases when announcing the move.
The measure targets the Permanent Labor Certification program, or PERM, which employers use to begin the process of securing green cards for foreign employees. Vice President J.D. Vance accused companies of abusing the system. The announcement did not identify specific violations, and the source report did not include responses from the companies.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling named Microsoft, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. PERM is separate from the H-1B visa program and does not itself suspend those temporary work visas. Under PERM, an employer first obtains a Department of Labor wage determination, then advertises a position for 60 days to test whether qualified U.S. workers are available.
Applications can take well over a year to clear amid backlogs. In fiscal 2025, the Labor Department approved about 138,000 PERM applications, denied 3,400 and saw 6,700 withdrawn. Nearly one-third of approvals in 2025 were for software and computer-systems analysis jobs. Microsoft was the largest PERM filer that fiscal year.
H-1B visas are temporary and generally allow a worker to remain in the United States for up to six years. Employers can use PERM to seek permanent status for workers already in the country. The administration also changed the annual H-1B lottery for 85,000 slots to favor higher-paid workers. Courts blocked a separately announced $100,000 fee for new H-1B hires from outside the United States.
The administration has criticized Silicon Valley’s reliance on foreign labor and pressed technology companies to train and hire more Americans. Vance did not detail alleged PERM violations when he announced the suspension. He accused Microsoft and other firms of bringing in foreign workers to do jobs Americans would take.
Previous enforcement actions have involved other companies. An OpenAI unit agreed in August to pay $3.2 million to settle Justice Department allegations of discrimination against U.S. workers. The Labor Department suspended Cloudera’s PERM applications over alleged recruitment violations. Justice Department investigations into Apple and Meta during Trump’s first term ended in major settlements. The administration is also preparing to update PERM regulations, last revised more than two decades ago.
Среди одобренных заявок PERM много должностей не только в IT. В восьмёрку крупнейших категорий, согласно исходному материалу, вошли системные аналитики, специалисты по данным, управленцы проектов, работники ресторанов быстрого питания и кассиры, специалисты по разделке мяса и птицы, аналитики программного обеспечения, а также садовники и сотрудники по уходу за территориями.
Для технологических компаний подача PERM помогает привлекать и удерживать квалифицированных иностранных специалистов. По данным публикации, почти треть одобренных заявок в 2025 году относилась к разработке программного обеспечения и анализу компьютерных систем. Администрация считает, что программы привлечения иностранных работников могут вытеснять американцев. Сторонники таких программ утверждают, что они помогают закрывать дефицит специалистов.
Министерство труда отдельно принимало меры в делах PERM. Заявки Cloudera приостановили из-за нарушений при найме. Расследования Министерства юстиции в отношении Apple и Meta, начатые при первом сроке Trump, привели к крупным соглашениям. Администрация готовит более широкое обновление правил. Проект Министерства труда сейчас рассматривает Белый дом.