The US government has suspended eight major IT and technology firms, including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe, from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, in one of the sharpest escalations yet in Washington’s crackdown on alleged H-1B visa abuse.
The announcement was made on October 8, 2026, at a White House press conference led by US Vice President JD Vance, who heads the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, alongside US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling.
“I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini,” Sonderling said. He added that Microsoft and Adobe were also being suspended. “We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications” from these companies, he said.
The PERM programme is the Department of Labour’s process for certifying that no qualified US worker is available for a position before an employer sponsors a foreign worker for permanent residency. It’s the critical first step toward an employment-based green card and is widely used by Indian IT services firms to retain H-1B workers long-term.
“The H-1B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers. Unfortunately, the program has become rife with fraud,” Vance said. He added, “Our message to Microsoft is: You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers.”
Sonderling said that since 2009, the eight companies combined have requested nearly three million foreign workers. Vance singled out Microsoft, saying no company had abused the programme more. Microsoft was approved for more than 6,000 H-1B visas and filed 3,682 PERM applications in recent cycles, Vance said.
Microsoft responded that it would provide the administration with further details on its use of the programme.
The suspension follows an earlier, narrower action in September 2026, when the Department of Labour’s Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito suspended Cognizant’s PERM filings as a standalone case. Thursday’s announcement broadens that enforcement to the full set of major users.
Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Cognizant collectively account for a significant share of H-1B approvals each year. The suspension does not immediately affect foreign workers who already hold approved PERM certifications, but it halts the sponsorship pipeline for employees still in the queue.
The move is expected to put further pressure on Indian IT firms that have already been navigating a reset in offshoring economics, AI-led restructuring, and tighter US immigration policy under the second Trump administration.
