"You make a ton of money by undercutting the wages of American workers, replacing them with people who probably should not be in the United States of America to begin with,” Vice President J.D.Vance said (Img: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
Washington: The United States has widened its crackdown on employment-based immigration, suspending eight major technology companies from a programme that helps skilled foreign workers obtain permanent residency. The move could affect Indian IT professionals seeking US green cards through their employers.
The companies named by US authorities include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Microsoft, Adobe and Capgemini.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the Department of Labour would stop accepting new permanent labour certification applications involving the companies and halt the processing of pending applications under the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme.
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The administration has alleged that the companies' employment practices and use of foreign labour have come at the expense of American workers. The action forms part of a broader push to tighten immigration rules and prioritise domestic employment.
US Vice president JD Vance terms H1B visa holders as "foreign indentured servants" https://t.co/NqJhNDTeyp
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 8, 2026
Officials said the companies had collectively sought nearly three million foreign workers since 2009, receiving more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications during that period.
The PERM programme is an important step in the employment-based green card process. Employers generally need labour certification before sponsoring eligible foreign workers for permanent residency.
The suspension could therefore disrupt applications filed by employees of the affected companies. However, the action does not automatically cancel existing H-1B visas or mean that all foreign employees must leave the country.
India's IT industry body, Nasscom, said Indian technology companies have reduced their dependence on H-1B visas in recent years while expanding local hiring in the United States.
The organisation also emphasised that temporary skilled-worker mobility and permanent immigration are separate issues. The latest restrictions could nevertheless create uncertainty for Indian professionals who rely on employer-sponsored green cards to establish long-term careers in the US.
