The response followed the Labor Department’s suspension of Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the Permanent Labor Certification program, or PERM, amid allegations of visa abuse. The department will neither accept new applications nor process pending ones. PERM is the first step toward most employment based green cards; the action does not suspend H-1B hiring. No end date was announced.
TCS said its PERM applications were in single digits over the past two years and it does not expect the suspension to affect its workforce strategy or customer engagements. It plans to hire 15,000 people in the US over five years. India criticized the measures, saying, “Steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.” Representative Pramila Jayapal also opposed the action: “Targeting Microsoft or the PERM program in this way simply undermines legal immigration and weakens America’s ability to innovate.”