What Smart People Are Saying About the US Suspending New PERM Applications for Microsoft, Adobe, and Indian Tech Giants

 What Smart People Are Saying About the US Suspending New PERM Applications for Microsoft, Adobe, and Indian Tech Giants

**The Trump Administration Just Cut Off the Green Card Pipeline for Eight Major Tech Companies. Here's What the Experts, the Executives, and the People Living Through It Are Actually Saying.**

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## The Moment the Door Slammed Shut

Let me tell you about a woman named Priya. She's 34 years old, a senior software engineer at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. She's been in the United States for nine years — first on a student visa, then on H-1B. She and her husband just bought a house. Their daughter started kindergarten this fall.

Priya's green card application has been pending for four years. She's been waiting in the employment-based backlog, checking the visa bulletin every month, hoping for a date that finally moves. It's a long wait — for Indian professionals, it can stretch to a decade or more.

On Thursday morning, she got a text from a colleague: "Did you see the news?"

The news was that the Trump administration had suspended Microsoft — along with seven other major tech companies — from the **PERM program**, the critical first step in the employment-based green card process. The Department of Labor said it would neither accept new PERM applications nor process pending ones involving these companies while federal investigations continue.

Priya's green card just got further away. And she's not alone. Thousands of workers at Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini are now facing the same uncertainty.

The question everyone is asking: **What does this actually mean?** And what are the smart people — the immigration lawyers, the policy experts, the tech executives, and the workers themselves — saying about it?

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## What Exactly Happened?

Before we get to the reactions, let's get the facts straight.

**The Action:**

On October 8, 2026, Vice President JD Vance, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the suspension at a press conference under the US Anti-Fraud Task Force. The Department of Labor said it would not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving these eight companies.

**The Companies:**

Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.

**What PERM Is:**

PERM (Permanent Labor Certification) is the labor-market test employers must pass before sponsoring a foreign worker for most employment-based green cards. The employer must prove that no qualified American workers are available and that hiring a foreign worker won't hurt American wages or working conditions.

**What It Is Not:**

The suspension does not cancel existing H-1B visas. It does not automatically revoke approved PERM certifications or green cards. It does not require anyone to leave the country. It freezes a specific pathway to permanent residency for workers at these specific companies.

**The Rationale:**

The administration cited alleged fraud and abuse of the immigration system. Vance singled out Microsoft, claiming it laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 while receiving more than 6,000 H-1B approvals and filing 3,682 PERM applications. Labor Secretary Sonderling said the companies had collectively requested nearly 3 million foreign workers since 2009.

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## What Microsoft Is Saying

Microsoft didn't take the accusations lying down. The company issued a detailed statement disputing the administration's framing.

**On the H-1B numbers:**

"Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, **80% were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees**. These were not to hire new people".

**On the new hires:**

The remaining filings, Microsoft said, were for individuals "already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only **1% of our U.S. workforce**. They are not new arrivals to our country".

**On compensation:**

"We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work".

**On the bigger picture:**

Microsoft said it "believes in the strength and talent of the American workforce" and noted that the vast majority of its US employees are Americans. The company said it would provide additional information to the administration.

**The irony:** Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Trump on the same day the suspension was announced.

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## What the Immigration Lawyers Are Saying

**Hector Chichoni, Partner at Greenspoon Marder**

Chichoni told Business Insider that the suspension strikes at the heart of how tech companies retain talent.

"Technology companies depend heavily on the 'H-1B-to-green-card' pipeline to retain specialized foreign talent," he said. "With the PERM process effectively frozen, affected companies cannot move employees forward toward permanent residence, making them **vulnerable to the loss of critical talent**, either to employers not subject to the suspension or through employees returning to their home countries".

Chichoni also noted the particular impact on Indian professionals, who already face decades-long green card backlogs.

**Doug Rand, Former Senior Advisor at USCIS**

Rand, who served during the Biden administration, called Vance's announcement **"incoherent"** in a statement to the Associated Press.

His argument cuts to the heart of the contradiction: H-1B workers are generally tied to their employers for their immigration status. A green card gives workers far more freedom to switch jobs and bargain over pay.

"If the Trump administration were truly concerned that H-1B workers are 'indentured servants,' then the **last thing they would do is block companies from helping their own H-1B workers get green cards**," Rand told AP.

That's a powerful point. The administration says it wants to free workers from dependence on their employers. But blocking the green card pathway — the very mechanism that provides that freedom — does the opposite.

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## What the Policy Critics Are Saying

**Ron Hira, Howard University Political Science Professor**

Hira, a longtime critic of the H-1B program, called the move against Microsoft **"very significant"**.

He has argued for years that employers use the program in ways that depress wages and disadvantage American workers. He told the Associated Press that the protections requiring employers to show that hiring an H-1B worker doesn't hurt Americans are supposed to exist — but **"that's never been enforced"**.

For Hira, the suspension is a long-overdue enforcement action.

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## What the Industry Is Saying

**Nasscom, India's IT Industry Trade Group**

Nasscom, which represents the Indian tech industry, pushed back carefully. The group argued that **immigration and skilled talent mobility are two separate issues** and should not be viewed through the same lens.

Nasscom noted that Indian technology companies have **significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas** over the years, while steadily expanding local hiring in the US. The group said the H-1B program "has historically played an important role in addressing short-term skill gaps" and will continue to be used for that purpose.

**TV Mohandas Pai, Former Infosys CFO**

Pai downplayed the practical impact of the suspension, calling it **"futuristic in nature"**.

Speaking to ANI, he clarified the nature of the action: "The US has not suspended anybody from anything. What the US has said is that many companies, including Adobe and Microsoft, will not be able to sponsor Green Cards for their employees".

He noted that the green card queue is already so long — **10 to 15 years** for Indian professionals — that the suspension won't have an immediate impact. "It will not have any impact because it's very futuristic," he said. "And as it is, the number of people on visas by all these companies has gone down in the last three to four years".

**Dinesh Pai, Zerodha VP of Investments**

Pai offered a balanced view on X. The immediate downside: fewer high-earning Indians in the US could mean **lower remittances, less soft power, and less angel investment flowing back to Indian startups**. India receives roughly **$125 billion in annual remittances**, with the US accounting for about a quarter of that.

But he also saw a potential upside: if US companies can't bring talent to America, **"they probably will bring the work to India"**. Visa uncertainty could also keep more top engineers in India to build domestic companies and AI startups.

**Vivek Wadhwa, Indian-American Entrepreneur**

Wadhwa was blunt: the companies being punished aren't the real problem.

"America has enjoyed the greatest free lunch in history: highly educated, highly skilled immigrants bringing their talent to its shores. Now it's **snatching defeat from the jaws of victory** by turning away the truly best and brightest," he said.

Wadhwa argued that the visa abusers are the **IT body shops** — staffing intermediaries that exploit the system — not the major tech companies. "These companies aren't the visa abusers. The body shops exploiting the system are the ones that need to be shut down".

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## What the Indian Government Is Saying

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a carefully worded response on Friday.

The MEA noted that the **suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas** or the status of H-1B holders and their dependents.

But it made a broader point about the value of talent mobility: "It should also be clear that **talent mobility adds value to both economies**. While it creates opportunities for Indians, it equally helps US companies with cutting-edge talent, innovation, research, productivity, competitiveness and job creation, besides creating shareholder wealth in the US".

The MEA concluded: "The steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries".

That's diplomatic language for a serious disagreement.

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## What TCS Is Saying

Among the Indian firms named, Tata Consultancy Services moved quickly to reassure employees and clients.

TCS said it had filed only a **single-digit number of PERM applications over the past two years**, meaning the suspension is unlikely to materially affect its workforce strategy or client engagements.

The company reiterated plans to **add 15,000 employees in the US over the next five years**, built around local recruitment including campus hiring across its 31 offices and delivery centers in the country.

TCS's message: we're already moving away from the PERM pathway anyway.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What exactly is PERM, and why does it matter?**

A: PERM stands for Permanent Labor Certification. It's the first step in the employment-based green card process for most workers. Employers must prove to the Department of Labor that no qualified American workers are available for the job and that hiring a foreign worker won't hurt American wages. Without PERM certification, the green card process can't move forward.

**Q: Does this mean H-1B workers have to leave the country?**

A: No. The suspension does **not** cancel existing H-1B visas or require anyone to leave. It freezes a specific pathway to permanent residency for workers at these eight companies. Existing H-1B status and work authorization remain valid.

**Q: What happens to people whose PERM applications are already pending?**

A: They're frozen. The Department of Labor said it will not process pending PERM applications for these companies while the suspension is in effect. Previously **approved** PERM certifications and I-140 petitions are not automatically revoked.

**Q: Why were these specific companies targeted?**

A: The administration cited alleged fraud and abuse. Labor Secretary Sonderling said the companies had collectively requested nearly 3 million foreign workers since 2009. Microsoft and Adobe were cited for "multiple active federal investigations." Vance singled out Microsoft for laying off American workers while seeking H-1B approvals.

**Q: Did Microsoft really replace American workers with foreign workers?**

A: The numbers cited don't prove that on their own. Microsoft says 80% of its H-1B filings were extensions or status changes for **existing employees**, not new hires. The remaining new hires were already legally present in the US and represented about 1% of its US workforce. Layoffs, visa filings, and green card approvals are different measures.

**Q: Who else is affected besides Microsoft and Adobe?**

A: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta were **not** included.

**Q: How long will the suspension last?**

A: It has **no published end date**. Vance said it would continue "as long as it needs to." The affected companies could challenge the decision in federal court.

**Q: What can affected workers do?**

A: Immigration lawyers advise assessing your specific immigration stage and deadlines before making career decisions. Workers could explore sponsorship through a different employer, but PERM applications do **not** automatically transfer when workers change jobs. Workers approaching the six-year H-1B limit face the most urgency.

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## Conclusion: The Human Cost of a Policy Experiment

Here's what I keep coming back to when I think about Priya, the Microsoft engineer in Redmond.

She did everything right. She studied hard. She got the job. She paid her taxes. She bought a house. She put her daughter in school. She waited in line for her green card, patient and hopeful.

And then, one Thursday morning, the line disappeared.

The smart people have a lot to say about this. The lawyers talk about "talent retention" and "vulnerable to loss." The economists talk about "market signals" and "competitive disadvantage." The politicians talk about "protecting American workers" and "visa mills."

But for Priya, it's simpler than that. It's about whether she can plan her life. Whether her daughter will finish school in the same city. Whether the house they just bought will become a temporary stop instead of a home.

The administration says it's protecting American workers. The experts say it might backfire. Microsoft says the numbers don't tell the story the way Vance told it.

What's clear is that thousands of people who did everything right are now facing a future they didn't plan for. And the smart people — the ones quoted in this article, the ones analyzing the policy, the ones defending and attacking it — can't tell them with certainty what happens next.

That uncertainty is the policy's most immediate consequence. And it's being felt in living rooms and kitchens across America right now.

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## Disclaimer

**This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, immigration, or financial advice. The author has no position in Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe (ADBE), or any related securities. Information presented here is based on publicly available sources and reported statements as of the publication date. Immigration law and policy are complex and subject to change. Individuals with specific immigration questions should consult a qualified immigration attorney. The views expressed by quoted individuals are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.**