The US government may have suspended major Indian IT services providers, including software makers Microsoft and Adobe, from the permanent labour certification (PERM) programme over allegations of bringing in less expensive workers at the cost of local counterparts, but data shows that Indian companies have been applying for only a handful of green cards compared with US multinationals.

 

The IT industry is unlikely to be deeply affected by the US government’s decision, said analysts and experts, as the number of such registrations has gone down significantly.

 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made just two PERM filings for the US financial year 2026, down from 513 a year ago and 1,804 in FY2024. Infosys made 87 filings in FY24 with a 100 per cent approval rate and no records after that, according to data from Perm Tracker, an independent dashboard that tracks US Department of Labor certification applications, processing times and employer approval rates.

  

Wipro filed 257 and 523 applications in FY24 and FY25, respectively, while HCL America Inc filed 96, 323 and 59 applications in the last three years. France’s Capgemini, another company facing the wrath of the US government, had made 759 applications over the same period.

 

Labour Secretary Keith Soderling said on Thursday that the government will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.

 

“PERM is the first rung on the ladder to a green card for thousands of professionals who’ve spent years on temporary status, playing by the rules. Freezing new and pending filings means people who did nothing wrong are stuck in the middle of a fight between the government and their employer,” Sukanya Raman, a US immigration adviser with Davies and Associates, told Business Standard.

 

In a statement, India’s largest IT services provider said that while it will comply with any directive from the Department of Labor, it expects no impact from the suspension on its workforce strategy and customer engagement.

 

“We have built a significant local workforce across 31 offices and delivery centers throughout the country. As we had announced earlier, we intend to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years, to further augment our local workforce. Our PERM applications were in single digits in the last two years and hence we do not expect the suspension of the program to impact our workforce strategy and customer engagements,” said a statement by the company.

 

The permanent labour certification issued by the Department of Labor allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the US. In most instances, before the US employer can submit an immigration petition to the Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain a certified labour certification application (LCA) from the labour department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

 

Before applying, the company has to show that there are no qualified US workers for that role and that hiring a foreign worker will not negatively affect the wages and working conditions of American workers. Once PERM is approved, the employer can move ahead with the next steps for an employment-based green card.

 

In comparison, Adobe had applied for 745 positions, while Microsoft had applied for 6,878 positions, Apple for 2,811, Intel for 2,735 and Oracle Americas for 2,299.

 

Indian IT firms reduce H-1B dependence

 

Indian companies have been trying to reduce their dependence on H-1B and the PERM programme over the last few years as the US government, under President Trump, has alleged that the routes are used by technology companies to bring cheap labour into the US to displace local workers.

 

All Indian companies have stepped up hiring in the US by engaging with the country’s colleges, and while local hiring numbers have gone up, the gap between supply and demand remains an issue.

 

Nasscom also said that the number of employees transitioning from H-1B visas to permanent residency through the PERM process is relatively limited.

 

“Indian technology companies operate across more than 80 countries and have consistently demonstrated their commitment to complying with local laws and regulatory requirements. We are confident that they will continue to adhere to applicable regulations in the U.S. as well,” said Nasscom.

 

Pushback from India

 

Several senior executives and experts from the industry said that the suspension affects new applications. “This will impact only those who were planning to apply under the PREM programme. Those who have applied do not get impacted. They may face stricter scrutiny,” said a senior executive on condition of anonymity.

 

Meanwhile, the comments of US Vice President J D Vance describing foreign talent as ‘indentured servants’ have not gone down well. The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement on the US government’s decision on the PERM programme and slammed the use of such words.

 

“We have seen some comments in this context by the US Vice President. We believe that such discriptions are unwarranted and ignore the fact that Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem,” said the statement.

 

These comments have also divided the Indian talent ecosystem. A statement from PanIIT Alumni condemned the statement by the US government and asked several of its alumni to return to India.

 

“These development are a reminder to our own community. A career built on a visa is a career built on uncertain ground. India today offers the challenges and opportunities that were once only available abroad,” said the statement.

 

It also added that for over five decades, Indian engineers and technologists — a large number of them IIT alumni — have been among the most productive contributors to American innovation, research and industry. They have built products, filed patents, founded companies and created jobs on American soil. To characterise them collectively as ‘indentured servants’ is neither accurate nor fair.

 

Prabhat Kumar, IRS, chairman, PanIIT Alumni India, said: “For decades we celebrated when our brightest minds left for American shores. It is time we asked what we lost in the process. A visa was never a stable foundation for a career, and this week’s events prove it. The IIT convenant was nation before self. The most exciting problems – and the greatest impact – now await our engineers at home. Build here. Scale here. Die here.”