US Suspends Tata, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, Capgemini From Green Card Sponsorship: Explained

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By S. JHA

The US government has pulled six of the world’s biggest IT outsourcing firms out of a key green card pipeline. The decision, announced Thursday, could stall permanent residency for thousands of foreign tech workers, many of them Indian professionals on H-1B visas.

Mumbai, October 8, 2026 — US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the move, with Vice President J D Vance, head of the Anti-Fraud Task Force, beside him. Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini were suspended from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, along with Microsoft and Adobe. The Department of Labor will not accept new applications or process pending ones involving these companies.

PERM is the first big hurdle in most employer-sponsored green card cases. The employer must obtain a certification from the Labor Department confirming that no qualified US workers are available and that hiring the foreign national will not hurt the US labor market. That certification is required before employers can file most employment-based green card petitions. Without it, a worker’s case cannot move forward.

Who is affected: The suspension hits workers whose employers are on the list, not the companies alone. Reports say it primarily affects the permanent residency process for workers sponsored by these firms, and workers whose cases have not yet cleared labor certification may face delays.

Some workers are not affected. The announcement does not revoke green cards that have already been granted.

A note on labels: not all six firms are Indian. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are Indian companies. Capgemini is French, and Cognizant is headquartered in the US. Microsoft and Adobe, both American, were also suspended, which shows the action is not aimed at Indian firms alone.

Why Washington says it did this: The administration framed the move as ensuring American companies prioritize US workers. Sonderling said since 2009 the suspended companies have requested almost three million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications, which he described as hundreds of thousands of jobs taken from Americans. Sonderling also referred to multiple active federal investigations in announcing further suspensions.

The industry has long rejected this argument. Nasscom, the Indian trade body for IT outsourcing firms, has denied that its members take jobs from American workers, pointing to unfilled US vacancies.

The wider crackdown: This is the latest step in a tougher immigration stance. Separately, Trump extended the H-1B visa fee order, and the $100,000 charge faces a court fight. Cognizant also faced a separate suspension last month.

What is still unclear:

— Duration: No timeline has been given for when the companies might regain access to the program.

– Pending cases: It is not yet clear what happens to applications already in progress beyond the department’s statement that it will not process them.

– Company responses: I found no statements from the affected firms in the reports available so far.

– Legal challenge: Whether any company will contest the suspension is unknown.

What affected workers can do: Workers sponsored by these employers should ask their company’s immigration team for case-specific guidance and, if needed, consult an independent immigration attorney.

(This explainer is general information and not legal advice. Watch for official Labor Department guidance, because the details of how pending cases are handled will matter most.)