US suspends eight employers, including Microsoft and Infosys, from green card labor certification
U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling suspended eight employers, including Infosys and Microsoft, from the PERM green card program. Pending cases stop, and a worker can carry a priority date to a new employer only with an approved I-140 and a 180-day-old adjustment filing.
Context for builders, not their beat.
Suspended employers: no new or pending labor certifications processed. Pending-case workers: no approved I-140, so no portability. Approved I-140 holders: may port to a similar job. Adjustment filings under 180 days: petition not valid for a new job. Porters keep their priority date.
- What it limits constraint Suspended employers Labor Department will not accept new or process pending labor certification applications involving them, claim 5
- Who's exposed exposure Workers with pending PERM cases No approved I-140 rests on a pending certification, so they cannot use portability, which requires an approved petition, claim 15
- What's now possible capability Workers with approved I-140s May port to a new job offer in the same or similar occupation, with the same or a different employer, claim 8
- What it limits constraint Recent adjustment filers If the adjustment filing has been pending less than 180 days, the approved petition does not stay valid for a new job offer, claim 9
- What's now possible capability Workers who port successfully Keep the priority date of the underlying petition at the new job or employer, claim 10
| Who | How | Kind | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspended employers | Labor Department will not accept new or process pending labor certification applications involving them | constraint | 5 |
| Workers with pending PERM cases | No approved I-140 rests on a pending certification, so they cannot use portability, which requires an approved petition | exposure | 15 |
| Workers with approved I-140s | May port to a new job offer in the same or similar occupation, with the same or a different employer | capability | 8 |
| Recent adjustment filers | If the adjustment filing has been pending less than 180 days, the approved petition does not stay valid for a new job offer | constraint | 9 |
| Workers who port successfully | Keep the priority date of the underlying petition at the new job or employer | capability | 10 |
What happened
- Sonderling named Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini as some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, then added Microsoft and Adobe to the suspension.
- The Labor Department will not accept new labor certification applications involving the eight, and will not process pending ones, Sonderling said.
- Sonderling said the companies have received over 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications since 2009.
- Vice-President J.D. Vance, who heads the U.S. Anti-Fraud Task Force, stood beside Sonderling at the October 8 announcement.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure The staff free to leave are those with approved I-140s and adjustment filings past 180 days, so the eight are most likely to lose the employees furthest along in sponsorship.
- What it costs cost Workers whose certifications were pending pay in time, since their green card cases cannot advance at their current employer while the suspension runs.
- What it limits constraint While suspended, the eight cannot include PERM green card sponsorship in job offers to new hires. Employers not on the list still can.
Sonderling's figures cover 17 years. Over that span his certification count averages roughly 5,900 a year across the eight employers [6][13]. That is a bit under half the rate of their H-1B approvals [14]. The suspension halts the flow of new certifications, and the cost to each worker depends on how far their case had got.
Under the AC21 portability rule, a worker can take a same-or-similar job with a different employer if their I-140 is approved and their adjustment application has been pending at least 180 days [8][9]. That worker keeps the priority date [10]. Below 180 days, the approved petition does not stay valid for a new job offer [9]. A worker whose labor certification is still in the suspended queue at one of the eight has no approved petition to port [15].
Sonderling presented the case as a count of jobs. "That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers," he said [7]. The Hindu's report does not say how long the suspensions last, why Microsoft and Adobe were included, or whether certifications already granted will be reopened [1][4].
We think most of the cost falls on workers whose certifications were pending, and less of it on the firms' day-to-day staffing. The suspension as announced covers the labor certification program, and the H-1B approvals Sonderling cited are a separate channel [1][6]. That view would be wrong if the sanction later reaches the firms' H-1B filings. Workers already past 180 days would pay more if USCIS revoked their approved I-140s, because a revoked petition loses AC21 job flexibility [11]. A suspension lifted within weeks would shrink the whole cost to a delay in the queue.
What to watch
- Any duration or reinstatement terms the Labor Department attaches to the eight suspensions.
- Whether the department names further sponsors beyond these eight, with the Anti-Fraud Task Force involved.
- Any legal challenge to the suspension from Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft or Adobe.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The U.S. on Thursday, October 8, 2026, suspended Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme, which allows companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers.
- [2]
The announcement was made by U.S. Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, with Vice-President J.D. Vance, the head of the U.S. Anti-Fraud Task Force, by his side.
- [3]
"I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini," Mr. Sonderling said.
- [4]
Sonderling said the Department of Labour is also suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the program.
- [5]
"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies."
- [6]
Sonderling said that since 2009 these companies requested almost three million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.
- [7]
"That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers," Mr. Sonderling said.
- [8]
Under INA 204(j), added by AC21 in 2000, the beneficiary of an approved employment-based 1st, 2nd or 3rd preference Form I-140 may port to a new job offer in the same or similar occupational classification, with the same or a different employer; the I-140 and underlying permanent labor certification, if applicable, may remain valid.
- [9]
The adjustment application must have been pending with USCIS for 180 days or more when USCIS receives the request to port; if it has been pending less than 180 days, the approved petition does not remain valid with respect to a new offer of employment.
- [10]
An applicant who successfully ports the petition on which the adjustment application is based to a new job or employer retains the priority date of the underlying petition.
- [11]
If at any time USCIS revokes approval of the petition, the applicant is not eligible for the job flexibility provisions of Section 106(c) of AC21.
- [12]
Eight employers were suspended: six named as IT outsourcing firms plus Microsoft and Adobe.
- [13]
Over 100,000 permanent labor certifications since 2009 averages roughly 5,900 a year across the eight employers.
- [14]
The eight employers' permanent labor certifications are about 43% of their H-1B approvals since 2009, a bit under half.
- [15]
A worker whose labor certification application is still pending at one of the eight employers has no approved I-140 resting on it, and so cannot use AC21 portability, which requires an approved petition.
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The reporting this story was synthesized from, earliest first. Every link goes to the original.