The United States Department of Labor has announced that it will suspend Microsoft and Adobe from its Permanent Labor Certification program, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said on Thursday. The decision comes as the Trump administration continues to take aim at immigration and foreign hiring programs ahead of the midterm elections in November. Sonderling said the Labor Department will not accept or process any new applications under the program for a host of companies, a group that also includes Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL. The suspension therefore reaches major technology firms and large outsourcing and consulting companies that rely on foreign workers, and it applies to applications that have not yet been filed.
The announcement was made at a press conference on anti fraud initiatives held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, D.C. Sonderling spoke alongside Attorney General Todd Blanche and Vice President JD Vance, and the event was described as an announcement on H-1B fraud. The presence of the Attorney General and the Vice President next to the Labor Secretary shows that the measure was presented as a joint effort of several parts of the administration, rather than as a routine step taken only by the Labor Department, and it places the suspension within a wider campaign against what officials describe as fraud in foreign worker programs.
Permanent Labor Certification, commonly known as PERM, is an important step in the employment based green card process in the United States. Under this system, employers generally need to obtain labor certification from the Labor Department before they can sponsor a foreign worker for permanent residence. A suspension that stops the department from accepting or processing new applications from a company therefore blocks the first stage of that route for the employer concerned. For Microsoft, Adobe and the other companies named by Sonderling, no new applications will be taken up under the program while the suspension remains in place, which affects how they can begin sponsorships for workers they want to keep in the country.
The move adds to a series of actions by the Trump administration on immigration and foreign hiring, and it arrives only weeks before the November midterm elections, which is the timing that was noted when the announcement was made. By naming Microsoft and Adobe next to Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL, the Labor Department has covered companies from different parts of the technology and services sector in a single decision. Sonderling made the announcement on Thursday, and the suspension applies to new applications under the Permanent Labor Certification program, which means the position of each named company will depend on how long the Labor Department keeps the restriction in force.
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