The Labor Department froze employer green-card filings for Microsoft, Adobe and six IT-services firms on Oct. 8, 2026.
The freeze stops new PERM filings and halts pending PERM cases for those eight employers. PERM certification is an early employer step toward sponsored permanent residence. The Labor Department's FLAG guide explains that it generally must be obtained before the employer files an immigration petition with USCIS.
Table of Contents
- Who is covered by the freeze?
- Why did Labor single out these employers?
- What changes for current workers?
- How does this fit wider Trump worker policy?
Who is covered by the freeze?
The order names Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. HR Director America reported the Oct. 8 freeze announcement from Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, joined by Vice President JD Vance. It directly affects foreign workers sponsored by those employers.
New filings are blocked and pending cases do not move forward. That stalls progress toward employer-sponsored permanent residence for those workers. Workers sponsored by other employers are not covered. The action is employer-specific, not a change to the PERM form itself.
Why did Labor single out these employers?
Labor cited investigations as the stated basis. South Shore Press reported the differing explanations for Microsoft and Adobe versus the six IT-services firms. Microsoft and Adobe were cited for multiple active federal investigations.
The six services firms were cited for ongoing Labor Inspector General criminal investigations. Sonderling also pointed to prior sponsorship volume. Those eight companies together requested almost 3 million foreign workers since 2009, with over 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications, according to South Shore Press.
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What changes for current workers?
A frozen PERM delays the green-card timeline. It does not move the worker to the next petition stage. It also leaves less room to plan job changes tied to sponsorship. The freeze does not by itself cancel H-1B status or work authorization.
IMMerge Law reported that limit on the suspension's effect, including that NIW and EB-1A categories do not use PERM and are not blocked by it. The longer-term risk is continued stay for many H-1B holders. Extensions beyond six years generally depend on a PERM or I-140 filed at least 365 days earlier, according to IMMerge Law. A filing freeze can disrupt that timing.
- Confirm which company is listed as your PERM sponsor.
- Ask whether your case was filed, pending, or not yet filed.
- Ask how a delay affects your H-1B extension window.
- Keep copies of filing receipts, dates, and employer notices.
How does this fit wider Trump worker policy?
The freeze sits beside a separate H-1B entry restriction. Proclamation 10973 of Sept. 19, 2025, restricted entry of H-1B specialty-occupation workers unless the petition carried a $100,000 payment or qualified for a national-interest exception, as described by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In September 2026 the administration extended that entry restriction for 12 more months to Sept. 21, 2027.
VisaHQ News reported the extension and its cited results, including a 92 percent drop in large-IT-staffing registrations and a 97 percent plunge in consular requests. Read the two actions together, not as one rule. One controls entry under the H-1B proclamation. The other controls employer green-card processing for eight named companies. Check which action names your status, employer, and filing type before deciding next steps.
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