Eight companies face the Trump administration's new green card sponsorship freeze: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. On Oct. 8, 2026, the Labor Department suspended them from PERM and refused new filings while freezing pending labor certifications, as Law Commentary reported in its account of the suspension.
PERM is permanent labor certification, the mandatory first step for most employment-based green cards. Employers must recruit for the job and prove no qualified, willing and available U.S. worker exists without harming U.S. wages.
Table of Contents
- What the freeze blocks
- Why these employers were named
- Is Cloudera part of the same ban?
- What the evidence does not show
- What to do if your case is affected
What the freeze blocks
The suspension covers permanent labor certification for green cards. It stops new PERM applications from the eight firms and pauses cases already filed.
Existing H-1B status remains valid, but affected employees cannot advance toward permanent residency. That distinction matters because PERM approval often supports later green-card petitions and longer-term planning.
Why these employers were named
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the freeze with Vice President JD Vance. They said Microsoft and Adobe faced multiple active federal investigations over alleged fraud and visa misuse, according to Law Commentary in its report on the announcement.
Vance accused Microsoft of laying off about 6,000 Americans in the past year while obtaining about 6,300 H-1Bs and nearly 3,000 green cards. He called the foreign workers "foreign indentured servants.".
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Is Cloudera part of the same ban?
No. Cloudera faces a separate two-year PERM debarment under an Oct. 16, 2026 settlement with the Justice and Labor departments. The Santa Clara company also accepted a $1.4 million back-pay fund and $600,000 in civil penalties for discriminating against U.S.
workers, as the U.S. Department of Justice announced in its Cloudera settlement notice. That settlement resolved an April 2026 lawsuit alleging Immigration and Nationality Act violations in recruiting for seven PERM-linked positions. Federal officials said qualified Americans were denied fair consideration for those high-paying technology jobs.
What the evidence does not show
Officials did not name specific fraudulent applications for each of the eight firms. Vance also offered no evidence directly linking Microsoft layoffs to foreign hires.
He combined separate H-1B and green-card counts in the same criticism. Readers should treat layoff numbers, visa approvals and fraud allegations as separate claims unless agencies release case-level findings.
What to do if your case is affected
Workers with pending or planned PERM cases at the eight firms face stalled green-card timelines. They may also lose access to H-1B extensions beyond the normal six-year limit tied to PERM progress.
- Ask your employer's immigration team whether your PERM was filed, pending or only planned.
- Get the filing date, case number and whether recruitment already started.
- Ask an immigration lawyer about transfer, timing and extension options before resigning.
- Save offer letters, PERM receipts and H-1B expiration notices in one file.
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