The United States government intends to suspend the submission of new permanent residency applications for foreign workers at companies such as Microsoft, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, and HCLTech. The reason cited for this decision is widespread abuse throughout the entire process of obtaining permanent residency.
The US government noted that such violations have harmed the prospects of American citizens. Specifically, US Vice President J. D. Vance addressed Microsoft with a message: 'Our thought for Microsoft is this: you are a great American company, but you must hire great American workers.'
Obtaining permanent residency is one way for employees of the foreign technology industry to receive a green card in the US. As part of the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process, employers must obtain certification from the Department of Labor confirming the absence of a qualified, ready, or available worker from the US for a specific position. This step is necessary before filing petitions for most work green cards.
US Secretary of Labor Keith Sunderland stated that only these companies have requested nearly 3 million foreign workers since 2009. They have received over 230,000 H-1B visas and more than 100,000 employment certifications, which, according to him, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs being filled by foreign specialists instead of Americans.
It was announced that some of these companies are under active federal investigation. Furthermore, the US Department of Labor discovered that some firms were paying foreign employees salaries approximately $20,000 less than what was offered for similar positions to American workers.
India traditionally accounted for a large share of the annual H-1B visas issued by the US government. However, recently, a larger number of these visas are being obtained by US technology companies themselves, rather than Indian IT companies. Recently, the Indian technology industry has been facing the consequences of US immigration policy. The current administration has discussed the possibility of significantly increasing fees for H-1B visas and has also tightened rules regarding the duration of unemployment under this visa.
