New Delhi / Washington: The United States government has stopped eight major technology companies from applying for permanent green cards for their foreign workers. The decision has upset top businesses and triggered strong criticism from the Indian government. BuyMapsThe ban comes from the US Department of Labor, led by Secretary Keith Sonderling. It blocks new applications under the PERM program, which companies use to help foreign workers on temporary visas become permanent US residents.The eight named companies are:Microsoft
Adobe
Capgemini
Cognizant
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Infosys
Wipro
HCL
The Labor Department said it paused the program because of active investigations into job fraud and the misuse of foreign worker programs.US Vice President JD Vance said the move protects American jobs. He argued that companies have used work visas to lower pay and replace local workers. Vance singled out Microsoft, saying the company filed around 1,000 green card applications for jobs that matched roles it had just cut through layoffs.Vance added that while the US wants companies to grow, businesses should not fire American staff and hire foreign workers for less money. He also caused anger by calling high-skilled visa workers “indentured servants.”Labor Secretary Sonderling shared numbers going back to 2009. He said these eight companies have asked for nearly 3 million foreign workers in that time. Together, they received over 230,000 H-1B visas and more than 100,000 green card approvals. Sonderling said these hires took jobs away from hundreds of thousands of Americans.India’s Ministry of External Affairs quickly pushed back. A ministry spokesperson called Vance’s “indentured servants” comment deeply offensive, saying the phrase brings back painful memories of colonial times. The spokesperson said Indian tech workers in the US are highly skilled professionals who help drive the economy, warning that actions like this hurt the shared goals of both nations.Tech companies also responded.TCS said it will follow any rules set by the Labor Department, but added that the move will not hurt its daily work. The company explained that its US business runs across 31 offices and delivery centers, where it focuses on hiring local talent and recruiting from American colleges. TCS noted that it filed only a single-digit number of green card applications over the past two years, and it still plans to hire 15,000 more workers in the US over the next five years.Nasscom, India’s top software trade group, said skilled work travel is not the same as permanent immigration. It pointed out that Indian tech firms have spent years cutting down on work visas and hiring more Americans on the ground.The new ban does not cancel current H-1B visas. People already working on those visas can keep doing their jobs for now. However, the companies cannot sponsor them to become permanent green card holders.This move is part of a larger US push against foreign worker programs. Just one day before this ban, the Department of Homeland Security proposed new fees for international students working under the Optional Practical Training program. At the same time, the Labor Department sent legal demands to nine top universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, to check if they are paying foreign students properly.
