The Trump-Vance administration has delivered its most forceful blow yet against corporate use of employment-based immigration routes. At a Washington press conference on October 8, Vice-President J.D. Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the Department of Labor (DOL) has *immediately suspended* Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini from filing new applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program. PERM is the first— and often longest— step in most employer-sponsored green-card cases. Companies must test the U.S. labor market before certifying that no qualified U.S. worker is available. Vance accused the eight firms of “paper-only recruitment designed to fail,” citing classified audit results that allegedly show blank newspaper ads, recycled résumés and job descriptions tailored to specific H-1B holders. Outsourcing companies are “gaming a system meant to import talent, not indentured servants,” he said. The suspension means the employers cannot **file new PERM cases or have pending ones adjudicated**; any worker in the pipeline loses their priority date unless another employer restarts the process. Immigration attorneys say thousands of foreign engineers now face “use-it-or-leave-it” choices— scramble for a new sponsor, change status, or depart the United States when temporary status ends. Microsoft said 80 percent of its PERM filings merely convert existing H-1B staff to permanent residence and warned that “America risks exporting innovation.” DOL will open a 60-day comment period on proposed rule changes that would quadruple civil penalties for recruitment fraud and allow lifetime bans. Large tech employers are rushing to identify backup options such as Canada’s Global Talent Stream or remote-first employment hubs in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Multinationals should also expect **more site visits, résumé audits, and subpoena requests** as the inter-agency Fraud Task Force expands to USCIS, CBP and ICE. For corporate mobility managers, the immediate priorities are (1) mapping at-risk green-card populations, (2) accelerating I-140 filings already certified, and (3) preparing contingency relocation budgets. Companies with smaller, clean PERM records may gain a recruiting edge— but only if they can reassure foreign talent that the U.S. remains a viable long-term destination.
Source: Associated Press
