🚨 Breaking News‼️ PERM Processing Suspended for 8 Tech Companies, Including Microsoft‼️

Breaking News! PERM Processing Suspended for 8 Tech Companies, Including MicrosoftHarvard, MIT, and 7 Other Universities Face J-1 Visa Investigations!

On October 8, U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced two major actions involving foreign workers and international scholars during a White House press briefing.

Key Point 1: PERM labor certification applications involving eight major technology companies, including Microsoft and Adobe, will be suspended.

According to Reuters, the eight companies involved are:

1. Microsoft

2. Adobe

3. Cognizant

4. Infosys

5. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

6. Wipro

7. HCL Technologies

8. Capgemini

   
   

U.S. Department of Labor official Keith Sonderling stated:

“We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies.”

In other words, the Department of Labor will no longer accept new PERM labor certification applications involving these companies and will suspend processing of pending applications that have already been filed.

Important: A PERM Suspension Does NOT Mean All H-1B Visas or Green Card Applications Are Suspended!

1. The existing H-1B status of employees at these companies does not automatically become invalid.

2. Previously approved I-140 petitions are not all automatically revoked.

3. This does not mean all pending I-485 applications are suspended.

4. It does not mean employees at these companies will be permanently barred from applying for Green Cards.

The announced measure primarily targets the PERM labor certification process. Whether other application categories or previously approved cases will be affected depends on subsequent official implementation guidance.

Key Point 2: Nine U.S. universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and MIT, face further investigations over alleged misuse of J-1 exchange visitor visas.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the nine universities named are:

1. Harvard University

2. Yale University

3. Stanford University

4. Brown University

5. University of Pittsburgh

6. University of California, Davis (UC Davis)

7. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

8. Arizona State University

9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Important: These universities are currently facing allegations and investigations. This does NOT mean they have been formally found to have committed J-1 visa fraud.

Similarly, this does not mean that all J-1 visa holders at these universities have lost their status or that the universities will be prohibited from recruiting international researchers in the future.

Attorney Xiao Zeng’s Take:

This situation is more serious than tech companies voluntarily pausing PERM applications following layoffs, because this time the suspension was ordered directly by the government.

The Department of Labor will no longer accept new PERM applications involving these companies or continue processing applications that have already been submitted and remain pending.

Although the measure does not currently prevent these companies from continuing to sponsor H-1B petitions, there is an important issue to consider: H-1B status is generally limited to six years. What happens after those six years?

Many foreign employees are able to continue working in the United States beyond the six-year H-1B limit because they have already started the employment-based Green Card process and meet the requirements for extensions under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21).

For example, qualifying employees may be eligible for one-year H-1B extensions if at least 365 days have passed since the filing of a qualifying PERM labor certification or I-140 petition. Employees with qualifying approved I-140 petitions may also be eligible for three-year H-1B extensions.

Therefore, for many foreign workers, PERM is not just the first step toward a Green Card. It can also be critical to maintaining H-1B work status in the long term.

This PERM suspension could put some employees in a difficult position.

Those who have already used four or five years of their H-1B time but have not yet filed PERM—or have only recently started the Green Card process—may face increasing time pressure if their employers can no longer move their cases forward.

Another important question is: Could this lead to a wave of job changes?

For employees who have not yet obtained an approved I-140 and are approaching the six-year H-1B limit, finding a new employer willing to continue sponsoring their Green Card process may become a more realistic option. Many potential opportunities may be with small or midsize companies.

H-1B transfers are possible, but PERM is generally tied to a specific employer and position. Changing employers often means having to restart the PERM process.

For employees with little H-1B time remaining, recruitment, obtaining a prevailing wage determination (PWD), and filing PERM can each take considerable time.

By contrast, employees who already have an approved I-140 may have more options, including retaining their priority date when eligible and using a qualifying approved I-140 to obtain H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit.

What strikes me most about this situation is how closely work, immigration status, and future life plans are connected for many foreign workers in the United States.

A change in a company’s immigration policy can affect far more than a single Green Card application. It can influence whether an employee changes jobs, stays in the United States, or makes different career and life plans for the coming years.

For now, we still need to wait for further official clarification regarding how long the PERM suspension will last and whether its scope will expand.

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