The US Department of Labor (DOL) has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six large IT outsourcing firms from its Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program — the step employers use to sponsor a foreign worker, including many already on an H-1B visa, for a US green card. Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspensions on October 8, 2026, naming Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.
What the suspension actually covers. Sonderling said DOL “will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies.” That freezes the green-card sponsorship pipeline for the eight named employers — it does not revoke any worker’s existing H-1B status, does not require anyone currently in the US to leave, and does not change PERM rules for any other employer. Coverage of the announcement describes this as a targeted action against eight specific companies, not an industry-wide change to the H-1B visa category itself.
The stated rationale differs by company. Sonderling cited “multiple active federal investigations” as the reason for suspending Microsoft and Adobe specifically. For the six IT-services firms, officials pointed to sheer volume — the eight companies combined have obtained more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications since 2009. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice is separately investigating possible fraud or wilful misrepresentation, which could lead to civil or criminal cases.
Vance’s Microsoft numbers. Vance said Microsoft laid off roughly 6,000 American workers over the past year while filing around 6,300 H-1B petitions and close to 3,000 green-card sponsorships in the same period — figures he used to argue the company was replacing laid-off US staff with lower-paid foreign hires. Microsoft disputed the framing: the company said about 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B filings in the past fiscal year were extensions or status changes for existing employees rather than new hires, and that the large majority of its US workforce is American. The announcement landed hours before President Trump was due to award Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation — a juxtaposition several outlets noted but that does not change the substance of the DOL action.
No end date set. Vance said the suspension would last “as long as it needs to.” Immigration-law analysis points to 20 C.F.R. § 656.31(b), the regulation DOL typically relies on to suspend PERM processing over suspected fraud or misrepresentation — an initial suspension can run up to 180 days and be extended while an investigation continues, though DOL had not published a formal written notice spelling out the legal basis for this specific action as of the announcement.
Why it matters for skilled migrants and sponsoring employers
This is the first time in the current enforcement wave that Washington has named specific employers rather than raising a fee or tightening a rule industry-wide. For workers already employed by one of the eight companies and relying on employer sponsorship for a green card, new PERM filings are now frozen and pending ones will not move forward — though existing H-1B status, I-140 petitions already approved, and green cards already granted are not described as affected. Workers and employers outside the eight named companies are not covered by this action; PERM rules have not changed for anyone else. This follows the Labor Department’s broader early-October push — including the $100,000 H-1B petition fee that courts have blocked a second time — that Zagdim covered on October 6.
References
The National News Desk – Vice President JD Vance Unveils H-1B, Foreign Work Visa, and J-1 Abuse Findings / Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP – DOL Announces PERM Suspensions for Microsoft, Adobe, and Major IT Firms / Boundless – DOL Suspends Employers from PERM Labor Certification / Newsweek – Trump Admin Blocks Tech Companies from H-1B PERM Program
