The Trump administration has stepped up its scrutiny of employment-based immigration, targeting major technology companies that sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency and announcing investigations into universities that use exchange-visitor visas.
The measures were announced by Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials on October 8. Here is what changed, which workers could be affected and what the developments mean for people planning to work and settle in the US.
1. Green-card processing suspended for eight tech companies
The administration announced that eight companies would be suspended from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program, a process employers generally must complete before sponsoring eligible foreign workers for employment-based green cards.
Deep Dive
Which companies are barred from filing or processing PERM green-card applications?
Does the PERM suspension cancel H-1B visas or existing work authorization?
What does PERM do, and how could the suspension affect a worker’s green-card case?
The companies named are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government would neither accept new PERM applications involving the companies nor process pending applications.
PERM requires employers to demonstrate that there are not enough qualified and available US workers for a particular position and that employing a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers.
The suspension could disrupt green-card plans for employees whose cases depend on employer-sponsored PERM certification. The administration has not announced a fixed end date for the restrictions.
Vice President Vance accused Microsoft of laying off American workers while continuing to rely on foreign-worker programs. He cited about 6,000 US job cuts, 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards in discussing the company.
2. H-1B visas have not been suspended
The PERM action is separate from the H-1B program, which allows US employers to hire eligible foreign professionals temporarily in specialized occupations.
H-1B status allows a worker to take up eligible employment, while PERM is a step in the process through which an employer may sponsor that worker for permanent residency.
This means the October 8 announcement should not be read as a blanket cancellation of H-1B visas. It does, however, create uncertainty for workers at the affected companies who are seeking green cards through the PERM route.
The announcement does not, by itself, revoke green cards already issued or automatically cancel every affected employee’s existing work authorization. The consequences for individual workers depend on their immigration status, the stage of their application and the scope of the restrictions.
3. Ivy League universities also face J-1 visa investigations
The October 8 announcement also widened the administration’s scrutiny beyond technology companies. Officials said nine universities warranted investigation over their use of J-1 exchange-visitor visas, which can cover international scholars, researchers and participants in exchange programs.
The institutions named were Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California, Davis, the California Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Vance alleged that some universities were using J-1 workers in ways that undercut wages for American graduate students and researchers. The announcement concerned investigations into suspected misuse; it did not establish that all nine universities had violated immigration rules.
4. A new visa-fraud strike team is being formed
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito also announced a multi-agency visa-fraud strike team intended to investigate suspected schemes, trace financial transactions and work with the Justice Department on prosecutions.
Officials said they would also publish a most-wanted list featuring 16 fugitives linked to nearly $500 million in alleged theft, according to D’Esposito’s announcement.
The initiative signals increased enforcement scrutiny of foreign-labor programs. It is not, by itself, a new H-1B eligibility rule or a blanket visa ban.
What does this mean for foreign workers, students?
The immediate change is the suspension of PERM processing for the eight named companies, which could delay or complicate some employer-sponsored green-card cases. Workers at those firms should not assume that their H-1B status has automatically been cancelled, but they should establish how the suspension applies to their individual cases.
For other H-1B workers, the October 8 announcement did not introduce a general suspension of the visa category. The university investigations concern J-1 visas, a separate program, while the new strike team signals a broader enforcement push.
The measures target a key green-card pathway at eight companies and expand investigations into suspected visa abuse. They do not amount to a blanket suspension of H-1B visas or a finding that every employer or institution under scrutiny has broken the law.