India has lodged a sharp objection with Washington after the US Department of Labor suspended the PERM labour-certification programme for a group of major technology and consulting firms, freezing a route their employees use toward permanent residency.
The suspension, announced on October 8, covers Indian IT giants including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech alongside firms such as Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. US officials argued the programme had been misused, though the parameters of the decision were not spelled out in detail, leaving companies unsure how long the freeze will last or whether existing cases are affected.
New Delhi’s objection went beyond the policy itself. The Ministry of External Affairs protested remarks by Vice President JD Vance characterising Indian technology workers in language Indian officials considered demeaning, and asked that public discussion avoid stigmatising professionals who work legally in the United States.
For the companies named, the immediate business impact may be limited: TCS, for one, indicated its PERM filings run only into single digits and that it expects little operational effect. The bigger question is what the freeze signals about Washington’s broader posture toward skilled-worker channels.
Lawyers note that PERM suspension does not by itself cancel H-1B visas, but it can stall green-card timelines for affected staff and complicate retention. Both governments say channels remain open, and industry groups on both sides are pressing for clarity in the coming days.
For readers unfamiliar with the machinery: PERM is the labour-certification step in which a US employer must show the Labour Department that hiring a foreign worker will not displace an American one. It is usually the first formal stage on the road to an employment-based green card, which is why freezing it reverberates far beyond the named companies’ compliance departments.
It also lands at a sensitive moment in the wider relationship, with trade and technology ties already under strain. Diplomats in both capitals publicly emphasised dialogue this week, a signal that neither side wants an employment dispute to define the partnership.
