The US Labor Department has stopped handling green card labour certifications for eight companies, four of them Indian IT firms: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies. The freeze, announced on Thursday, 8 October 2026, does not appear to touch current H-1B visas. It does block a common route Indian tech workers in the US take to permanent residency.
Which companies are covered
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling named eight companies: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. He said the department will not accept new applications involving these companies and will not process the ones already pending. The government has not said how long the freeze will last.
What PERM is
Most employment-based green cards begin with PERM, the permanent labour certification run by the Labor Department. At this step the employer has to show that hiring a foreign worker will not hurt the wages, working conditions or job prospects of American workers. Only an approved PERM case moves on to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Because PERM comes first, a freeze here stops the green card process for these companies' workers before it can reach USCIS.
Why the US says it acted
The administration says its visa crackdown targets fraud and the loss of American jobs. Vice President JD Vance accused companies of laying off American workers and hiring foreign workers in their place to cut wage costs.
On the same day, Vance said nine universities would be investigated, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The administration accuses them of using J-1 exchange-visitor visas to undercut American wages. The Labor Department's Inspector General, Anthony D'Esposito, said subpoenas had already been served.
What it means for Indian workers
An H-1B is a temporary work visa, and current holders do not appear to be directly affected. The freeze hits the next step, when an employer sponsors an H-1B worker for a green card. If you work in the US for one of these eight companies and your green card case is waiting at the PERM stage, it is on hold until the department says otherwise.
Indian IT firms have long been among the biggest users of H-1B visas, so many Indian professionals in the US could be caught by this.
TCS declined to comment. The other seven companies did not respond to requests for comment when the news broke.
Frequently asked questions
Which companies are covered by the US green card freeze?
Eight: Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe.
Does the freeze cancel H-1B visas?
No. It does not appear to directly affect people who hold an H-1B today. It stops new and pending PERM applications, the first step of most employment-based green cards.
What is a PERM application?
It is the Labor Department certification an employer needs for most employment-based green cards. The employer must show that hiring the foreign worker will not harm the wages, working conditions or job prospects of US workers.
This story is for education only and is not investment or immigration advice.