The Trump administration has announced the suspension of Microsoft, Adobe, and six major IT services companies from the Permanent Labor Certification programme, known as PERM.
The decision, announced on Thursday, 8 October, restricts a process used by employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence in the United States.
According to ABC News, Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of abusing the programme. Those accusations should be distinguished from a proven finding of fraud.
Which companies are affected?
Reuters reported that the restriction also covers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.
Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said the department would neither accept new permanent labour-certification applications nor process pending applications involving the companies.
That announcement concerns applications at the labour-certification stage. Workers whose cases have progressed further should obtain clarification about their individual position.
What PERM does
The US Department of Labor explains that employers generally need an approved permanent labour certification before submitting an employment-based immigration petition to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The department must establish that there are insufficient qualified, willing, and available US workers for the position, and that employing the foreign worker would not harm comparable US workers’ wages or working conditions.
Certification is therefore one stage in the permanent-residence process. It is not itself a green card.
Existing H-1B employment is a separate issue.
The suspension concerns permanent-residence sponsorship.
The Washington Post reported that it does not prohibit Microsoft and Adobe from employing H-1B workers.
It should therefore not be described as an automatic cancellation of employees’ existing H-1B visas.
Microsoft challenges the hiring comparison.
In an official response published on 8 October, Microsoft said approximately 80 per cent of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications in the previous financial year concerned extensions or status changes for existing employees.
The company said its remaining applications involved new employees already legally in the United States. It also said H-1B employees receive the same pay as other employees doing comparable work. These are Microsoft’s statements.
Why it matters to African professionals and the diaspora
African nationals employed by the named companies may face disruption if their permanent-residence plans depend on a pending or future PERM application.
The restriction is employer-specific. It is not an announcement barring African nationals generally from US employment or permanent residence.
Affected employees should ask their employer’s immigration team how the suspension applies to their case, particularly before making decisions about changing jobs or relocating.
Trivane View
Protecting workers requires proper enforcement of recruitment rules. Authorities should also explain the suspension’s duration and treatment of pending cases so employees can understand their position.
Allegations against an employer should not be treated as evidence of wrongdoing by its foreign staff.
