PERM Program Update: Microsoft and Major Tech Firms Suspended From Labor Certification Program

What Happened 

Eight major companies have been suspended from PERM, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) program that most employers have to go through before sponsoring a worker for a green card. 

DOL will neither accept new PERM applications from these companies nor process applications they’ve already filed. For their foreign national employees waiting on employer-sponsored green cards, the path forward is now uncertain. 

What is PERM?

PERM is the first step for most job-based green cards (EB-2 and EB-3). Through PERM, an employer must show DOL that no qualified U.S. worker wants the job in order to get a “labor certification.”

For many workers on an H-1B visa, PERM is the main path to a green card. If their employer can’t use PERM, then getting a green card is typically off the table.

How PERM Recruitment Works

Before filing a PERM application, federal rules require employers to advertise the job and see whether any qualified U.S. workers apply for the role. Employers must:

• List the job with the State Workforce Agency for 30 days
• Run two Sunday newspaper ads
• Post an internal notice about the application for 10 consecutive business days

For professional positions, employers must also complete at least three additional recruitment steps from a list of ten options (which include job fairs, website postings, trade organization postings, campus recruiting, etc.).

All recruitment must be completed within 180 days before filing, with at least 30 days between the last recruitment step and the PERM application. The employer must prepare a recruitment report documenting the results and explaining why any U.S. applicants weren’t hired. These requirements exist to protect American workers, and the current enforcement actions suggest the DOL believes some of the suspended companies weren’t meeting that standard. 

The Allegations and Who Was Suspended 

The suspended companies are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. 

The allegations center on two things. First, the administration claims these companies were using the PERM program to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence while simultaneously laying off large numbers of U.S. employees, which undercuts the entire purpose of PERM: proving no American worker is available. 

Microsoft drew the sharpest criticism for laying off roughly 9,000 workers while filing thousands of H-1B and PERM applications in the same period.  

Microsoft and Adobe were suspended specifically due to "multiple active federal investigations." The six IT outsourcing firms were suspended based on the scale of their program usage. Since 2009, all eight companies collectively requested nearly 3 million foreign workers, received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals, and obtained more than 100,000 PERM certifications. 

What This Means for Employers 

If your company isn’t one of the eight named, the PERM program is still fully available. This is a targeted action, not a program-wide freeze. 

That said, the DOL is reviewing PERM filings more closely than ever. Employers should make sure their recruitment processes are fully compliant, job requirements are well documented, and that the wage they offer meets the government’s required minimum for the job (called the “prevailing wage”). 

Don’t let this news deter you from starting or continuing the PERM process for your employees. A well-prepared filing remains one of the most reliable paths to employer-sponsored permanent residence. 

How We Can Help 

At Serotte Immigration Partners, we guide employers through every step of PERM, from setting the required wage determination to recruitment and filing. 

If you have questions about how this news affects your organization, contact us today.