Microsoft, Adobe, and 6 IT Firms Suspended From PERM: What It Means

By The Immigration Compass | Published 2026-10-08

The US suspended eight companies from PERM, the first step in an employer-sponsored green card. Here's what changed, what didn't, and what we still don't know.

On October 8, 2026, Vice President JD Vance and the Labor Department announced that Microsoft, Adobe, and six large IT outsourcing firms are suspended from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM. Many headlines are calling it a green card freeze. That's close, but not exact. The announcement is aimed at these eight companies, not PERM as a whole, and the reports we reviewed don't describe any cancellation of existing H-1B status or green cards. The distinction matters if you're an international student or a worker hoping to be sponsored one day.

Here's what was announced, what PERM actually does, and what nobody has explained yet.

What was announced

According to Reuters and other outlets covering the press conference, Keith Sonderling of the Labor Department said Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini are suspended from PERM. The Department of Labor said it won't accept new PERM applications or process pending applications involving these companies. Vance made the announcement at a White House Fraud Task Force press conference.

Vance singled out Microsoft. He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards, and told the company it needs to hire American workers. Keep in mind that H-1B visas and green cards go through separate processes, so those numbers describe two different things.

Reports also say the government hasn't publicly spelled out the specific allegations against Microsoft or Adobe in a formal finding, and hasn't said how long the suspensions will last. Vance said they could run as long as needed. Microsoft has said that about 80% of the H-1B applications it filed in the last fiscal year were for extensions or changes of status for current employees rather than new workers, and said it pays H-1B employees the same as other employees doing comparable work. Adobe and the other named companies hadn't all responded publicly when the initial reports were published.

As a separate development at the same press conference, the administration said it has opened investigations into alleged J-1 visa abuse at nine universities: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State, and MIT. J-1 is a different visa category from F-1, so F-1 students aren't directly affected by that part of the announcement. This investigation is separate from the PERM suspension discussed in this article.

PERM is the first step, not the whole green card

The Department of Labor describes a permanent labor certification as the approval that allows an employer to hire a foreign worker permanently in the United States. In most cases, an employer has to get a certified labor certification from DOL before it can file an immigrant petition with USCIS. To grant it, DOL must certify that there aren't enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available for the job, and that hiring the foreign worker won't hurt the wages and working conditions of similar U.S. workers.

Here's where PERM sits in a typical employer-sponsored case:

USCIS says the second and third employment-based preference categories (EB-2 and EB-3) generally require this labor certification before the petition can be filed. There is one notable exception. An EB-2 petition can ask for a national interest waiver, which waives both the job offer and the labor certification requirement. That route has its own strict eligibility rules, so it isn't a simple backup plan.

How this got started

This didn't come out of nowhere. On July 8, 2026, the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General announced a nationwide investigation into fraud and human trafficking in the H-1B and PERM systems. In that release, the OIG said it had found schemes in which employers and labor brokers submitted fraudulent applications, pressured foreign workers into wage kickbacks, and undercut American workers with below-wage labor. It also asked workers to report concerns through the OIG hotline.

That is the OIG's description of what it is investigating. A suspension isn't a court finding, and the sources we reviewed don't show formal charges against the companies named on October 8.

What this could mean for you

The answer depends on where you are in the process. Here's how we'd think about it.

• If you work at one of the eight companies: the announcements describe a halt on PERM filings and processing. They don't say anything about ending anyone's current H-1B status. Ask your HR team or the company's immigration attorney what it means for your specific case before you assume anything.
• If you have a pending PERM case: DOL treats the date it receives your application as your priority date. If your case isn't being processed right now, ask your employer or attorney how that date and your timeline are affected.
• If you're an F-1 student on CPT or OPT: remember that employment authorization and future green card sponsorship are separate questions. When you compare job offers, ask whether the employer sponsors employment-based green cards, which roles or employees it typically sponsors, and how it has handled sponsorship in the past. Sponsorship is up to the employer, and the October 8 announcement shows that employer sponsorship policies can change quickly.
• If you're thinking about changing employers: talk to an immigration attorney first, especially if you're partway through a green card case.

Official guidance could change the picture quickly, so check the Department of Labor and USCIS websites directly instead of relying on social media summaries. This post is general information and not legal advice.

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