‘You have a green card of your own’: US' new PERM rules expose a job trap of 'rewards' that employees get stuck in for years, warns IIM alumnus

Many job employees delay their career moves because they keep on waiting for a reward that promises them greater security. It could be a bonus that is due next year, company shares that they are yet to get or a promotion that their manager has promised after the next performance review. But what if the promise itself is keeping them from moving ahead?

Saurabh Agarwal, co-founder and an alumnus of IIM Lucknow, in a LinkedIn post has drawn a parallel between this workplace pattern of employees and the uncertainty currently faced by Indian professionals pursuing US green cards.

He shared the post highlighting the Trump administration’s recent suspension of several major technology companies from the US Permanent Labour Certification, or PERM, programme, a key step in the employment-based green card process.

How uncertainty affects career decisions

In the LinkedIn post, Agarwal highlighted how the probability of securing permanent residency in US had influenced several professional decisions for people.

He said that many senior professionals had turned down better roles because changing employers could mean restarting parts of the green card process. "Yesterday, the US froze green card filings at eight companies, including TCS, Infosys and Wipro. Many Indian employees had spent years turning down better jobs, because changing jobs could restart the process," he wrote.

“You have a green card of your own. It just has a different name,” Agarwal added.

He said that when a professional's next career move depends on a benefit that has not yet arrived, the promise of future security can become a reason to avoid taking risks in the present.

ESOPs, bonuses and promotions

Agarwal identified three familiar workplace incentives that keeps workers from swithing jobs. Thes included, employee stock options (ESOPs), retention bonuses and promotions that managers promise.

Each one of these can offer a genuine financial or professional benefit. However, the timing and conditions that come with them can influence whether employees feel free to explore other opportunities or not.

Someone waiting for shares to vest may hesitate to accept an outside offer. An employee who would have to repay a retention bonus could find switching jobs financially difficult. Another may keep postponing a job search because a promotion appears to be just around the corner.

Over time, these decisions can become a pattern and employees stop exploring alternatives. "You stop taking calls. You stop asking what else is out there. You tell yourself, 'after this,'" he wrote.

The problem, as Agarwal frames it, is not necessarily the incentive itself. It is the control an employer has over when an employee receives the promised benefit.

What are the US PERM restrictions?

PERM is a US Department of Labour process through which employers generally show that qualified, willing and available American workers are not available for a particular permanent position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect comparable US workers' wages and working conditions.

Once labour certification is approved, an employer can generally proceed with an immigrant petition through US Citizenship and Immigration Services. For many H-1B workers pursuing employment-based permanent residency, this is an important stage of the green card process.

The reported suspensions affecting major technology companies, including Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, Capgemini and HCL, have now added uncertainty for employees relying on employer-sponsored immigration. The administration has linked its crackdown to alleged misuse of visa programmes and concerns about their impact on American workers.

The restrictions do not mean that every employee's green card application has been cancelled. However, limits on an employer's participation in PERM can complicate its ability to sponsor eligible workers for permanent residency.

A question employees should ask themselves

Agarwal's message in his post was to examine the benefits that influence career decisions. He offered a simple test, “Look at what you’re waiting for. If someone else decides when you get it, that’s your green card.”

The question applies to any professional who has postponed a move because a promised reward seems close enough to justify waiting a little longer.

Agarwal summed up the tension in one line, “It looks like security. It works like a lock.”