Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL among 8 IT firms suspended from US green card programme

The United States on Thursday barred eight major technology companies, including Microsoft, Infosys, Wipro and Tata, from participating in a federal labour certification programme used to secure employment-based green cards for foreign workers, as the Trump administration stepped up scrutiny of immigration practices it says disadvantage American employees.

The sweeping action, announced by Vice President JD Vance, Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling and Attorney General Todd Blanche under the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, targets some of the world's largest IT outsourcing companies and comes alongside a separate investigation into the use of exchange visitor visas by leading American universities.

Also Read: US bars Microsoft from sponsoring green cards for H-1B workers over alleged abuse


The restrictions cover Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe.

"I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini," Sonderling said.

Microsoft and Adobe have also been suspended from the programme because of multiple ongoing federal investigations, according to the Labour Secretary.

Under the decision, the US Department of Labour will neither accept fresh permanent labour certification applications nor process pending applications involving the eight companies.

Microsoft faces criticism over layoffs, visa applications

Vance singled out Microsoft, accusing the technology giant of misusing the immigration system while reducing its American workforce.

"There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft," Vance said.

"Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 after certifying that it could not find qualified American employees - yet the company was approved for more than 6,000 H-1Bs and filed 3,682 PERM applications, including nearly 1,000 applications for the same positions as the laid off American workers," the vice president said.

The administration also pointed to the scale of foreign worker recruitment by the companies covered under the suspension.

Also Read: US announces investigation into 9 universities, including Ivy League schools, over J-1 visas

"Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost three million foreign workers. They've received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications," Sonderling said.

He argued that the figures represented hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities lost by American workers.

The announcement carries particular significance for Indian technology professionals, who account for more than 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions annually.

During the announcement, Vance described foreign workers recruited through the H-1B programme as "foreign indentured servants" and characterised companies using the system as "visa mills".

Harvard, Yale among universities facing J-1 visa scrutiny

The administration's immigration crackdown has also extended to American higher education institutions.

Vance announced an investigation into the use of the J-1 visa programme for research scholars at nine major universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

The J-1 programme permits foreign nationals to enter the United States as exchange visitors for research, teaching, education and specialised professional activities.

However, the Vice President alleged that universities were relying excessively on the programme to hire foreign researchers at the expense of American graduate students and academics.

"Something weird is going on at these universities. They're using these visas way too much. They're using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers," Vance said.

He argued that immigration programmes intended to attract international talent should not be used to suppress domestic wages.

"This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and to the American way of life. We cannot allow visa programs that were designed to ensure that American corporations had access to the best and the brightest, to use them to undercut the wages of American workers," Vance said.

US announces visa fraud strike team

The administration also announced the establishment of a dedicated visa fraud strike team, bringing together investigators from across federal agencies to examine suspected violations.

Department of Labour Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito warned universities that their reputation or financial resources would not shield them from enforcement action.

"I don't care how prestigious the university thinks it is. Break the law and screw the American people, and I will personally cuff you in the university square," Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito, Department of Labour, said.

"I don't care how large your endowment is, how powerful your alumni are, or how many politicians you have on speed dial. As Vice President Vance said, nobody is above the law. That's why we're establishing a visa fraud strike team, bringing together investigative expertise from across government," D'Esposito said.

The measures mark a broader push by Washington to tighten oversight of employment-linked immigration programmes, with the administration focusing on companies and universities it alleges have used foreign worker visas to undercut wages and employment opportunities for Americans.

With PTI inputs