Green card woes deepen for Indian tech workers

New Delhi: Thousands of Indian technology professionals pursuing US permanent residency face fresh uncertainty after the US suspended major technology companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCLTech, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe, from the permanent labour certification (PERM) programme, an important step in the employer-sponsored green card process.

The move could delay permanent residency plans for employees already facing years-long green card backlogs, immigration experts told ET. Those nearing the six-year H-1B visa limit without an alternative basis for extension could face more immediate challenges, they added.

Read more: US green card delays: What options do Indian tech workers have if PERM is suspended


"The immediate impact is on employment-based permanent-residence sponsorship, not on the subsistence of existing H-1B status," said Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co. Existing H-1B approvals, approved I-140 petitions and permanent-resident status are not automatically revoked by this measure, he noted.

Employees awaiting PERM, however, may "face indefinite green-card delays, retention uncertainty and possible six-year H-1B-limit complications," Jain said.

Close to a million Indians, including dependents, are estimated to be waiting for employment-based green cards, most of them in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, said Sukanya Raman, country head for India at immigration-focused law firm Davies & Associates. "These are people who have spent years on temporary status and followed every rule, and now their green card process is on hold because of a dispute they have no part in," she added.

Read more: US targets biggest PERM filer: What changes for Indian tech workers

The restrictions could also become a talent-retention challenge for IT companies. While the firms are free to employ existing H-1B workers, their ability to offer those employees a long-term immigration pathway is constrained, said Sahil Nyati, founder and CEO of Meritmap and Jinee Green Card. "Employees may increasingly evaluate employers based not just on compensation and career growth, but also on the stability of their immigration sponsorship," he said.

Companies are reviewing their existing immigration pipelines. "They are identifying employees most exposed to the restrictions and reassessing their workforce planning," Nyati said.

PERM requires an employer to establish that no able, willing, qualified and available US workers exist, and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect equivalent US wages or conditions.

According to experts, IT employers are likely to apply a three-pronged strategy to address this - hire more US citizens and permanent residents, expand offshore and nearshore delivery capabilities, and become more selective about international employees. "We may also see companies evaluate alternative immigration pathways, including O-1A visas for individuals with extraordinary ability and EB-1A or EB-2 NIW green card categories for employees who independently qualify," Nyati said.