What Is the PERM Green Card Programme? US Green Card Shock For Infosys, TCS, Wipro And Other IT Firms

JD Vance yesterday announced that the US administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and six major outsourcing firms from the US government's Permanent Labour Certification Programme, also known as PERM,program which is used to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling jotted down eight companies: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.

The US Department of Labor said it would stop accepting and processing new and pending PERM applications involving the affected companies.

Lets understand what PERM actually is, whether it is the same as a Green Card and what happens to workers who are already somewhere in the immigration process.

What Is PERM?

PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management. It is a US Department of Labor process used by employers who are looking to permanently employ some foreign workers in the United States. Simply put, PERM is a labour certification step in the employment-based Green Card process.

The employer files the PERM application for the employee. However, the Department of Labor should also declare that there are not enough US workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for the job, and that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively affect the wages and working condition of US workers.

PERM should not be confused with a Green Card. It is however one stage of the process that can eventually lead to employment-based permanent residency.

How Does The PERM Green Card Process Work?

The process can work in the following manner:

Firstly an employer decides to sponsor an eligible foreign worker for permanent employment. Since the employee does not apply for PERM on his end, the employer is responsible for the labour certification application.

Secondly, the employer must check the specified recruitment and notice steps to test the US labour market to find out whether qualified US workers are available for the position.

After completing the required recruitment and other steps, the employer files Form ETA-9089, the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, with the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor then reviews the application to find out whether the requirements have been met.

After PERM certification, the employer generally submits the certified labour certification along with Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, to USCIS, as per data from the labour department.

Is PERM The Same As A Green Card?

No. This is probably the most important difference people should know. The H-1B is a temporary US work status while PERM is a Department of Labor labour certification that is required in many employer-sponsored Green Card cases. And a Green Card is the permanent resident status in the United States.

Therefore, if an Indian employee's employer's PERM application is suspended, it does not automatically mean that the employee has lost their H-1B visa or their existing Green Card.

Importance of PERM For Indian IT Workers

PERM is mainly important for many Indian technology professionals because a number of highly skilled Indian workers enter the US through employment-based visa routes such as H-1B and may eventually get permanent residency through employer sponsorship. The immediate concern is delay. A worker who has not yet completed the PERM stage may have to wait before the employer can proceed with that part of the Green Card process.

Microsoft said "the vast majority of our applications are for existing employees rather than new hires, and that it only files H-1B petitions for people who meet the visa's rigorous standards.

TCS said it has noted the announcement and will comply with any directive from the Department of Labour. It said it has built a major local workforce across 31 offices and delivery centres in the US.

"Our PERM applications were in single digits over the last two years, so it does not expect the suspension to hit its workforce strategy or customer engagements. We aim to hire 15,000 people in the US over five years." as per TCS's exchange filing.