US Freezes Green Card Filings for Cognizant and Cloudera Amid Visa Fraud Probe; Indian IT Giants Watch Nervously.
The US Department of Labor has stopped tech services company Cognizant from filing new green card sponsorships for foreign workers while it investigates alleged visa fraud. The move is part of the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on suspected abuse of the H-1B programme.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government would stop accepting new applications and processing pending cases involving the companies under the Permanent Labor Certification programme, commonly known as PERM.
“We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,” Sonderling said.
. In a separate post, he said software firm Cloudera’s PERM filings had been suspended too. Neither company has been charged with a crime. The Department has not said publicly what Cognizant is accused of, or that it has found any wrongdoing. D’Esposito said his office is working with the White House anti-fraud task force.
What is PERM? PERM labour certification is usually the first step when a US employer sponsors a foreign worker for an employment-based green card. To get it, the employer must show that no qualified American worker is available for the job and that hiring a foreigner won’t hurt US workers’ wages or conditions. Without PERM approval, a green card sponsorship cannot move forward.
Who is affected? The suspension covers new filings only. It does not cancel existing green card applications or visas. Workers who were counting on Cognizant to sponsor them could still face long delays until the suspension is lifted. Reports disagree on the company’s H-1B processing. Some say D’Esposito later added that it was suspended for Cognizant and Cloudera. Others say the action covers green card filings only.
What about TCS, Microsoft and others?
standing on the decision, Sonderling claimed that the affected companies had collectively requested nearly
three million foreign workers since 2009, receiving more
than 230, 000 H-1B approvals and over 100, 000permanent labour certifications.
The administration raised concerns over alleged
immigration fraud and the displacement of American workers, although the allegations do not establish wrongdoing by every company involved.
Vice President JD Vance also questioned Microsoft’s
hiring practices, pointing to layoffs of American employees while foreign workers continued to be employed.
Cognizant received 3,510 approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2026, ranking sixth nationally after Amazon, TCS, Infosys, Apple and Microsoft. Its approvals have fallen sharply from 9,413 in 2020. After the announcement, users on X called for the same scrutiny of TCS, Infosys and other big outsourcing firms. Analysts warn that TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech, which rely on the same visa routes, could come under closer watch. However, there is no official Labor Department announcement naming TCS or Infosys or suspending their filings. D’Esposito hinted that scrutiny could extend beyond Cognizant but named no other companies.
Cognizant’s timing: The suspension came a day after Cognizant announced plans to grow its US workforce. Those plans include hiring 1,500 American college graduates and joining RAISE US, a bipartisan coalition preparing American workers for the AI economy.
Why it matters to the diaspora: Many foreign nationals including African tech professionals in the US depend majorly on employer-sponsored green cards. If the crackdown spreads, sponsorship anywhere could become slower and less certain.
While the suspension affects a critical stage of the employment-based green card process, it does not automatically cancel existing H-1B visas or green cards already issued to employees.
Defending the decision, Sonderling claimed that the affected companies had collectively requested nearly
three million foreign workers since 2009, receiving more
than 230, 000 H-1B approvals and over 100, 000permanent labour certifications.
The administration raised concerns over alleged
immigration fraud and the displacement of American workers, although the allegations do not establish wrongdoing by every company involved.
Vice President JD Vance also questioned Microsoft’s
hiring practices, pointing to layoffs of American employees while foreign workers continued to be employed.
This move will create more job opportunities for Americans who are already trained and skilled in those fields