New Delhi:
India’s top IT services exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday said it does not expect the US suspension of the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for IT companies to “impact” its workforce strategy or client engagements.
TCS is among eight IT firms that was suspended from the PERM programme, which is used to apply for green cards for foreign workers, on Thursday, with the Trump administration contending that the practice has shut out Americans from the job market.
“We have noted the announcement by the US Government on the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) and TCS will comply with any directive from the Department of Labor. Our workforce strategy in the US is anchored in hiring local talent, supported by a robust campus recruitment model,” TCS said in the BSE filing.
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Under PERM, which most employment-based green cards require, employers must show a foreign hire will not affect US workers’ wages or jobs.
“Our PERM applications were in single digits in the last two years and hence we do not expect the suspension of the program to impact our workforce strategy and customer engagements,” it said.
The company said it has built a “significant” local workforce across 31 offices and delivery centers throughout the US.
“As we had announced earlier, we intend to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years, to further augment our local workforce,” it added.
TCS, Cognizant, Infosys Among IT Firms Hit By US Green Card Crackdown
The US on Thursday suspended eight IT firms, including three American businesses — Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe — and five Indian companies — Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro and HCL.
“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft,” Vice President JD 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,” he said.
READ | Microsoft Defends H-1B Visa Use After US Suspends Green Card Filings
He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B temporary worker visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
Vance also referred to foreign workers hired on H-1B visas as “foreign indentured servants” and the companies using the programme as “visa mills”.
Indian professionals account for over 70 per cent of all approved H-1B petitions annually.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said the Department of Labour will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.
READ | Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Among IT Firms Hit By US Green Card Crackdown
“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.
That’s hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers, he said.
