Following the suspension, which could have a major impact on the IT sector, Zoho founder Sriddhar Vembu urged Indias to return home and contribute. The United States on Thursday (Oct 8) barred eight IT firms, including Microsoft, Tata, Wipro and Infosys, from participating in its Permanent Labour Certification (PERM), a key step in the employer-sponsored Green Card process.
Vembu argued that despite Indians contributing heavily to America’s growth, a big section of the country did not want them anymore.
Vembu expressed concerns over the impact the decision could have on Indians working on a visa in the US. Adobe, Cognizant, HCL and Capgemini are other targeted companies, as the Donald Trump administration intensifies scrutiny of H-1B hiring and alleges abuse of programmes used to employ foreign workers. Earlier reporting noted: More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin live in the US, according to recent estimates based on US Census data.
The US government said it would not accept any new PERM applications or process any pending ones from the eight targeted IT firms. Earlier reporting noted: Vance said, “Our message to Microsoft is : You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers.”
Earlier reporting noted: The United States has barred eight IT firms, including Microsoft, Tata, Wipro and Infosys, from participating in its Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, a key step in the employer-sponsored Green Card process, claiming the practice has shut out American workers from the job market.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the move, which also impacts Western behemoths like Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. “Indians who are on a visa in the US face the painful prospect of uprooting the life you have built with hard work. Let this be the birth pains of a bold new future. Come back, let’s build India. He was flanked by the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force and Vice President JD Vance.
“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. He said the US government will not accept “any new or process” any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.
