"Handcuffs Await": US Suspends Tech Giant Cognizant's Green Card Filings Over Alleged Visa Abuse

Washington: The Trump administration in the United States has suspended India-founded and US-listed tech giant Cognizant's ability to apply for new green card sponsorship, labelling it as a "threat to American workers." The US Department of Labour suspended permanent labour certification filings by Cognizant over alleged fraud. The move will impact the company's filings under the Permanent Labour Certification programme (PERM), a key step for employers seeking employment-based green cards for foreign workers."Cognizant's PERM filings are suspended," Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said in a post on X."Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated. Alongside the White House Task Force to eliminate fraud, we're following facts, fraud, and finances. Handcuffs await," he said.Fighting fraud is a TEAM SPORT.@Sonderling47 and I are for real.@Cognizant's PERM filings are suspended. @DOLOIG is on the hunt.Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated.Alongside @WHFraudTF, we're following facts, fraud and finances.Handcuffs await.— Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito (@USLaborIG) September 8, 2026Under the PERM programme, the Labour Department must certify that qualified US workers are not available for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers.PERM certification is associated with permanent employment and employment-based green cards. It is separate from the H-1B programme, which permits eligible US employers to hire foreign professionals temporarily for speciality occupations. Suspension of PERM filings does not, by itself, establish that a company's H-1B petitions have also been suspended.D'Esposito separately announced that PERM filings by US-based software giant Cloudera had also been suspended."One more. @cloudera: PERM filings SUSPENDED," he said.One more. @cloudera: PERM filings SUSPENDED. @Sonderling47 @DOLOIG @WHFraudTF 🇺🇸— Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito (@USLaborIG) September 8, 2026The material released by the inspector general did not identify any criminal charges against either company.Team Trump official did not disclose the specific allegations or criminal charges against either Cognizant or Cloudera, the number of applications affected or how long the suspension would remain in force.It also did not include a response from either of the two companies. About CognizantFounded in Chennai, India, in 1994, Cognizant is a US-based multinational company headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, and listed on Nasdaq under the ticker CTSH and retains a major workforce and operational presence in America.The action came a day after Cognizant announced plans to expand its American workforce. The company said it planned to hire 1,500 US college graduates and increase its Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator workforce to 15,000 people."We are hiring American graduates, standing up new American job categories for the AI era, and putting Cognizant's capital and leadership behind a national coalition built to make sure this transition works for workers," Cognizant Chief Executive Officer Ravi Kumar S said."We believe AI will create significantly more jobs than it displaces and shift greater value, wages and accountability to the frontlines of America's workforce," Kumar said.Cognizant also said it had joined RAISE US, a bipartisan coalition focused on helping American workers move into the artificial intelligence economy. The company's Synapse programme has trained more than one million people and now aims to reach two million by 2030.