'No Material Impact': Infosys On Trump's Green Card Crackdown

New Delhi: Indian IT services company Infosys expects no material impact on operations after the US decision to suspend new and pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme.In a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, the Bengaluru-headquartered firm said it welcomes the opportunity to work with the US Department of Labor and related government agencies to address any queries."We do not anticipate yesterday's announcement of such suspension to have a material impact on the organisation...Infosys has invested in building a strong local workforce and technology and innovation hubs in the United States. The company remains committed to its employees, clients, and communities across the United States and to complying with all applicable laws and regulations," Infosys said.The statement follows the US administration's decision on Thursday to suspend eight major technology firms, including Indian IT majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies, from the programme that enables employers to apply for permanent residency (green cards) for foreign staff, contending that the practice has excluded American workers from the domestic job market.Global firms Capgemini, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Adobe were also named in the directive.A PERM certification issued by the US Department of Labor is the initial requirement for employers seeking to hire foreign workers on a permanent basis and serves as the primary gateway towards obtaining an employment-based green card.However, industry data indicates that Indian IT firms have sharply curtailed their green card filings in recent years, mitigating potential operational disruptions. TCS filed just two PERM applications in US financial year 2026, down from 513 in 2025 and 1,804 in 2024. HCL submitted 59 filings in 2026 compared to 323 in 2025, while Infosys recorded 87 PERM applications in 2024.Wipro filed 257 applications in 2024 and 523 in 2025. Of the 257 applications filed in 2024, 169 were denied, and 88 were withdrawn by the company."Indian IT companies accounted for less than 1,400 of the 1,17,849 PERM certifications last year, less than 2 per cent. The direct impact may therefore be smaller than it first appears," Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL Technologies, said in a post on X.TCS has also downplayed the development, saying that its PERM applications had dropped to "single digits in the last two years" and that the suspension is not expected to affect its client commitments or talent strategy.Its US workforce strategy is anchored in hiring local talent, supported by a robust campus recruitment model, it said, adding that the company has built a significant local workforce across 31 offices and delivery centres.As announced earlier, TCS said it intends to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years to further augment its local workforce.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)