Trump administration warns of more H-1B, PERM suspensions for universities, companies

The US Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL OIG) has warned that more colleges and companies could be suspended from the PERM labour certification and H-1B visa programmes as it steps up investigations into alleged immigration fraud.US labour watchdog warns of more PERM, H-1B suspensions. (REUTERS)Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said the department would continue to pursue investigations and hold those responsible accountable, adding that further suspensions were expected.“We're going to continue to work as hard as we can. We're going to continue to be as aggressive as we possibly can in our investigations and we are going to continue to hold these individuals accountable,” D’Esposito said in a video message shared on Friday.He added that “some more colleges, some more companies” would be suspended from PERM and H-1B, but did not name the institutions or businesses or provide a timeline for the action.Also Read: US housing aid requires citizenship proof under new Trump administration ruleThe DOL OIG also flagged the warning in a post on X, saying it was working with Vice President JD Vance’s White House Fraud Task Force. The post described the action as part of its efforts to pursue unemployment insurance fraud and recover money through federal enforcement.DOL expands scrutiny of H-1B, PERM programmesThe latest warning comes amid a wider investigation by the department into alleged fraud involving employment-based immigration programmes.In July, the DOL OIG announced a nationwide investigation into alleged fraud and human trafficking involving the H-1B and PERM systems. It said investigators were examining claims that employers and labour brokers had submitted fraudulent applications, exploited foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements and used below-wage labour to undercut US workers.The department has since taken action against several companies. In October, the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and major IT outsourcing companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini, from the PERM process.Also Read: Trump administration targets Microsoft with H-1B remark amid Outlook outagePERM is a labour certification process generally required for employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based green cards. The H-1B programme, meanwhile, allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialty occupations.D’Esposito's latest remarks follow Microsoft criticismThe warning also follows D’Esposito’s recent remarks about Microsoft amid a major outage affecting Outlook and other Microsoft 365 services.The inspector general took a swipe at the technology company on X, writing: “Microsoft can process 6,000 H-1B applications, but processing your inbox is apparently a tougher assignment.”His comment came as Microsoft worked to restore Outlook, Teams, Copilot and other services after a disruption on November 12 that affected users, businesses and government organisations across several countries.