US targets Infosys, TCS: Indian IT firms account for less than 2% of green card filings

The US has suspended Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant and Capgemini from the PERM programme. The move may have limited immediate impact on operations but could seriously delay workers seeking permanent residency.Infosys, TCS green card numbers expose a bigger US jobs storyNew Delhi,Oct 9, 2026 08:12 ISTThe US decision to suspend Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant and Capgemini from the permanent labour certification programme (PERM) makes for a dramatic headline. But the numbers tell a more complicated story. The companies’ recent use of the green card route appears relatively small, even as they remain significant users of the H-1B work visa system.According to the Mint, the six Indian IT services firms accounted for fewer than 1,400 of the 117,849 permanent labour certification requests recorded between October 2024 and September 2025. This is less than 2% of the total.That is an important distinction. The suspension may not be a major disruption to the industry’s overall US operations in the immediate term. But for employees whose permanent residency applications are caught in the freeze, the consequences could be much more significant.THE GREEN CARD ROUTE WAS ALREADY SLOWINGThe company-level numbers offer a clue to how much the industry has changed. The US Department of Labor data, reported that Wipro had 523 PERM cases approved in fiscal year 2025, TCS had 513 and HCLTech had 393. Infosys, meanwhile, had not recorded PERM cases since 2022. Compare that with Microsoft, which had 3,161 PERM cases decided in fiscal year 2025, according to the same report. The software giant was also included in the US suspension.The figures do not establish why filings have fallen at particular companies, and applications approved in one year are not the same as applications currently pending. But they do suggest that the scale of recent PERM activity varies considerably between employers. For Indian IT services firms, the shift towards hiring locally in the US and delivering more work from India has been part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on visa-based staffing.Nasscom has said Indian technology companies have significantly reduced their reliance on H-1B visas and increased local hiring.H-1B DEPENDENCE IS A DIFFERENT QUESTIONThis is where the story gets more complicated. A company can have relatively few PERM applications and still employ substantial numbers of workers on H-1B visas.Around 57,000 new H-1B visas were approved for Indians in fiscal year 2026, down 28% from fiscal year 2024. Indians accounted for about half of the total new H-1B visas in that period.The figures point to a changing immigration landscape, but they do not mean Indian IT companies have stopped relying on overseas talent. H-1B status allows eligible professionals to work temporarily in the US; PERM is one step in the process of obtaining employment-based permanent residency. The two programmes serve different purposes and cannot be used interchangeably to measure dependence.The distinction also matters for employees.The suspension does not automatically cancel existing H-1B status. However, workers whose green card applications are delayed may need to reassess their timelines, particularly if they are approaching the usual six-year H-1B limit. Some qualify for extensions beyond six years under specific provisions of US immigration law, depending on their individual circumstances.THE IMPACT IS LIMITED BUT IT WILL STILL HURT WORKERSThe US administration has accused the companies of abusing the foreign-worker system and disadvantaging American employees. Those are allegations, not proof that every foreign worker sponsored by the named companies has acted improperly.The Department of Labor has said it will not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the suspended companies.For the industry, the impact will depend on how long the restrictions last and whether the companies can resume sponsorship. For employees, it will depend on whether their applications are pending, whether they have already moved to the I-140 stage and whether they qualify for other immigration options.The latest filing figures do not reveal how many applications are currently pending at each company. That number, along with the status of affected workers, will be essential to measuring the real cost of the decision.The bigger US jobs story, then, is not simply that Indian IT firms have been barred from a green card programme. It is that the route to permanent residency appears to have narrowed even as H-1B remains important to the industry’s US workforce.A small share of PERM applications may limit the immediate industry-wide disruption. It does not make the suspension inconsequential for the workers whose long-term future in America depends on it.- Ends