Explainer-The tech green-card program under attack from Trump

The United States government announced on Thursday that it is halting participation from numerous major tech and IT companies in a significant green card program enabling skilled foreign workers to secure permanent residency through employment. This action is attributed to suspected fraud, with officials alleging that firms are exploiting the program to replace American workers with cheaper alternatives, a key component of the Trump administration's ongoing crackdown on skilled foreign labor.

The suspension specifically targets the employer-sponsorship mechanism known as Permanent Labor Certification (PERM), a crucial pathway for major technology firms and outsourcing companies. The PERM program, instituted in 2005, simplifies the backlog of processing times associated with the previous paper-based system. Under PERM, the Department of Labor (DOL) permits an employer to sponsor a foreign worker's permanent residency, provided it is certified by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services that there are no qualified US workers available for the job and that employing the foreign worker will not negatively impact the wages and working conditions of American workers.

The program plays a vital role in bridging temporary work statuses and permanent residency for many skilled foreign employees, particularly in the IT sector, where companies often recruit through temporary visas like the H-1B before seeking permanent residency. Many international technology firms have hundreds of thousands of employees who initially work under temporary visas and later aim for permanent residency via PERM.

The suspension impacts companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. However, certain entities like Meta, Amazon, and Google, along with others, continue to be permitted to participate in the program. This move expands the Trump administration's series of measures against visas for foreign workers, which the administration claims have resulted in job losses in the US.

Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized that companies must hire American workers, echoing concerns raised by other officials about the program's use to displace American employees and depress wages.

The suspensions precede President Trump's earlier imposition of a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for highly skilled foreign workers, a measure that has faced legal challenges. While the PERM suspensions may target specific companies, experts argue that such policies could make the US less attractive to globally competitive talent, as foreign workers may either seek employment abroad or decline to come to the US at all.

Chad Sparber, Director of the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs at Colgate University, cautioned that restricting skilled foreign workers risks diminishing the US's competitiveness. Ahmed Gulek, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford's Immigration Policy Lab, noted that permanent residency is essential for retaining talented foreign employees; without it, some might leave or choose not to enter the US even temporarily.