Trump’s green card curbs test Indian tech workers’ American dream
For millions of Indians, the road to the ultimate career aspiration had a familiar script - an engineering degree to get a tech services job, then a posting in the US, repeated visa renewals and then the green card that gave them permanent residency in the country.
Millions of Indians had long envisioned a promising career trajectory from studying engineering, securing a tech services job, working in America, renewing their visas, and eventually obtaining a green card – granting them permanent residency. However, this dream is now under threat as the United States has announced a suspension of eight major technology firms, including Microsoft, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and HCL Technologies, from hiring skilled international workers on a permanent basis through the widely used Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) visa pathway.
Applications for new and pending PERM cases have been frozen, a significant setback for Indians who hold the majority of H-1B visas – temporary visas for specialists that they rely on to work in the US while pursuing a green card and eventual citizenship.
These recent developments align with President Trump's efforts to tighten skilled-worker immigration rules, which technology firms have been adapting to. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), representing India's $300 billion technology industry, notes that local hiring is now becoming more prevalent, and the number of employees transitioning to permanent residency via PERM is relatively limited.
Major companies like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Microsoft have also revealed that less than 20% of their US workforce is hired through the H-1B visa program, with most employees being locally recruited.
However, the decision's consequences extend beyond business; it raises concerns over US immigration policy. Vice President JD Vance's harsh rhetoric regarding H-1B workers, calling them "foreign indentured servants," drew criticism from India's foreign ministry as unwarranted and offensive, while the firm impacted by the PERM restriction remains silent on the matter.
Several experts warn that as green card pathways tighten, many immigrants may reconsider their future in the US, while others may decide against moving altogether.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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