The Trump administration in the United States has suspended India-founded and US-listed tech giant Cognizant’s ability to apply for new green card sponsorship, labelling it as a “threat to American workers. The US Department of Labour suspended permanent labour certification filings by Cognizant over alleged fraud.
The move will impact the company’s filings under the Permanent Labour Certification programme (PERM), a key step for employers seeking employment-based green cards for foreign workers. “Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated. Alongside the White House Task Force to eliminate fraud, we’re following facts, fraud, and finances. Under the PERM programme, the Labour Department must certify that qualified US workers are not available for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers. PERM certification is associated with permanent employment and employment-based green cards. It is separate from the H-1B programme, which permits eligible US employers to hire foreign professionals temporarily for speciality occupations. Suspension of PERM filings does not, by itself, establish that a company’s H-1B petitions have also been suspended.
The company’s Synapse programme has trained more than one million people and now aims to reach two million by 2030.
“Cognizant’s PERM filings are suspended,” Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said in a post on X. Handcuffs await,” he said. Cognizant also said it had joined RAISE US, a bipartisan coalition focused on helping American workers move into the artificial intelligence economy.
