How will US green card suspension affect H-1B workers? Nasscom, TCS react

As industry experts assess the impact of the Donald Trump administration’s decision to suspend eight IT firms, including Tata, Infosys and Wipro, from a programme to apply for green cards for foreign workers, questions are being raised about how this will affect Indian professionals working in the US and in the process of seeking green cards.

India's IT industry body Nasscom has allayed fears, stating the move won’t have a major impact on Indian tech companies. It added that relatively few employees transition from H-1B visas to permanent residency through the programme.

“The H-1B visa programme has historically played an important role in addressing short-term skill gaps in the US, and it will continue to be used to address short term talent gaps,” Nasscom said in a statement on Friday. It added that Indian technology companies had significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas over the years while expanding local hiring and building a domestic workforce in the US. This is the first step of the most common green card category used by employers to sponsor an employee for permanent residence in the United States.

“Consequently, the number of employees transitioning from H-1B visas to permanent residency through the PERM process is also relatively limited,” it said.

Tata Consultancy Services, India's top IT services exporter, also maintained that the US decision won’t have any material impact on its workforce strategy or client engagements. 

The IT firm added that its its PERM applications were in "single digits" over the past two years and reiterated plans to hire 15,000 additional employees in the US over the next five years.

The company said its US workforce strategy is primarily focused on local hiring, supported by campus recruitment, limiting its reliance on the programme. 

PERM, or Program Electronic Review Management, is the first step of the most common green card category used by employers to sponsor an employee for permanent residence in the United States. It is the US Department of Labour’s process for certifying that an employer can sponsor a foreign worker for a permanent job in the US without adversely affecting American workers’ wages, working conditions or employment opportunities.

Most jobs require a PERM application, but some occupations don’t, including nurses, physical therapists, people of “exceptional ability,” and those working in the “national interest” (especially those in STEM fields with Ph. D.S).

However, Indian professionals who have already applied for PERM and whose applications are pending could find their processing delayed. The administration is yet to clarify how their applications will be treated.

India's green-card backlog was already long, and as per the October 2026 US Visa Bulletin, the final-action date for Indian applicants under Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) was November 1, 2013. EB-2 covers advanced-degree professionals and people of exceptional ability.

For Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3), which includes skilled workers and professionals, the corresponding date is January 1, 2014.

For employees who have not started PERM, there could be an immediate disruption. If their employer cannot file a new PERM application, they may have to wait before beginning the standard employer-sponsored green card route.

However, for those who are approaching the normal six-year limit on H-1B status, the decision may come as a major issue. US immigration rules permit extensions beyond six years in certain circumstances, including when the qualified worker files an application at least 365 days before the extended period begins. Workers with approved immigrant petitions who cannot obtain permanent residence because immigrant visas are unavailable may qualify for extensions of up to three years.

However, an employee whose employer has not yet filed PERM could face difficulties establishing eligibility for such extensions.