Cognizant Green Card Filings Suspended by US: What It Means for Indian IT Workers
With respect to Cognizant, the US has banned it from applying for more PERMs on behalf of its foreign workers, thus raising fresh questions about the future of such individuals trying to get their Green Cards through their employer. This step has come at a time when the Department of Labor in the US is conducting an extensive investigation of the H-1B visa program and employment immigration policy because of some concerns about possible fraud and abuse.
This latest development is especially important for Indians working in technology because of the fact that Cognizant, a company that was established in Chennai and has headquarters in New Jersey, has traditionally been one of the leading sponsors of foreign technology workers in the US.
What Happened to Cognizant’s Green Card Filings?
US Department of Labor has placed Cognizant on hold for its PERM applications, which is an essential step in the process of obtaining a Green Card under the employment-based visa category. This move came from the US Department of Labor Inspector General, Anthony D’Esposito, who has revealed that his agency is probing allegations of fraud and misappropriation of employment visa programs.
This probe has been carried out in coordination with the White House Fraud Task Force and others from the Department of Labor. The Inspector General has openly cautioned that any threat to American citizens will not be tolerated; however, authorities have not yet made public whether Cognizant has indulged in any fraudulent activity.
This is not an isolated case, and Cloudera is another company whose PERM applications have been put on hold.
What Is PERM and Why Is It Important?
PERM is an abbreviation for Program Electronic Review Management, which is usually the first major step that an employer needs to undertake before sponsoring a foreign worker in an employment-based Green Card application.
Prior to undertaking the immigration process, an employer would usually have to prove that there are no other qualified and available US citizens for the job and that employing a foreign worker would not adversely affect the US citizens’ salaries and working conditions.
After this, the employer could move on to the next steps of the Green Card procedure. As such, in cases where an employer is unable to submit new PERM applications, the foreign employees who are waiting for the employer to sponsor them would see their plans of obtaining a Green Card stalled.
Does This Mean Cognizant Employees Have Lost Their Green Cards?
No. This differentiation is very crucial. In this case, the present action is related to the suspension of new PERM applications. It does not imply that any immigrant Cognizant employee who had his/her green card application filed becomes an illegal immigrant overnight. People who are past the PERM stage of their immigration process may not be affected by the present action.
In addition, this action does not cancel the status of the worker’s H-1B visa. As was mentioned before, the PERM process and the H-1B visa are two different parts of the US employment-based immigration policy. But people who planned to get their green card sponsorship from Cognizant may be uncertain about their future steps.
It all depends on what position each particular employee is at in the immigration process and how the US immigration department acts after finishing the investigation.
Why Indian IT Workers Are Particularly Concerned
This issue is important for Indian professionals since Indian citizens form a sizable share of foreign technology professionals in the United States.
The PERM application serves as an essential step in the path of securing employment-based Green Cards for many Indian professionals on H-1B visas. However, Indians already experience delays in obtaining employment-based Green Cards due to yearly and national caps on such cards.
As a result, a delay in the PERM process may affect much more than just causing delays in the paperwork itself. An inability to apply for the PERM and establish a priority date may cause the immigrant to experience further delays in the overall immigration process.
This delay will be even more problematic for immigrants who have already spent several years working and building their careers in the US.
How Big Is Cognizant’s US Immigration Footprint?
Cognizant has traditionally been an important player in the American employment-visa program. As mentioned in Indian media, using the statistics provided by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Cognizant had 3,510 approved H-1B petitions as of June 30, 2026, compared to 9,413 approved in 2020.
While the number of approved H-1B petitions has gone down during this time period, Cognizant continues to be an important source of employment for tech workers in America.
The size of Cognizant’s global labor force suggests that even if just a fraction of the employees were awaiting their Green Card sponsorship, the suspension could potentially have an effect on their lives.
Could Existing H-1B Workers Be Affected?
The simple answer is that the suspension of the PERM system is not, in itself, a blanket suspension of the H-1B visa.
However, what is important here is the difference between temporary work authorization and permanent residency. The H-1B holder can remain working in his current status while he awaits his employer’s processing of the Green Card application.
The issue comes when the permanent residency process is delayed. When you consider Indian professionals who have long waits ahead of them anyway, this could prove to be detrimental to their situation.
Why the US Investigation Matters Beyond Cognizant
The Cognizant issue may have implications that extend beyond that one company, since it shows that the regulation of employment-based immigration will be done through stricter measures.
An investigation has been started by the Labor Department since July in relation to an allegation of fraud in connection with H-1B and PERM programs. This means that firms utilizing these programs might now be subjected to stricter scrutiny of their recruiting process, compensation levels, documentation and whether the labor certification process was done correctly.
This may now lead to further uncertainty in the technology industry especially among firms that employ a lot of foreign workers.
But it would be too early to say that other Indian IT firms will be treated similarly.
What Does This Mean for the Indian IT Sector?
The effect is immediate and affects mostly Cognizant employees and their immigration process, although the entire Indian IT industry is following developments closely.
Indian technology firms depend heavily on the US market, and the immigration policy can affect the way they hire, move and keep their skilled professionals. More scrutiny may prompt firms to hire more people in the US and depend less on using temporary visas for relocating workers.
Curiously, Cognizant made an announcement about hiring 1,500 US college graduates prior to the last suspension becoming public. The company is known to increase the number of US-based employees and technology infrastructure.
This is also a trend in the industry as Indian-origin IT firms try to balance offshore outsourcing with a larger US workforce.
What Should Cognizant Employees Do Now?
First of all, those employees who are waiting for their Green Card sponsorship have to find out what is their immigration status now and where their personal immigration case is. A person who is not entered the PERM process will be in different position than a person whose labour certification is approved or who has got further.
Employees should not consider that their existing immigration status is automatically affected by the suspension and should talk to the immigration department of their employer or to a US immigration lawyer.
The main thing to understand is whether Cognizant has already entered the PERM process in regard to this particular employee or whether this employee is still waiting for sponsorship to begin.
What will happen next?
The greatest problem is the time period of the suspension. The Department of Labor has not announced the time when the investigation will be finished and when Cognizant will be able to file new PERM applications again.
Cognizant may also appeal against the suspension through the court but the result and time when it will take place are not clear.
Conclusion
The suspension of Cognizant’s new PERM filing is an important event for Indians working in the information technology sector since it targets a very vital stage in the employment-based Green Card process.
It is important, however, to understand that the suspension of new PERM filings is not a withdrawal of the current Green Card or an automatic end of H-1B status. In other words, the impact is only on those employees who were waiting for Cognizant to start the process of sponsoring them for permanent residency.
The more interesting story is the increasing focus on the process of immigration based on employment in America. For Indian information technology workers, who are already dealing with lengthy Green Card queues, the suspension by Cognizant is yet another example that immigration policies may affect them directly.
The suspension of the filing of new PERM applications by Cognizant does not mean that Indian IT workers lose their jobs and Green Cards. However, it may mean additional delays for those employees who were waiting to start the PERM process.
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