- The Labor Department suspended PERM processing for eight employers, pausing new and pending cases.
- The order does not cancel existing H-1B visas or immediately end workers’ employment.
- Indian students may reconsider U.S. enrollment as families weigh work and residence uncertainty against the cost of a degree.
The U.S. Department of Labor suspended PERM processing for eight employers on October 8, 2026, while universities could feel enrollment effects sooner as Indian students weigh the cost of a U.S. degree against uncertainty over work and long-term residence. The green card crackdown could affect decisions before students ever seek employer sponsorship.
The order covers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Microsoft, Adobe and Capgemini. It stops new applications and pauses pending cases tied to those employers.
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Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the department would “not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications” involving the companies. Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions would remain in place “as long as it needs to,” while the administration investigates alleged hiring and immigration-program abuses. The duration remains uncertain.
The pause does not cancel existing H-1B visas or immediately end employment. PERM is generally required before employers can pursue many employment-based green cards, so workers’ routes to permanent residence can stall.
The immediate effect on Indian IT firms may be limited. Nasscom said relatively few employees at Indian technology companies now seek green cards through PERM, and many companies have reduced reliance on H-1B workers and PERM-based sponsorship. The pause still leaves affected cases on hold.
Students could reconsider U.S. enrollment before seeking work
Indian students numbered 363,019 among international students in the 2024–25 academic year, about 31% of international enrollment in the United States. Families considering that investment may also weigh whether graduates can work and remain in the country.
The questions span several stages: Optional Practical Training after graduation, an employer-sponsored H-1B job, and a later transition to permanent residence. Uncertainty at each point can enter a family’s calculations before a student enrolls. That decision comes first.
Abhishek Malani, founder of Bengaluru-based education consultancy Quest For Success, said families had begun considering Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong as alternatives. Those choices reflect uncertainty about post-study work and a longer-term future, not an automatic bar on either one. The enrollment decision comes years before a future green-card application.
The university inquiry concerns J-1 visas, not student visas
Separately, the Labor Department opened investigations into nine universities over alleged misuse of J-1 exchange-visitor visas and possible efforts to undercut U.S. wages. The PERM suspensions apply to the eight named employers, not to universities.
The institutions identified include Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said subpoenas had already been served. Investigators are examining whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships or visa abuse affected federally funded research.
Those claims remain allegations under investigation, not established findings. The probe concerns J-1 exchange visas; it does not cancel student visas across the board or automatically prevent graduates from working after study. Universities with international graduate students, researchers and faculty face scrutiny, but the investigation is distinct from the employer PERM pause.
A proposed OPT fee would add another cost to post-study work
A separate Department of Homeland Security proposal would charge $70,000 for an initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 for an OPT extension. The proposal remained under review as of October 11, 2026. It is not an implemented fee.
Optional Practical Training allows eligible F-1 students to work in the United States after completing their studies. Qualifying fields can also use the STEM OPT extension. If adopted, the proposed charges could change the costs students, employers or universities face around post-study work.
The employment route can stretch toward the six-year H-1B limit
The path from a degree to permanent residence can involve several separate steps. A student may use OPT for post-study employment, then find an employer willing to file an H-1B petition. A green-card process can follow later. PERM restrictions can interrupt that progression.
Workers at the eight employers can remain in existing H-1B employment for now, but new and pending PERM cases are paused. Workers approaching the ordinary six-year H-1B limit may be especially exposed to delays, since lengthy green-card processing can be important to sustaining a long-term U.S. career. The pause affects sponsorship, not an immediate end to existing jobs.
That timing separates the two risks. Employers confront paused cases and possible added compliance and hiring costs; universities could see prospective students change plans before graduation, employment or sponsorship enters the picture. Enrollment decisions happen first.
