The United States on Thursday suspended Microsoft from ⁠a ⁠program, citing alleged fraud. The Trump administration also announced the suspension of Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, Capgemini, HCL from the permanent labour certification programme.

The Permanent Labour Certification Programme, which allows companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers.

The announcement was made by US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, with Vice President JD Vance, the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, by his side.

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"I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini," Sonderling said.

"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies. Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost three million foreign workers. They've received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications," Sonderling said.

Indian Professionals Set To Be Affected

Subsequently, thousands of of Indians professionals working for IT companies linked to India: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini in the US will be affected by the move. The development is a big blow to Indian professionals currently waiting in long green card backlogs cannot advance their status, leaving them tied indefinitely to their current employers and vulnerable to visa renewal hurdles.

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The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a programme to apply for green cards for workers who come to the US to live and work using an H-1B visa, Vice President JD Vance said.

Vance, while announcing the Trump administration's decision at the White House news conference, said, "If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants." Vance spoke in a White House news conference announcing the decision.

What Led Trump To Suspend The Labour Programme

The H-1B programme has long been a target of President Donald Trump's supporters who claim that the programme undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse. They also alleged fraudulent practices in the IT firms to draw foreign professionals.

This came a day after US proposed a USD 70,000 fee for international students seeking to work in the country after completing their studies, a move that could affect Indian youths seeking higher education in America. The Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule requiring educational institutions to pay a USD 70,000 fee for any Optional Practical Training (OPT) the student participates in for the first time. For every subsequent renewal, the school will have to pay a USD 30,000 fee.

(With Agencies Inputs)