PERM — short for Permanent Labor Certification — is the first step most foreign workers must clear to get a US employment-based green card.

The employer asks the Department of Labor to certify that there are no qualified, willing and available American workers for the job. Only then can it file an immigrant petition.

The process involves recruitment steps, including advertising the position, to prove the company genuinely tried to hire locally. It can take months or years.

PERM made headlines on October 8, 2026, when the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six IT firms from the programme over alleged fraud.

The Labor Department will not accept new or process pending PERM applications from the affected companies, which include Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant and Capgemini.

Nine universities also face probes over alleged visa misuse. Officials say the crackdown protects American workers.

Importantly, the suspension does not cancel existing H-1B visas — but it blocks the path from those visas to permanent residency for affected workers.