Green Card Restrictions under the Trump administration have raised concerns among Indian technology professionals seeking permanent residency in the United States. New and pending Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) applications involving eight technology companies have reportedly been suspended amid scrutiny of the programme. The affected firms include Microsoft, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCLTech. While industry representatives expect limited immediate business disruption because companies increasingly hire locally, the suspension could complicate long-term residency and family plans for affected workers. The precise impact will depend on individual cases and the duration of the restrictions.
Trump Green Card Restrictions Leave Indian Tech Workers Facing Uncertain Future in the US
The suspension of permanent labour certification applications for eight technology companies could impact US residency plans for Indian professionals, although companies say there has been little business disruption.
Trump’s green card restrictions have added to the uncertainty facing Indian technology workers in the United States after new and pending applications were suspended under the Permanent Labour Certification Program (PERM) at eight technology firms. The measure affects a well-used route to permanent residency through a job.
The curbs are intended for companies such as Microsoft, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and HCL Technologies. Many Indian professionals have used the H-1B temporary specialist visas over the years to come and work in America and hope to get employer-sponsored green cards, which can lead to permanent residency and possibly citizenship.
Trump Green Card Restrictions and Technology Firms
The restrictions are part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to tighten rules for skilled workers coming to the U.S. But industry representatives and financial analysts say the immediate commercial impact may be limited as companies have reduced their reliance on overseas recruitment.
Indian companies are hiring more locally and relying less on H-1B visas, says Nasscom, the trade association for the $300 billion technology industry in India. For this reason, there are relatively few employees that are transitioning from temporary visas to permanent residency via PERM.
Wipro said more than 80% of its U.S. workforce is hired locally, and TCS said it had single-digit PERM applications in the past two years. Microsoft said that its H-1B filings were for the purpose of retaining existing employees, not for hiring new workers.
TCS applications dropped to two in 2025-26 from 513 the previous year and 1,804 the year before, Business Standard reported, citing PERM Tracker. Infosys and Wipro records were not available for 2025-26. All eight companies approached by the BBC had failed to respond, it said.
HDFC Securities said the restrictions will have a negligible financial impact and said the PERM-linked positions account for a small portion of revenue of technology companies, even if American workers replace affected employees.
Indian Professionals Face Personal and Social Costs
The restrictions also jeopardise families whose lives have been built in America while their permanent residency applications are pending, in addition to business interests. One senior executive at one affected company, speaking anonymously to the BBC, said that the business impact would be manageable but the human consequences were more intense.
Families are making tough choices, she said, because children who grow up in the United States may not want to return to India. “There are many professionals who have borrowed a lot to study and build their careers and are left with fewer options as the rules tighten,” said Poorvi Chothani, founder and managing partner of immigration law firm LawQuest.
There have also been concerns about online hostility to Indian immigrants. US non-profit Stop AAPI Hate, which works on anti-Asian and Pacific Islander discrimination, said anti-South Asian online sentiment rose after the 2024 election.
“We have foreign indentured servants,” Vice President JD Vance said, later conceding his word choice was imperfect. India’s foreign ministry condemned the comment as unwarranted and deeply offensive due to its colonial connotations.
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Green Card Backlogs and Alternative Immigration Routes
Ahmet Gulek, a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Immigration Policy Lab, warned that many workers may not have other pathways to residency. Job changes could also prove tough, with fears of retaliation, layoffs in the tech sector, cost-cutting, and the growing use of artificial intelligence.
You can also obtain a green card through employment-based categories of exceptional accomplishment or work in the national interest. These categories do not require PERM. Another possibility is the EB-5 investor program. This requires you to invest at least $800,000 in a qualified US business. Some professionals wanting to invest to get residency don't have enough capital, Chothani said. Gulek warned other categories could be restricted in the future.
In December 2025, the National Foundation for American Policy found that nearly 1 million Indian nationals were waiting for employment-based green cards, or 79% of pending applications. Highly skilled Indians applying from January 2026 could face wait times of between five and 179 years depending on the category.
US Immigration Policy Could Reshape Global Hiring
The limits could be challenged in federal court. The administration had earlier proposed a $100,000 fee for some new H-1B petitions, which was rejected by federal courts, and a $70,000 fee for universities recommending international students for post-study work programs.
One Indian professional, who waited a long time to switch to an H-1B visa, said there was bipartisan support for immigration reform, suggesting the trend of restrictions might continue, the BBC reported.
Some researchers and industry officials say tighter rules could send jobs to India rather than to American workers. A senior executive said companies are enjoying offshore cost savings and greater acceptance of remote employment since Covid-19.
That could mean a change of course for Indian professionals looking to build an American tech career. Sprouts News will keep covering policy changes, legal challenges, and what they mean for workers trying to get long-term residency in the United States.
