Cognizant Faces US Green Card Filing Halt as Trump Intensifies Visa Fraud Crackdown

The United States government has temporarily halted Cognizant's ability to sponsor foreign employees for permanent residency under the permanent labour certification procedure. This action is part of the Trump administration's stepped-up efforts to combat allegations of visa fraud.

The announcement was made by a Labour Department official with the caption "Handcuffs await." The action is related to a statewide fraud investigation that began in July. Cognisant is a major US H-1B sponsor, and in another case, a federal jury determined that the corporation discriminated against employees who were not Indian.

USA’s Move Causing Tremors in IT Sector

Given that TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL are all major players in the Indian IT industry and rely significantly on the same visa schemes, this could lead to increased scrutiny of these companies. Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito of the United States Department of Labour said on September 8 that Cognisant and Cloudera's permanent labour certification applications had been halted. This is the result of an investigation that was conducted in close conjunction with the White House Fraud Task Force and other relevant authorities.

The threat to American labour will not be accepted, according to D'Esposito, who announced the measure. Opposing fraud is a team sport, he said. Fighting fraud is a TEAM SPORT. @Sonderling47 and I are for real. @Cognizant's PERM filings are suspended. @DOLOIG is on the hunt. "The Department of Labour's Acting Secretary, Keith Sonderling, is on the hunt," he tweeted. Following facts, fraud, and finances, D'Esposito said alongside @WHFraudTF, "Held in anticipation," he chimed in. Because of the suspension, the Indian IT services provider will no longer be able to submit any further PERM applications.

According to the department, this suspension will remain in place until the investigation into the suspected fraud in the H-1B and PERM programmes is finalised. Employers in the United States must go through the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) process in order to obtain the Department of Labour's approval to sponsor foreign nationals for permanent residency. Employers typically need to prove that there are no available, competent US workers for the position and that bringing in an outside worker would not negatively impact American workers' earnings or working conditions.

Trump Administration Going Hard at Visa Fraud

Allegations of fraud in the H-1B and PERM job visa programmes prompted the Trump administration to initiate a massive probe in July. Teaneck, New Jersey, is home to Cognisant's headquarters, but the company was originally established in Chennai in 1994.

Up from 9,413 in 2020, Cognisant has seen a decrease in the number of H-1B visa petitions approved to 3,510 as of June 30, according to USCIS data. As part of the most recent investigation into allegations of fraud in employment visa programmes, the US administration has taken further action by suspending Cognisant's PERM applications. Cloudera is also under investigation.