Trump administration suspends Cognizant’s green card sponsorship filings
The US Labour Department has suspended Cognizant’s PERM filings, while officials have also halted filings by Cloudera
The Trump administration has suspended US-listed tech giant Cognizant’s ability to apply for fresh green card sponsorship. According to the US Labour Department, the permanent labour certification filings by the company have been suspended. It stated that “threat to American workers” would not be tolerated.
The suspension will hit Cognizant’s Permanent Labour Certification programme (PERM) filings, which is a mandatory step for companies applying for employment-based green cards for foreign workers.
“Fighting fraud is a TEAM SPORT. @Sonderling47 and I are for real. @Cognizant’s PERM filings are suspended. @DOLOIG is on the hunt. Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated. Alongside @WHFraudTF, we’re following facts, fraud and finances. Handcuffs await,” stated Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito in a post on X.
Cognizant’s green card filings suspended
As per the PERM programme, employers must obtain a mandatory certification from the Labour Department that qualified US workers are available for the position and hiring a foreign worker will not adversely impact the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.
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D'Esposito separately said PERM filings by US-based software company Cloudera had also been suspended.
"One more. @cloudera: PERM filings SUSPENDED," he stated in another post on X.
Cloudera also faces PERM suspension
However, the inspector general did not mention any criminal charges against Cognizant or Cloudera. Trump administration officials also did not disclose the specific allegations, the number of applications affected or how long either suspension would remain in force.
Also Read: Return to home country and apply: Proposed rule for US Green Card causes anxiety
No response from either company was included in the material released by the inspector general.
Cognizant, founded in 1994, is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, and is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker CTSH. The company has a major workforce and operational presence in the US.
Action follows Cognizant hiring plan
The action came a day after Cognizant announced plans to expand its American workforce by hiring 1,500 US college graduates and increasing its Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator workforce to 15,000, reported NDTV.
"We are hiring American graduates, standing up new American job categories for the AI era, and putting Cognizant's capital and leadership behind a national coalition built to make sure this transition works for workers," Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said.
"We believe AI will create significantly more jobs than it displaces and shift greater value, wages and accountability to the frontlines of America's workforce," Kumar said.