CORPORATE
US freeze on Cognizant’s PERM filings to impact green card applicants
- IBJ Bureau
- Sep 10, 2026
The US Department of Labor has suspended technology services company Cognizant’s filings under the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) — also widely known as Permanent Labor Certification — as federal authorities investigate alleged fraud and possible harm to American workers.
The programme is a key step for employers seeking employment-based green cards for foreign workers.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito has announced the suspension in a social media post.
“Cognizant’s PERM filings are suspended. We are working alongside the White House anti-fraud task force. Threats to American workers will not be tolerated. We are following facts, fraud and finances. Handcuffs await,” Mr D’Esposito has said.
Mr D’Esposito has not disclosed the specific allegations against Cognizant, the number of applications affected or how long the suspension would remain in place.
He has separately announced that PERM filings by Cloudera had also been suspended,
Neither company has been named in any criminal charges, and the material released by the inspector general has not included a response from either Cognizant or Cloudera.
The suspension comes a day after Cognizant announced plans to expand its US workforce, including hiring 1,500 American college graduates and growing its Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator roles to 15,000 people.
Under the PERM programme, the Labor Department must certify that qualified US workers are not available for a given position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed American workers.
PERM certification is tied to permanent employment and employment-based green cards and is separate from the H-1B programme, which allows US employers to hire foreign professionals temporarily for specialised occupations.
A suspension of PERM filings does not by itself mean that a company’s H-1B petitions have also been suspended.
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