The Trump administration has suspended major IT firm Cognizant's ability to file new applications in a key employment-based green card program while federal officials investigate alleged fraud involving immigration programs used to hire foreign workers, according to statements from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said on X that Cognizant's PERM filings had been suspended and that authorities were investigating alleged fraud involving both the PERM and H-1B programs.
He said the investigation was being conducted alongside the White House Fraud Task Force and other officials. The inspector general also suspended H-1B processing for software company Cloudera, a U.S. enterprise software company that provides data and AI platforms to businesses. Newsweek contacted Cognizant, Cloudera and the U.S.
Department of Labor for comment outside regular business hours via email. The PERM program, administered by the Labor Department, is typically the first step in the employment-based green card process. It allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers, often employees already working in the country on H-1B visas, for permanent residency after demonstrating through a required recruitment process that no qualified and available U.S. workers can fill the position and that hiring a foreign worker would not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed Americans.
"Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated," D'Esposito wrote on X. No criminal charges were announced against Cognizant, and officials have not publicly detailed the specific allegations against the company. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans welcomed the move in a post on X, noting that GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin had previously questioned Cognizant's hiring practices.
The suspension prevents Cognizant from moving forward with new PERM applications while the investigation remains active. However, the action does not automatically cancel existing PERM approvals, employment-based green cards, or H-1B visas that have already been approved. Data from the USCIS Employer Data Hub show Cognizant secured approval for 3,510 H-1B visa petitions through June 30 of fiscal year 2026.
The H-1B visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that typically require at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent expertise. Many technology companies use the program to recruit engineers, software developers and other skilled professionals. For many H-1B workers, PERM certification serves as the first step toward obtaining an employment-based green card.
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