The Trump administration has frozen green-card filings for a list of prominent technology and IT-services firms, according to a report by Neowin. This green-card filings freeze zeroes in on a specific immigration pathway known as PERM applications, and it arrives under a stated goal of protecting American wages. Temporary H-1B visas, by contrast, are not affected by the move.
The distinction between the two programs matters a great deal for the tech sector, which has long relied on both to staff engineering and specialized roles. Workers already holding H-1B visas, and employers sponsoring new ones, should see no immediate change from this action.
What the Green-Card Filings Freeze Covers
The affected process is the PERM, or Program for Labor Certification, which is the foundational step in the employment-based second preference (EB-2) green card category. Under PERM, an employer must demonstrate to the U.S. Department of Labor that there are no able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers for a specialized position before it can petition to hire a foreign national.
In practice, that means the sponsoring company runs a series of recruitment steps—posting job openings, reviewing resumes, and documenting why a foreign candidate is ultimately the better or only fit. Only after that labor certification is approved can the employer move on to the petition and adjustment-of-status stages that lead to a green card.
The Neowin report frames the freeze as targeting these PERM applications specifically at Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, Tata, and other companies. It does not name a fixed list, and the phrase “and others” suggests the action may extend beyond the companies explicitly mentioned.
Why the Administration Is Acting
According to the report, the administration is justifying the pause as a measure to protect American wages. The underlying argument in these debates is that hiring foreign workers through programs like PERM can suppress pay or displace domestic candidates when employers could otherwise fill roles with U.S. workers.
This kind of action typically reflects a broader policy push to tighten immigration enforcement and prioritize domestic hiring. It fits into a pattern of reviewing employment-based immigration to argue that the system should favor American workers first, though the exact scope and duration of this particular freeze were not detailed in the report.
What This Means for You
For employees currently working on a green card through an employer sponsor, the freeze could delay progress. Because PERM is an early stage in the process, a pause there ripples forward to later steps, meaning approvals that once followed a predictable timeline may now stall.
For those already holding an H-1B visa or another work authorization, the impact is likely minimal in the short term. The freeze targets the green-card labor-certification track, not the temporary visa track, so existing arrangements should remain intact.
For job seekers and tech workers planning long-term moves to the U.S., the freeze is a signal that employment-based permanent residency through these employers may become harder to obtain on schedule.
What You Can Do
If you are an applicant waiting on a PERM-based green card, the practical move is to stay close to your employer’s immigration counsel and monitor official guidance from the Department of Labor and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Changes of this nature often come with transition rules, so existing filings may be handled differently than brand-new ones.
For employers and HR teams, it is worth confirming the exact status of pending applications and preparing for potential delays in timelines you had built plans around.
Why the H-1B Distinction Matters
The report is clear that temporary H-1B visas remain unaffected by the freeze. That distinction is significant because the two programs serve different purposes. H-1B is a temporary, non-immigrant visa tied to a specific employer and job, typically used to fill short-to-medium-term specialized needs. The PERM green card, by contrast, is the path to permanent residency.
Keeping H-1B intact means that many tech workers can continue to be hired and remain employed in the interim, even as their route to permanent status faces uncertainty. It also means the immediate workforce impact is likely contained, while the longer-term effect on retention and planning could be more pronounced.
The Bigger Picture
Immigration policy for the tech sector has been a recurring flashpoint. Companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys, and Tata have historically been among the largest filers of both H-1B and employment-based immigration applications, which is likely why they appear on this list.
While the specifics of how long this freeze will last and which additional companies may be named remain unclear, the direction is a notable shift. Anyone relying on employment-based immigration should treat the situation as evolving and verify current guidance rather than relying on prior timelines.
Source: Neowin
Over to you: If you’re relying on an employer-sponsored green card, does this freeze change how you plan your next steps?
