October 2026 PERM Suspension: What It Means at Each Stage of a Green Card Case
If your green card sponsor is not one of the eight employers named on October 8, 2026, nothing announced that day changes your PERM, your I-140 or your place in line. If it is, officials said the labor certification step is on hold, with no end date given, while an I-140 that is already approved keeps its priority date under the rules as written. For workers at these employers it is a pause at the first step, not the loss of a priority date they already hold.
Sources: White House video of the October 8, 2026 press conference; 20 CFR 656.30, 656.31 and 656.32 and 8 CFR 204.5, 205.1 and 214.2(h)(13) (eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026); INA 203(b), 204(j) and 212(a)(5)(D); DOL news release 26-734-NAT, May 12, 2026; Executive Order 14431, 91 FR 60501; DOL OFLC PERM and LCA disclosure data and PERM Selected Statistics; DOL FLAG processing times as of October 5, 2026. Not legal advice.
What was announced
At a White House press conference on October 8, 2026, the Acting Secretary of Labor named eight employers: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, and also Microsoft and Adobe. The operative sentence was: "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies." The Acting Secretary said Microsoft and Adobe were included "due to multiple active federal investigations." On duration, the Vice President said the suspension would last "as long as it needs to." The official record is the video on whitehouse.gov, which has no transcript, so the employer list and the stated duration exist only in what was said.
Officials did not name the regulation they were relying on or give an end date. As of October 18, 2026 we found no written DOL notice of the action: DOL's news releases from September 17 to October 16 include no PERM item, the newest OFLC announcement is dated September 17, the newest FLAG announcement is dated September 2, and the Federal Register has no document on permanent labor certification published since October 1.
What the PERM rules allow
The provisions in DOL's PERM regulation that allow a suspension are 20 CFR 656.31(b) and (c). Under (b), where DOL refers an employer for investigation, or learns it is under investigation, for possible fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with the PERM program, "the Department may suspend processing of any permanent labor certification application involving such employer, attorney, or agent until completion of any investigation and/or judicial proceedings." The suspension "may last initially for up to 180 days," after which the National Certifying Officer may resume processing "some or all of the applications" or "may extend the suspension in processing." A suspension under (b) rests on an investigation, not on a finding. Under (c), if an employer is named in a criminal indictment or information in connection with the PERM program, processing "may be suspended until the judicial process is completed," with no 180 day review point. Both call for written notice to the employer, unless the investigating or prosecuting agency asks otherwise, rather than a public notice.
If charges end without a finding of fraud or willful misrepresentation, paragraph (d) says "the Certifying Officer shall decide each pending permanent labor certification application" on its merits. If there is such a finding, paragraph (e) ends the suspension and each application is still decided on its merits, with denial possible. A separate tool, debarment under paragraph (f), bars an employer from the program for no more than three years through a written Notice of Debarment from the OFLC Administrator that states the reasons. Officials did not say which of these was being used.
DOL announced a suspension in writing on May 12, 2026, when a news release said OFLC had "suspended processing of all permanent labor certification applications filed by, or on behalf of, Cloudera for 180 days," with the potential for an extension pending a Justice Department investigation. That release cited existing suspension authority without naming a section.
Who it covers, and who it does not
The action is a list of named employers, not a rule for an industry. Whether subsidiaries or related companies count has not been said.
Their PERM certifications in DOL OFLC disclosure data, by decision date:
| Employer (legal name in DOL data) | FY2025, full year | Oct 2024 to Jun 2025 | Oct 2025 to Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation (incl. Microsoft Caribbean) | 2,930 | 1,762 | 1,599 |
| Adobe Inc. | 463 | 270 | 182 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited | 506 | 506 | 2 |
| Wipro Limited | 506 | 506 | 0 |
| HCL America (incl. HCL America Solutions) | 350 | 306 | 66 |
| Capgemini America, Inc. | 321 | 283 | 44 |
| Infosys Public Services | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Cognizant | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All eight | 5,089 (3.7%) | 3,646 (3.8%) | 1,893 (1.8%) |
| All employers | 138,090 | 95,183 | 103,991 |
These are certified applications, principal workers only, and the totals match DOL's published PERM Selected Statistics to within 0.04% for each period. Counts use the legal names shown. The announcement said "Tata" without a legal name, and the table uses Tata Consultancy Services Limited. There are no PERM certifications under any Infosys Limited or Cognizant name in this period, and other affiliates, such as Wipro VLSI Design Services and Tata Technologies, are left out.
The data end on June 30, 2026, before the announcement, so the fall for the six employers other than Microsoft and Adobe, from 1,614 certifications in October to June of FY2025 to 112 in the same months of FY2026, is not an effect of the suspension. For two of them the FY2025 count came from a narrow filing window: all 506 of Wipro's FY2025 certifications were applications DOL received between October 23 and November 5, 2023, and 505 of TCS's 506 were received between January 25 and February 9, 2024. Counts like these move with when an employer filed, so a fall from one year to the next is not by itself a trend. DOL does not publish pending cases by employer, so the number now on hold cannot be counted; across all employers, 120,429 were pending on June 30, 2026.
The same employers are a bigger share of H-1B filings. In FY2025 the eight accounted for 42,680 of 539,444 certified H-1B labor condition application (LCA) filings, or 7.9%, against 3.7% of PERM certifications in the same year; the six other than Microsoft and Adobe were 6.0% of LCA filings and 1.2% of PERM certifications. The LCA counts use each company's main legal name: Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp, Microsoft Corporation, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Infosys Limited, HCL America (with HCL America Solutions), Capgemini America, Wipro Limited and Adobe Inc. Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp and Infosys Limited have no PERM certifications in this period, so the Infosys in the PERM table is a different legal entity. One LCA can cover several positions, so these are shares of filing volumes, not of workers. LCAs are a separate DOL program under 20 CFR Part 655, and the announcement as quoted did not extend to them.
What it means at each stage of a case
Your employer is one of the eight and no PERM has been filed
As announced, new applications are not being accepted while the suspension lasts. In a PERM case the priority date is the date DOL accepts the application for processing (8 CFR 204.5(d)), so no new PERM based priority date can be set through these employers for now. The announcement concerned PERM, not H-1B status. Near the six year limit, an extension under AC21 section 106(a) needs a PERM or I-140 filed at least 365 days earlier (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)), and that clock does not start without a filing.
Your PERM is pending at one of the eight
It is on hold, not denied, and under 656.31 each pending application is decided on its merits once processing resumes. If certified later, its priority date is still the date DOL accepted it, and that date becomes yours to keep once an I-140 based on it is approved. Extensions past six years under 106(a) run up to one year at a time until a final decision denies or revokes the labor certification or the I-140, among other end points set out in the rule. A suspension is not a denial, but USCIS has not said how it treats a suspended PERM for this purpose.
Your PERM is certified and the I-140 is not yet filed
A certification expires if it is not filed with an I-140 within 180 calendar days of the date DOL granted it (20 CFR 656.30(b)). The announcement as quoted concerned DOL processing and said nothing about I-140 filings at USCIS. Nothing announced revokes an existing certification; revocation is a separate DOL process under 20 CFR 656.32 that starts with a Notice of Intent to Revoke sent to the employer.
Your I-140 is approved
Your priority date is kept for later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petitions unless the approval is revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, revocation or invalidation of the labor certification, or material error (8 CFR 204.5(e)). Once an I-140 has been approved for 180 days, a withdrawal by the employer or the end of its business does not by itself revoke it (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C) and (D)). Where the per-country limit applies, an approved I-140 supports H-1B extensions of up to three years under AC21 section 104(c) (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E)), which does not depend on PERM processing. With an I-485 pending 180 days or more, INA 204(j) keeps the petition valid for a new job in a same or similar occupation.
EB-1 and the national interest waiver
Neither goes through PERM. For EB-1A, "neither an offer for employment in the United States nor a labor certification is required" (8 CFR 204.5(h)(5)). EB-1B and EB-1C need a job offer but no labor certification, and a national interest waiver removes both (INA 203(b)(2)(B)). Labor certification covers only EB-2 and EB-3 (INA 212(a)(5)(D)). Nothing announced addresses how USCIS handles I-140s from these employers in any category.
Your PERM is with any other employer
No change was announced. On DOL's FLAG processing times page, as of October 5, 2026, analysts were reviewing applications filed in December 2025, audit review was also at December 2025, and applications decided in August 2026 had taken an average of 336 days. FLAG adds that OFLC "may be completing the processing of applications filed prior to the month posted." Prevailing wage determinations for PERM, as of September 30, 2026, were being issued for requests filed in June 2026.
What it may mean for the EB-2 and EB-3 queues
The suspension does not change how many visas exist. Numbers are allocated by category, country of chargeability and priority date; the employer plays no part.
Where a category has a cutoff date, visas go in priority date order. Most PERMs still waiting for analyst review were filed in December 2025 or later, so pausing them does not change how many people are ahead of anyone with an earlier priority date. If those applications are certified later, they keep their filing date and the place in line it gives them; if denied or withdrawn, that demand does not arrive.
Where a category is current or close to it, new filings compete for the same year's numbers, and the scale is the eight employers' share of PERM certifications: 3.8% in October to June of FY2025 and 1.8% in the same months of FY2026. No cutoff date projection is made here.
What is still unclear
- Coverage and duration. Which legal entities are included, whether (b) or (c) is being used, and whether the 180 day review point in 656.31(b)(2) applies, given the stated duration of "as long as it needs to."
- Written notice. The rule requires written notice to the employer unless the investigating agency asks otherwise, so a notice sent to an employer would not necessarily be published.
- USCIS. No agency has addressed whether I-140s, I-485s or AC21 extensions linked to these employers are handled differently.
- The separate H-1B order. Executive Order 14431 (published September 23, 2026) has agencies "take into account in any labor condition application, petition, visa, and entry" whether a sponsor "engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs." It does not mention PERM.
Places to check for a written notice are DOL's news releases and OFLC announcements on dol.gov, flag.dol.gov and the Federal Register. If your case runs through one of these eight employers, the stage by stage questions above are ones to put to an immigration attorney who can see your filings.
General information only; the position may change if written guidance is published. PERM and LCA figures are from DOL OFLC disclosure data through June 30, 2026, processing times are from DOL FLAG as of October 5, 2026, and other facts reflect published sources as of October 18, 2026. Consult a licensed immigration attorney about your own situation. Not legal advice.