US Green Card Restrictions Likely to Spare Indian IT Giants, Data Suggests

When the United States announced on Thursday that eight IT firms – among them Indian heavyweights Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL – were being suspended from the permanent‑labour‑certification (PERM) programme, many industry watchers braced for a potential talent shake‑up.

But a quick look at the numbers tells a different story. The PERM filings from these companies have been on a steep decline for a couple of years now, which suggests the suspension is unlikely to cause any immediate chaos.

Take Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for example. In the 2026 US financial year it lodged just two PERM applications – a far cry from the 513 it filed in 2025 and the whopping 1,804 it submitted in 2024. HCL’s figures tell a similar tale: 59 applications in 2026 versus 323 the year before.

Wipro’s trajectory is also worth noting. The firm filed 257 applications in 2024 – of those, 169 were denied and 88 were withdrawn – and the number rose to 523 in 2025. Infosys, on the other hand, turned in 87 PERM requests in 2024, with data for the subsequent years still pending.

Overall, Indian IT outfits contributed less than 1,400 PERM certifications out of a total 117,849 filed last year – that’s under two per cent. “The direct impact may therefore be smaller than it first appears,” observed Vineet Nayar, the former CEO of HCL, in a brief X post.

Even non‑Indian players such as Capgemini and Cognizant show the same downward trend. Capgemini’s PERM filings dropped from 361 in 2025 to 98 in 2026, while Cognizant logged 1,236 applications in 2024, with newer data unavailable.

Industry bodies are echoing the sentiment. NASSCOM and TCS both released statements underscoring that their PERM submissions have dwindled to single‑digit levels in recent years. TCS added, “We do not expect the suspension of the programme to impact our workforce strategy and customer engagements.” NASSCOM highlighted a broader shift away from H‑1B reliance, noting that Indian tech firms are steadily boosting local hiring and building a more robust domestic workforce in the United States.

In practical terms, a PERM certification is the first step an employer must take to sponsor a foreign worker for a US green card. With fewer companies even attempting this step, the ripple effect of the US curbs appears muted – at least for now.

That said, the landscape could evolve if policy changes intensify or if firms decide to revive their green‑card pipelines. For the moment, however, the data suggests Indian IT firms have already begun to pivot away from the PERM route, softening the blow of the latest restrictions.