Why it is in the news
On 8 October 2026, US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling suspended Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini — along with Microsoft and Adobe — from the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM), the first step of an employer-sponsored green card. The US Department of Labor (DOL) said it would “not accept any new or process any pending” labour certification applications involving these companies, citing alleged fraud and displacement of American workers.
The exam angle
Issue: Is the US crackdown on PERM and H-1B a correction of genuine abuse or a protectionist turn that will reshape the Indian IT services model and India–US talent ties?