NRIWallah team
Updated October 2026 · 5 min read
On 8 October the US Labour Department suspended eight employers from PERM, the first step in sponsoring a worker for a green card. They are two large US tech companies and six IT services firms, several of them Indian. No end date was given. The administration says it is acting on fraud and abuse of the visa system, and some of the firms dispute the claims.
The H-1B visa itself is not suspended. What stops is the route from H-1B to permanent residence at those employers.
What has and has not changed
| Position | |
|---|---|
| H-1B visas | Still issued |
| PERM filings at the eight employers | Suspended, no end date |
| PERM filings at all other employers | Processing as normal |
| I-140 petitions and green cards already approved | Not covered, reports say |
| US$100,000 charge on new H-1B petitions | Blocked by courts; appeal pending |
Why PERM matters so much to Indians
A job-based green card takes three steps: PERM labour certification, an I-140 petition, then the green card itself. Your place in the queue, the priority date, usually starts when PERM is filed.
For Indians that queue is long. In October 2026 the cut-off was 1 November 2013 for EB-2 and 1 January 2014 for EB-3. Cases being approved now were started about 13 years ago.
A freeze does not take away a place already earned. But a worker who cannot file cannot start the clock, and every month of delay is added to a wait of more than a decade.
It also touches the H-1B six-year limit. Beyond six years you can usually stay only if PERM or an I-140 is under way. Extensions come in one-year steps if the filing is at least a year old, or three-year steps once the I-140 is approved. A worker who cannot file PERM cannot start that protection.
What it means for you
| Your situation | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Work for one of the eight, no PERM filed | The green card clock cannot start; the H-1B clock keeps running | Count your remaining H-1B months and ask HR for a written update |
| Work for one of the eight, PERM pending | Processing is on hold and your date may slip | Keep copies of every filing; ask a lawyer whether your extension rights are affected |
| I-140 approved for 180 days or more | Usually moves with you and keeps its date | Have the new employer’s lawyer confirm before you move |
| Work for any other employer | No change today, though scrutiny is rising | Keep your own file of filings and dates |
| Moving from India on a new H-1B | The US$100,000 charge is blocked for now | Ask the employer who pays if it returns |
Changing jobs while PERM is still pending starts the process again with the new employer, and the old date is lost.
The US$100,000 charge was struck down by a federal court in June, and an appeals court refused to revive it in July. The government has appealed and reissued the order on 18 September, so it could return. It was designed for new petitions for workers abroad, not for extensions of people already in the US.
Why it lands in an election month
The US holds its midterm elections on 3 November, for all 435 House seats and 35 in the Senate. The freeze came 26 days before. Jobs and living costs sit near the top of voters’ concerns, and the government presents the move as protecting American workers. Whether the timing is political is not for us to judge, but three things connect it to the vote.
- Jobs is the argument. Foreign workers against American jobs is a campaign line for both parties, so H-1B rules are a ready subject.
- Congress writes the green card law. The per-country cap behind India’s wait is set by law and only Congress can change it. The result decides who controls both chambers for the next two years, and with them hearings, funding and any immigration bill.
- The recent actions did not need Congress. The PERM freeze, the fee order and a proposal to end the 60-day grace period all came from the executive. A midterm does not reverse them. Courts have so far been the main check. The comment period on the grace-period proposal closes around 10 November, a week after the vote.
NRIs in the US are not US citizens and cannot vote in it. The people most directly affected cannot vote in it.
What to do with your money while it is unclear
- Hold a buffer in the US. If an H-1B job ends you have up to 60 days to find a new employer or leave, and the US has proposed removing that period. Keep at least six months of costs in an account you can reach at once.
- Do not rush to sell Indian assets. A forced sale of property or shares brings tax deducted at source and cannot be undone. Our property sale TDS guide shows what to expect.
- Plan the date if you may return. Your Indian status changes and the first two to three financial years can be RNOR, which keeps most foreign income out of Indian tax. See moving back to India and the RNOR tracker . A green card holder who returns stays taxable in the US until the card is formally given up.
- Check the rupee before bringing savings home. A dollar buys about ₹96 (as of early October 2026), so dollars go further than a year ago. The repatriation calculator shows what reaches your account after charges and tax.
- Watch your children’s dates. Children on dependent visas lose them at 21 unless the family’s green card has come through. A long wait raises that risk, and it is one reason some families weigh study routes abroad carefully.
General information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. This was written the day after the announcement and details may change; confirm your position with your employer’s immigration lawyer.
