Should US barring 8 IT firms from participating in PERM worry H1-B holders? 

Even as the US government has suspended eight technology firms—including Indian firms TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL—from participating in its Permanent Labor Certification Programme (PERM), an Indian expert says the action is against companies, and not individual workers and Indian professionals, especially H-1B visa holders, should not act in haste.

“H-1B is a temporary work status, and the suspension does not revoke it. A worker can continue in employment until the validity of the existing petition ends,” says advocate Varun Singh, Founder & Managing Partner at Foresight Law Offices.

However, they can be impacted if they are awaiting visa extensions beyond the six-year limit. “Under AC21 section 106(a) and (b), one-year extensions depend on a PERM or I-140 filed at least 365 days before the six-year limit is reached. Under section 104(c), three-year extensions are available on an approved I-140 where the per-country limit is the only bar. A PERM filed more than 365 days earlier should still support an extension even while frozen, so the risk falls mainly on workers whose PERM is not yet filed or is under 365 days old, or whose PERM is later denied or withdrawn," he said, adding that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not issued guidance, and that holders of H-4 visas, a U.S. non-immigrant visa issued to immediate family members (spouses and unmarried children under 21) of H-1B visa holders will be affected.

MAP your dates

Singh says H-1B visa holders should first map their key dates: H-1B expiry, PERM stage, priority date and I-140 status. They should also ask HR for written confirmation of where their case stands. "If you change employers, H-1B portability under INA 214(n) lets you begin work on filing a transfer, provided you are in valid H-1B status and have not engaged in unauthorised employment. However, the new employer must usually restart PERM, and you give up the progress made," he says. He adds that If one has an approved I-140 and one's I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, INA 204(j) allows a move to a same or similar job without losing the application; this applies only where your priority date was current and an I-485 could be filed. "If employment ends, the 60-day grace period under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) applies, for up to 60 days or until the authorised validity ends, whichever is shorter, once per validity period, so act quickly. Those with strong profiles may also examine self-petitioned routes such as EB-1A or EB-2 NIW, which do not require PERM.”

According to Singh, nothing in the announcement changes any prescribed fee as the Department of Labor charges no filing fee for PERM. However, the costs sit elsewhere: recruitment advertising, attorney fees and, at the next stage, the USCIS filing fee for Form I-140, along with other USCIS charges later in the process, he says. “A restart means repeating recruitment and legal work, which raises costs for employers. Under 20 CFR 656.12(b), an employer cannot recover PERM costs from the worker. The separate $100,000 H-1B proclamation fee should not be confused with this action. A Massachusetts district court vacated it on June 8, 2026, and the First Circuit refused a stay on July 24, while a D.C. district court upheld it in December 2025 and that appeal is pending. A September 18, 2026 proclamation extended it to September 21, 2027, and DHS has separately proposed a $103,265 fee. The $100,000 fee applied only to new petitions for workers abroad, not to extensions, transfers or changes of status”, he explains.