How Many H-1B Workers Are Affected?

The US Department of Labor has suspended the PERM green card process for eight major companies, putting the green card plans of thousands of foreign workers in uncertainty. The companies include Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe.

The biggest question now is how many H-1B workers could actually be affected by this move.

Around 50,000 H-1B workers are likely to be affected, according to estimates. According to US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, these eight companies have received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals since 2009. They have also received more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications during the same period.

However, these numbers cover many years and cannot be considered the current number of H-1B employees working for these companies. Many of those workers may have changed companies, left the US or already received green cards.

The actual number of employees with pending PERM applications or those who were about to start the process has not been revealed by the US government.

The impact is mainly on the green card process. The PERM suspension does not cancel the existing H-1B status of employees working for these companies. They can continue to work in the US as long as their H-1B status remains valid.

However, workers who are already in the green card process could now face delays. This is particularly important for H-1B employees who are nearing the six-year limit, as certain stages of the green card process can help them qualify for extensions beyond six years.

For Indian IT professionals, the development is significant as several of the companies on the list are major employers of Indian H-1B workers.