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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Trump administration has suspended major IT firm Cognizant's ability to file new applications in a key employment-based green card program while federal officials investigate alleged fraud involving immigration programs used to hire foreign workers, according to statements from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said on X that Cognizant's PERM filings had been suspended and that authorities were investigating alleged fraud involving both the PERM and H-1B programs. He said the investigation was being conducted alongside the White House Fraud Task Force and other officials.
The inspector general also suspended H-1B processing for software company Cloudera, a U.S. enterprise software company that provides data and AI platforms to businesses.
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A spokesperson for the company told Newsweek, "Cloudera is proud to hire American workers. We do not discriminate against U.S. workers—or anyone—on the basis of citizenship status. We take the government’s allegations very seriously, and from the start, we have cooperated fully with this investigation. Cloudera is committed to fair, lawful, and open recruitment practices, and we will continue to cooperate with the government's investigation as we work to resolve this matter."
Newsweek contacted Cognizant, and the U.S. Department of Labor for comment outside regular business hours via email.
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The PERM program, administered by the Labor Department, is typically the first step in the employment-based green card process. It allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers, often employees already working in the country on H-1B visas, for permanent residency after demonstrating through a required recruitment process that no qualified and available U.S. workers can fill the position and that hiring a foreign worker would not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed Americans.
"Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated," D'Esposito wrote on X.
No criminal charges were announced against Cognizant, and officials have not publicly detailed the specific allegations against the company.
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans welcomed the move in a post on X, noting that GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin had previously questioned Cognizant's hiring practices.
The suspension prevents Cognizant from moving forward with new PERM applications while the investigation remains active. However, the action does not automatically cancel existing PERM approvals, employment-based green cards, or H-1B visas that have already been approved. Data from the USCIS Employer Data Hub show Cognizant secured approval for 3,510 H-1B visa petitions through June 30 of fiscal year 2026.
The H-1B visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that typically require at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent expertise. Many technology companies use the program to recruit engineers, software developers and other skilled professionals.
For many H-1B workers, PERM certification serves as the first step toward obtaining an employment-based green card. Following approval, employers may file an immigrant petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on the worker's behalf.
The investigation could have implications for technology companies that rely heavily on employment-based visa programs.
Cognizant is among the largest users of the H-1B visa program. Any prolonged suspension of PERM filings could delay green card sponsorship efforts for affected employees whose cases require new labor certification filings.
What is Cognizant?
Cognizant is a U.S.-headquartered information technology and consulting company based in Teaneck, New Jersey. Founded in 1994 as a technology division of Dun & Bradstreet, it maintains a large presence in India and reported about 351,600 employees worldwide at the end of 2025, including roughly 256,900 in India.
A Newsweek investigation previously found that some job advertisements placed to satisfy those requirements directed applicants to immigration or "global mobility" departments, prompting criticism from some advocates who argued the postings appeared geared toward foreign workers already employed by the companies.
The Trump administration has taken a more aggressive approach to enforcing H-1B rules. The Justice Department this year reached settlements with Compunnel Software Group, LanceSoft and Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions over allegations involving hiring and recruitment practices tied to temporary visa holders. Separately, the Labor Department's list of employers disqualified from the H-1B program includes GowraTech LLC, Renotek Group LLC, Seeloz Inc. and Sherwood Academy.
The administration has also implemented a series of changes to the H-1B visa program, including replacing the lottery system with a weighted selection process that favors higher-paid workers, proposing a new $103,265 fee for certain H-1B petitions, and expanding a $4,000 biometric and security fee to some H-1B extension applications filed by large employers. The administration also previously sought to impose a separate $100,000 fee on certain H-1B employers, though that proposal was later struck down by a federal judge.
Officials have also proposed ending the grace period for laid-off H-1B workers seeking new jobs, increasing scrutiny of employers' use of the program, and considering revoking work authorization for certain H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders. Administration officials say the measures are intended to protect U.S. workers and strengthen the integrity of the immigration system.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matt Cannon and Tony Phillips.
Update, 08/23/24, 11:57 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Cloudera
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