美国暂停微软、Adobe 等八家公司绿卡劳工证通道，待审申请一并冻结
美国劳工部周四宣布，暂停微软、Adobe 以及 Cognizant、Infosys、塔塔咨询（TCS）、Wipro、HCL、Capgemini 六家 IT 服务商的 PERM 永久劳工证申请：新申请不再受理，已经递交的也不再处理。副总统万斯与劳工部长桑德林在白宫记者会上宣布了这一决定，指控这些公司滥用签证制度、以 H-1B 外籍员工替代美国员工。
万斯说，微软去年裁减约 6000 名美国雇员，同期却获得 6300 个 H-1B 签证并办下近 3000 张绿卡；桑德林称，这八家公司自 2009 年以来累计申请近 300 万名外籍劳工、获得超过 23 万个 H-1B 批准。劳工部监察长德埃斯波西托同场宣布，已向包括哈佛大学、斯坦福大学、匹兹堡大学、布朗大学、加州大学戴维斯分校在内的九所大学发出传票，调查其使用外籍研究人员的情况。以上均为政府方面的指控，微软尚未公开回应。
这不是第一步：今年 9 月，劳工部已先行暂停 Cognizant 的 PERM 申请，这次把范围扩大到微软、Adobe 等公司。政府没有公布暂停期限，也没有公布恢复条件。
对在美华人读者来说，PERM 劳工证是大多数职业移民绿卡（EB-2、EB-3）的第一步，通过之后才能递 I-140、进排期，不少华人工程师走的正是这条路。微软、Adobe 是华人雇员集中的大厂，六家 IT 外包商也雇有大量外籍工程师。直接影响是：在这八家公司工作、雇主正准备或已经递交 PERM 的员工，绿卡进程将被冻结，何时重启还不清楚。要分清的是，暂停的是劳工证这一步，现有 H-1B 身份并不因此自动失效；已获批 I-140 的案件如何处理，劳工部尚无细则。每个人情况不同，涉及身份安排，建议先咨询移民律师，不要自行判断。
这也是本周第二项收紧国际人才通道的动作（国土安全部此前刚提出 OPT 新规）。被点名的公司若有回应，GSM 将跟进。（综合 Reuters、AP 报道）
U.S. Freezes Green-Card Labor Filings for Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Giants
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday suspended PERM permanent labor certification filings by Microsoft, Adobe and six IT services firms, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, saying no new applications will be accepted and pending ones will not be processed. Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the move at a White House press conference, accusing the companies of abusing visa programs to replace American workers with H-1B employees.
Vance said Microsoft laid off about 6,000 U.S. workers last year while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. Sonderling said the eight companies have requested nearly three million foreign workers since 2009 and received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals. Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said subpoenas have been served on nine universities, including Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pittsburgh, Brown and UC Davis, over their use of foreign researchers. These are the government's allegations; Microsoft had not publicly responded as of Thursday.
The action expands a crackdown that began in September, when the Labor Department first suspended Cognizant's PERM filings. Officials announced no end date and no conditions for reinstatement.
For Chinese readers in the U.S., PERM is the first step toward most employment-based green cards (EB-2 and EB-3), ahead of the I-140 petition and the visa queue, the path many Chinese engineers rely on. Microsoft and Adobe employ large numbers of Chinese engineers, and the six outsourcing firms employ many foreign nationals. Employees of the eight companies whose employers were preparing or had filed PERM cases now face a frozen green-card process with no announced restart date. The suspension targets the labor-certification step; it does not by itself cancel existing H-1B status, and how already-approved I-140 cases will be treated has not been specified. Situations vary, so readers making personal immigration decisions should consult an immigration attorney.
It is the second tightening move this week affecting international talent, following the DHS proposed OPT rule. GSM will follow any responses from the companies and the Labor Department. (Compiled from Reuters and AP reporting.)
图片来源：美国劳工部总部（华盛顿）/ Photo: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)