Amazon, Google halt US Green Card applications for immigrants amid layoffs in IT sector

Amazon and Google have paused US green card applications for immigrants for the rest of the calendar year 2024. The decision comes against the recent layoffs by tech giants like Microsoft. 

This move has intensified competition, making the situation more challenging for foreign workers, The Daily Guardian reported. The suspension of the green card application process could make it more difficult for overseas candidates, particularly in the tech industry, to reside in the US for work. Both companies have halted the PERM applications until next year.

PERM, overseen by the US Department of Labor, is a process for obtaining permanent labour certification. It ensures that admitting foreign workers does not adversely affect job opportunities, wages, or working conditions for US workers. PERM is often the first step towards obtaining a green card, according to the Daily Guardian report.

Amazon announced internally earlier this year that it would pause all PERM filings through 2024, citing an inability to continue with the process. Google also suspended its PERM applications earlier, in January 2023, and laid off 12,000 employees. The company informed employees that it would not resume the PERM process until the first quarter of 2025.

Indians stuck

Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services indicate many highly skilled professionals from India face potentially decades-long waits to gain permanent residence (a green card) due to a per-country limit and the low annual quota, according to a Forbes report.

Over 1.2 million Indians, including dependents, are waiting in the first, second and third employment-based green card categories, according to a National Foundation for American Policy analysis of USCIS data. The data reflect approved I-140 immigrant petitions as of November 2, 2023.

The long wait for green cards is because of two main things in US law: the yearly limit on green cards for jobs, set at 140,000, and the rule that no country can get more than 7 percent of those green cards.

This rule hits hard on skilled workers from big countries like India, China, and the Philippines.

Without changes to the current system, the backlog is expected to continue to grow.