The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), an Indian-American policy advocacy group, has called on the Trump administration to safeguard legally employed foreign professionals and their families from the unintended fallout of its decision to suspend green-card sponsorship applications for certain technology companies. The group made its appeal following the administration's 8 October move to halt acceptance of new applications and freeze processing of pending applications under the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme for select technology and IT-services employers.

What the PERM Suspension Means

The PERM programme, administered by the US Department of Labour, is typically the first step in employer-sponsored permanent residency applications across several employment-based immigration categories. It requires employers to demonstrate that hiring a foreign professional will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed American workers. The suspension of new and pending PERM applications for certain tech employers effectively places thousands of in-progress green-card cases in limbo, according to FIIDS.

The decision has raised immediate concerns among Indian-American professionals — many of whom have been waiting years, sometimes decades, in lengthy employment-based immigration queues. FIIDS warned that blanket action targeting entire employers could create cascading uncertainty for workers whose individual applications were otherwise fully compliant.

FIIDS Calls for Evidence-Based Enforcement

Khanderao Kand, FIIDS chief of policy and strategy, acknowledged the administration's mandate to protect American workers but argued that enforcement must be precise. “FIIDS recognizes the administration’s responsibility to protect American workers and prevent immigration fraud. Employers that violate recruitment, wage, or certification requirements should be held accountable through evidence-based enforcement and fair procedures,” Kand said.

Kand specifically challenged the use of aggregate layoff figures and visa petition counts as standalone proof that foreign professionals were displacing American employees. “Claims that H-1B workers are replacing American workers should be validated through job-level evidence—not inferred solely from aggregate layoff figures and visa-petition counts,” he said. FIIDS urged investigators to assess whether affected American workers and hired foreign professionals performed comparable duties, worked in the same locations, and held similar skill profiles before drawing conclusions.

Key Safeguards the Group Is Demanding

FIIDS laid out several concrete asks directed at the US Department of Labour and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The organisation called for clear implementation guidelines explaining how the restrictions would operate in practice, a time-bound review process, and transparent criteria for restoring an employer’s eligibility under the programme.

Critically, FIIDS urged authorities to draw a distinction between applications involving new foreign hires and those seeking extensions or status changes for workers already lawfully employed in the United States. “Blanket action against employers can adversely affect genuine, compliant cases and impose uncertainty on lawfully employed professionals and their families who bear no responsibility for alleged misconduct,” Kand said.

The group also called for measures to prevent workers from suffering avoidable losses of immigration progress or missing filing deadlines as a direct consequence of administrative delays.

Broader Context: Indian Professionals and the Green-Card Backlog

Indian nationals form the largest single-country group caught in the employment-based green-card backlog in the United States, with wait times in certain categories stretching to several decades under existing annual caps. Any disruption to the PERM pipeline — even a temporary one — disproportionately affects this community. This comes amid a broader tightening of US immigration posture under the current administration, which has pursued stricter H-1B scrutiny alongside other workforce-related measures.

Kand framed the group’s position as complementary rather than oppositional to American labour interests. “Protecting American workers and attracting specialized global talent are complementary goals,” he said. “America’s economic and technological leadership is best served by fair enforcement, investment in domestic talent, and a transparent immigration system responsive to genuine workforce needs.”

What Happens Next

FIIDS has called for meaningful engagement between the administration and affected employers to better understand genuine talent deficits and evolving skill requirements in the technology sector. The group urged policymakers to ensure immigration rules reflect demonstrated workforce needs while preserving both protections for American workers and safeguards against abuse. How quickly the administration responds — and whether it issues implementation guidelines — will determine the immediate impact on tens of thousands of pending cases.