Suspends Green Card Pathway for Workers at Eight Companies: What Albanians Need to Know
An announcement made on October 8, 2026, has created uncertainty for foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States through their employers. The U.S. administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several major technology companies from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM, an important step in many employment-based Green Card applications. apnews.com
According to Reuters, the suspension also covers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government would neither accept new permanent labor certification applications nor process pending applications involving these companies. No clear date has been announced for lifting the suspension. www.reuters.com
For Albanians living and working in America, the significance of this development depends on which company sponsors them and where their application stands, rather than their nationality. An Albanian citizen seeking an employer-sponsored Green Card through one of the affected companies could face obstacles in that process. The announcement does not establish a general Green Card ban for Albanians or all immigrants. www.axios.com
Understanding PERM helps explain why the decision matters. When labor certification is required, the employer first applies to the Department of Labor. Once certification is approved, the employer submits it to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alongside Form I-140, the Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. Labor certification is therefore one stage of the application process; it is not final Green Card approval. Blocking that stage can prevent cases that depend on it from moving forward. www.usa.gov
There is also an essential distinction between temporary permission to work and permanent residency. The announced PERM suspension does not suspend the H-1B visa program. H-1B status allows qualified foreign workers to work temporarily in the United States, while a Green Card provides permanent residency. For affected employees, the new obstacle concerns their pathway to permanent residency through these employers. The announcement does not mean that all H-1B holders must leave the country. www.axios.com
The administration has linked its decision to investigations and allegations of abuse involving foreign-worker programs. Microsoft has disputed the accusations, saying that the vast majority of its U.S. employees are Americans and that approximately 80% of its H-1B applications last year were extensions or changes of status for existing employees. The company also said it pays H-1B employees the same as other employees performing comparable work. The administration’s allegations should be distinguished from violations conclusively established through legal proceedings. www.upi.com
For Albanian workers waiting for employment-based immigration documents, this development makes the stage of their case particularly important: whether their PERM certification is still pending, whether it was approved previously, or whether their application follows a different category. The decision concerns a specific procedure and specific employers, so its effect on an individual case cannot be determined from the headline alone. www.usa.gov