US-Indian IT Giant Cognizant Hit With Green Card Freeze, H-1B Fraud Probe

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.

{snip}

“Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated,” D’Esposito wrote on X.

{snip}

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.

{snip}