The suspension of new green card applications may cause more difficulties for candidates seeking employment in the US.
As per recent reports, nearly 12 million people globally apply for jobs in USA. However, amidst economic slowdown, tech giants are laying off employees. The condition is becoming worse for many job-seeking employees as Amazon and Google ask to stop all PERM filings for this year.
In this article, we will discuss about the ongoing issue of Green Card application.
PERM is a permanent labour certification issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in USA. This allows any US-based organisation to hire a foreign employee to work permanently in the USA. This is regarded as the first step of getting a green card, which allows the holder to live and work in the US permanently.
Amazon and Google have banned US green card applications for immigrants for the rest of this year. This is due to recent layoffs by tech companies including Microsoft. Amidst rising competition, the situation of foreign workers are becoming dire. As PERM application is asked to stop, foreign candidates will find it extremely hard to stay and work in the USA.
In January 2023, Google stopped its PERM applications and laid off around 12,000 employees.
The e-commerce giant Amazon said in an internal memo “It was determined that we are unable to continue with PERM filings through 2024. We know this is disappointing, and we did not take this decision lightly.”
This was informed to all the employees prior.
Google wrote to the US government quoting: “We project that our need for AI Engineer roles, including Software Engineer, Research Engineer, and Research Scientist roles, will increase significantly in the coming years. AI advancements offer incredible promise, but the lack of skilled professionals threatens to hinder their full potential.”
Ava Benach, founding partner of Benach Collopy, a leading immigration law firm in Washington DC told: “The tech companies are following in the footsteps of Google due to its outsized influence here. With more US workers available for open positions, the labor market test fails and so the process becomes a waste of time and money for these tech companies.”
“If tech companies have done layoffs relatively recently, they also have to notify laid off workers of new positions that may be going to foreign workers. If some of these people say ‘yes, I’m interested,’ then you're out of luck with the green card application,” she added further.
Although numerous tech giants are stopping PERM process, Facebook is yet to do the same. An employee from Facebook said: “Facebook support green card sponsorships, albeit at a much slower pace, with the process now taking a year or more.”
As per recent reports published in foreign media: “Companies must now prove that laid-off employees aren't qualified for the positions they want to fill with foreign workers. Additionally, they must notify any recent layoffs (within the past six months) before filing PERM applications for foreign hires.”
Until the first quarter of 2025 the PERM process will not resume. Now foreign job seekers might have to look for other options beyond usual places like New York City and Silicon Valley and. Even, employees are worried that they will face difficulty to renew their US work permits.
