"I Ain't Playin'": Cognizant, Cloudera PERM Filings And H-1B Processing Suspended

Federal officials have suspended PERM filings and halted H-1B processing for Cognizant and Cloudera, according to the Department of Labor's inspector general. In a Tuesday update, the IG said the department has paused new PERM (permanent labor certification) filings and paused H-1B visa processing for both firms as part of ongoing oversight and enforcement actions. The move affects employer-sponsored visa programs used to hire foreign workers, including information technology professionals. The suspension could delay new hires and replacements and may indicate increased scrutiny of compliance with labor certification requirements. No timeline for resumption was provided in the update. Cognizant, a major Indian multinational IT services company, and Cloudera, a software company with U.S. operations, have been subject to the DOL’s review; the reasons for the suspension were not detailed in the IG's brief release, but the action aligns with the department's ongoing investigations into worker protections and wage requirements. Industry observers say such steps can impact staffing plans for large IT firms that rely on H-1B workers. The announcement underscores ongoing regulatory oversight of foreign worker programs affecting Indian tech workers and the broader South Asian tech ecosystem.