Stock image: campus building of Infosys in Bengaluru, India, photographed in 2007. Credit: Amit (proxygeek), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0; cropped version by Nkon21. Photo source.
Infosys stated this Saturday, October 10, that it does not foresee a material impact on the organization stemming from the suspension of applications in the US permanent labor certification program, known as PERM. The position is part of a statement sent to stock exchanges and was also reported by Reuters.
In the document, the company acknowledges that the measure affects new and pending applications from certain companies, including Infosys itself. The company declared its readiness to respond to US authorities and said it will make further disclosures if necessary.
What the certification allows
PERM is part of the process by which employers sponsor the immigration of workers for permanent jobs in the United States. According to the US Department of Labor, requesting the certification is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee.
The evaluation seeks to verify whether there are able, qualified, available, and willing US workers to fill the job in the intended area. It also examines whether hiring the foreign worker would adversely affect the wages and working conditions of US workers in similar positions.
This certification does not, in itself, equate to the granting of permanent residency. The department explains that after labor approval, the employer still needs to submit the immigration stage to the citizenship and immigration service, USCIS.
Corporate effect and workers’ situation are different
CNA reported, with its own reporting and interviews with analysts, that a prolonged suspension could increase hiring costs and make retaining professionals more difficult. The report distinguishes PERM from the H-1B, a temporary work visa that is not automatically canceled by this measure.
Thus, Infosys’s assessment of its operations should not be interpreted as a guarantee that individual residency plans will proceed without delays. The company itself presents its impact forecast as a statement subject to risks and uncertainties.
What is confirmed
The new development this Saturday is Infosys’s formal statement. It informs about the company’s assessment and its willingness to cooperate; it does not announce the resumption of applications nor does it replace a decision by authorities regarding the program.
