US senator targets H-1B green card pathway

Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) A Republican US senator sought tougher recruitment rules for employers sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residency, proposing changes that could carry significant consequences for Indian technology professionals.

Indians accounted for 70 per cent of all approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2025, according to the latest US Citizenship and Immigration Services report. Many follow a pathway from student visas and Optional Practical Training to H-1B employment and employer-sponsored permanent residency.

Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri asked Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to modernise the Program Electronic Review Management, or PERM, process. Employers generally use PERM as the first stage of sponsoring a foreign employee for an employment-based green card.

“Abuse of the PERM and H-1B programs allow corporations to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor,” Schmitt wrote. “The Department should end that abuse and restore the regulations’ supposed purpose: Protecting American workers and putting their interests first.”

The senator’s letter does not mention India. It also does not itself change H-1B or permanent residency rules. It asks the Department of Labor to rewrite regulations and disclose data on audits, suspected fraud and PERM applicants’ previous use of OPT and H-1B visas.

A permanent labour certification allows an employer to hire a foreign worker permanently in the United States. Before granting certification, the department must determine that qualified and available US workers cannot be found and that employing the foreign worker would not adversely affect similarly employed Americans.

Schmitt said the regulations have not been substantially updated in more than 20 years. Recruitment for non-professional positions generally requires advertisements in two print newspapers and placement with a state workforce agency. Employers are not necessarily required to advertise professional positions online.

“Given dramatically reduced newspaper circulation and the prevalence of online job applications, these outdated rules let employers conceal jobs from American workers while claiming they tried to recruit domestically,” he wrote.

Schmitt wants employers to post every PERM position on their usual careers page and at least one widely used online employment platform. Companies would also have to use the same application process followed for comparable jobs not connected to PERM.

The proposal would require employers to document every American applicant, explain each rejection and certify that a position was not formally or informally reserved for a foreign worker.

Companies would also have to notify recently laid-off American workers who might qualify, interview those meeting the stated requirements and provide written explanations for rejecting them.

“The current requirement permits cursory, pro forma consideration of American applicants,” Schmitt wrote. “The Department should replace it with a process that gives displaced American workers a genuine opportunity to compete for the job.”

For Indian professionals, tighter recruitment documentation could increase employer compliance requirements and scrutiny during the green-card process. It could also lengthen an already complex sponsorship process, although the precise effect would depend on whether the department adopts Schmitt’s proposals and how any eventual regulation is written.

PERM is separate from the H-1B programme. H-1B permits temporary employment in specialised occupations, while PERM is commonly used in the process of seeking permanent residency. Schmitt’s letter proposes no immediate cancellation of visas, applications or existing immigration status.

–IANS

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