Does my approved I-140 survive?

Nothing announced on October 8 revokes approved I-140 petitions, and officials did not address them. Under the regulations, an approved I-140 that the employer withdraws 180 days or more after approval stays approved unless it is revoked on other grounds (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C)), and its priority date carries over to a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition (8 CFR 204.5(e)(1)). The exception that matters here: an I-140 is automatically revoked if the underlying labor certification is invalidated (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(A)), and the priority date is lost if the approval is revoked for fraud or because DOL revoked the labor certification (8 CFR 204.5(e)(2)). Whether that happens to any case depends on what the investigations find, which has not been said.

Does my H-1B extension beyond six years still work?

Those extensions turn on filing dates and approvals, not on DOL processing. One-year extensions are available once at least 365 days have passed since a labor certification application or an I-140 was filed for you (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)(1)). A pending PERM counts, and the extensions continue until a certified PERM expires unused or there is a final decision to deny, revoke or administratively close the PERM or I-140 (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)(2)). A suspended PERM is not a final decision, but if DOL closed pending cases instead of holding them, that PERM would stop supporting extensions. Separately, three-year extensions are available with an approved I-140 when your priority date is not current because of per-country limits (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E)), which is common for workers born in India. For both, the employer filing the extension does not have to be the one that filed the PERM or I-140 (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)(6) and (E)(4)).

There are two kinds of porting. Green-card portability under INA 204(j) applies only if your I-485 has been pending 180 days or more and your I-140 is approved (or pending and approvable), for a new job in the same or a similar occupational classification (8 CFR 245.25(a)). The PERM itself cannot move: a labor certification is valid only for the specific job, the named worker and the area of employment (20 CFR 656.30(c)(2)). So before that stage, a new employer would need its own PERM, while an approved I-140 still lends you its priority date (8 CFR 204.5(e)). H-1B portability is separate: you can generally start work for a new H-1B employer once it files a nonfrivolous petition for you (8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H)).

Two categories need no employer and no PERM. EB-1A, for extraordinary ability, requires neither a job offer nor a labor certification (8 CFR 204.5(h)(5)), and you can file for yourself (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part F, Ch. 2). The evidence has to show sustained national or international acclaim, through a major internationally recognized award or at least three of ten listed criteria (8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)). EB-2 with a national interest waiver waives the job offer and therefore the labor certification (8 CFR 204.5(k)(4)(ii); Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part F, Ch. 5), judged under the framework in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). If you already have an approved I-140, its priority date carries over to a self-petition (8 CFR 204.5(e)(1)). Whether your record meets either standard depends on the specific evidence.

What happens if I change employers while the suspension lasts?

Your H-1B can move once the new employer files a petition for you (8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H)), and if your employment ends there is a grace period of up to 60 days, once per validity period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)). Your green-card case does not move with you unless your I-485 has been pending 180 days or more (8 CFR 245.25(a)). An approved I-140 withdrawn 180 days or more after approval stays approved (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C)) and keeps its priority date for the new employer’s petition (8 CFR 204.5(e)). The new employer can also file your H-1B extensions past six years based on the old PERM or I-140. And unless the new employer is one of the eight, its own PERM filings are not covered by this suspension.

I’m placed at a client company through one of these firms. Am I affected?

It depends on who filed your PERM. The suspension covers applications “involving” the eight companies, and officials have not defined that word. If one of the eight is your sponsoring employer, your PERM is covered. If a different company sponsors you directly, the announcement does not name it. Until DOL publishes guidance, check which employer appears on your PERM and I-140.

Is my H-1B cancelled?

No. As reported, the action does not cancel existing H-1B status, and the companies can still employ H-1B workers. It affects the green-card process, which starts with PERM.

Labor Department Suspends PERM for Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Firms

Executive summary

On October 8, 2026, at a White House fraud task-force press conference, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the Department of Labor will not accept any new, or process any pending, PERM labor certification applications involving eight employers: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.

Officials cited “multiple active federal investigations” for Microsoft and Adobe and a Labor Department Inspector General investigation into alleged H-1B and PERM fraud. Cognizant’s PERM filings had already been suspended on September 8, 2026.

There is no end date. Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions will last as long as needed. As of October 8 no Federal Register notice, OFLC guidance or legal authority had been published, and officials did not say whether already-certified labor certifications or approved I-140 petitions are affected.

As reported, this is not an H-1B cancellation: the companies can still employ H-1B workers. It stops the employment-based green card at its first step, PERM, for workers whose case runs through one of these employers.

Several rules do not depend on DOL processing a PERM. H-1B extensions past six years run off filing dates and approved I-140s, an approved I-140 keeps its priority date, and EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions need no employer and no PERM at all.

What changed, in plain English

PERM is the employer’s first step for most employment-based green cards. Before an employer can file an EB-2 or EB-3 petition, the Labor Department has to certify that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the job. That certification is the PERM.

For these eight employers, that step has stopped. If your green card depends on a PERM from one of them that has not been certified yet, it is not moving, and nobody has said when it will.

If your PERM is already certified, or your I-140 is already approved, nothing announced so far undoes that. Officials have not confirmed it either. The rules only take an approved I-140 away in specific situations, and the one to watch here is a labor certification later revoked or invalidated, for example after a fraud finding.

Your H-1B is not cancelled. Whether you can extend it past six years depends on dates you can look up today, not on when DOL resumes processing.

The only routes that do not depend on any employer’s PERM are self-petitions: EB-1A (extraordinary ability) and EB-2 with a national interest waiver. The administration drew that line itself. Vance said Americans welcome people like Elon Musk and AMD’s Lisa Su who want to build something here, and contrasted them with the abuse he described.

What DOL announced

DOL will not accept new PERM applications involving Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies or Capgemini.
DOL will not process pending PERM applications involving those employers.
No end date was given; officials said the suspensions can continue as long as needed.
No Federal Register notice, OFLC guidance or legal authority had been published as of October 8, 2026.
Officials did not say whether already-certified labor certifications or approved I-140 petitions are affected, or what “involving these companies” covers.
As reported, the companies are not barred from employing H-1B workers, and existing H-1B status is not cancelled.
The Justice Department said it is investigating companies that favor foreign workers and that criminal prosecution and civil suits are possible outcomes.