Amazon and Google suspend US green card applications for immigrants due to layoffs – Firstpost

In a move prompted by recent layoffs in the tech industry, including those at Microsoft, Amazon and Google have suspended green card applications for immigrants in the US for the year 2024.

The move comes amid increasing competition, making conditions more challenging for foreign workers, as reported by the Daily protector. The suspension of green card applications could exacerbate the difficulties faced by foreign applicants seeking employment in the US, especially within the technology sector. Both Amazon and Google have temporarily halted PERM filings until next year.

PERM, overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor, is a process for obtaining permanent labor certification. It ensures that admitting foreign workers does not negatively impact employment, wages or working conditions for American workers. PERM is often the first step toward obtaining a green card.

Amazon announced internally earlier this year that it would pause all PERM filings through 2024, citing its inability to continue with the process. This is reported by the Daily Guardian. Google also previously suspended its PERM filings and laid off 12,000 employees in January 2023. The company informed employees that it would not resume the PERM process until the first quarter of 2025, the company said.

Ava Benach, co-founder of Benach Collopy, a renowned immigration law firm in Washington DC, told the Daily protector that tech companies are following Google’s approach because of its “outsized influence here.”

Collopy said: “With more American workers available for open positions, the labor market test fails and the process becomes a waste of time and money for these tech companies.”

“If tech companies have made layoffs relatively recently, they should also notify laid-off employees of new positions that may go to foreign workers. If some of these people say ‘yes, I’m interested’ then you’re out of luck with your green card application,” she told the Daily Guardian.

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