PERM certifications at 13 IT companies fell to 607 in nine months from 1,670 in FY25

Bengaluru: IT firms had shrugged off concerns over their dependence on the US green-card route well before the US administration announced the suspension of PERM processing, with certified applications already declining sharply. Thirteen major IT services companies recorded 607 certified permanent labour certification (PERM) applications in the first nine months of FY26, compared with 1,670 in FY25 and 1,756 in FY24, according to Kotak Institutional Equities.Kotak has reported certified PERM applications across major IT services companies with September fiscal year-ends.The decline comes as the US administration has suspended new and pending PERM applications involving TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Cognizant and Capgemini. PERM is a key labour-certification stage in the process of obtaining employment-based green cards.TCS recorded just two certifications in the first nine months of FY26, against 505 in FY25 and 597 in FY24. Wipro also had two certifications, compared with 206 in FY25. HCLTech recorded 28, down from 94 in FY25 and six in FY24.Infosys had 12 certified applications in FY25, while the report shows no figure for the first nine months of FY26 or FY24. Cognizant recorded 741 certifications in FY24, but the report does not provide figures for FY25 or the first nine months of FY26. Capgemini had seven certifications in the first nine months of FY26, against 290 in FY25 and 50 in FY24.Among the other companies covered, LTM recorded 168 certifications in the first nine months of FY26, up from 127 in FY25 and 159 in FY24. Persistent Systems reported 58, compared with 16 in FY25 and 10 in FY24. Mphasis recorded 82 certifications in the first nine months of FY26, against 132 in FY25 and 79 in FY24, while Hexaware Technologies had 73, compared with 24 and one, respectively.Accenture recorded 182 certifications in the first nine months of FY26, against 226 in FY25 and 71 in FY24. Coforge had five certifications in the first nine months of FY26, compared with 23 in FY25, while Tech Mahindra had no figure reported for the period, against 15 in FY25 and 42 in FY24.TCS CEO K Krithivasan told TOI that green cards have never been a key part of the company’s workforce strategy. TCS has significantly reduced permanent residency applications for H-1B employees and stepped up local hiring in the US. Infosys and HCLTech said the PERM suspension was unlikely to have a material impact on their operations.Kotak’s report said the suspension was unlikely to have a meaningful impact on delivery or earnings because Indian IT companies have increasingly localised their US workforces, reducing their dependence on visa-based staffing. Employees with pending PERM applications represent a smaller subset of the remaining visa-dependent workforce, it said.The brokerage said increased reliance on subcontractors could raise near-term costs, but greater offshoring should provide an offset over time.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.