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Tech Giants Amazon and Google Halt Green Card Applications: Understanding the Reasons Behind the Move

Amazon and Google have left the US—green card applications for immigrants for the remainder of 2024. The move has intensified competition and made the situation more difficult for foreign workers, the Daily Guardian reported.

Ending the green card application process could make it more difficult for those who want to go abroad, especially for jobs in the technology sector, to stay in the US. Both agencies have put off PERM applications until next year.

PERM to U.S. The supervisory office is the means of obtaining permanent professional certification. Ensures that the admission of foreign workers does not negatively affect the employment opportunities, wages, or working conditions of U.S. employees. PERM is often the first step in obtaining a green card, according to a Daily Guardian report.

Amazon announced internally earlier this year that it would stop all PERM filings until 2024, saying it could not continue the process. Google also first discontinued its PERM application in January 2023 and laid off 12,000 employees. The company informed employees that the PERM process would resume in the first quarter of 2025.

The Indians were stuck

According to a Forbes report, figures from the U.S. According to the Citizenship and Immigration Services, many of India's most skilled workers face decades of waiting time to obtain green cards because of country restrictions and annual fees because of the fam.

A National Foundation for American Policy analysis of USCIS data showed that 1.2 million Indians, including dependents, are pending in processing-based green card categories I, II, and III Data pending I-140 immigration petitions approved as of November 2, 2023.

The long waits for green cards are due to two main factors in the US. Legal: an annual limit on green card processing, set at 140,000, and a rule that no state can have more than 7 percent of those green cards

The law affects skilled workers from major countries like India, China, and the Philippines the most. Without changes to the current system, the backlog is expected to continue growing.

Conclusion: While suspending green card applications may be a temporary move, it highlights the challenges and uncertainties employers and foreign workers face in the current immigration landscape. As the debate over immigration reform continues, those who participate in all the countries look at developments that bode well for the future of technology and the broader economy.