Amazon and Google Suspend US Green Card Applications for Immigrants

The US Green Card Applications for Immigrants have been suspended by Amazon and Google for the remainder of 2024. This is in light of recent layoffs at tech behemoths like Microsoft. The situation for foreign workers is becoming more and more dire as the competition heats up. It may be more difficult for foreign applicants to live and work in the US now that the green card application process has been suspended, particularly for those in the tech sector. The PERM applications have been suspended until the following year by both Google and Amazon.

What is PERM?

PERM is a process for obtaining permanent labor certification, overseen by the US Department of Labor. Its purpose is to ensure that the admission of foreign workers to the country does not negatively affect job opportunities, wages, or working conditions for US workers. This process is often the initial step towards obtaining a green card.

Why are Google and Amazon pausing PERM?

According to Business Insider, earlier this year, Amazon informed its staff internally that all PERM filings would be suspended until 2024. “It was determined that we are unable to continue with PERM filings through 2024,” the massive online retailer stated in a memo. The memo also stated, “We did not take this decision lightly, and we know this is disappointing.”

In the meantime, Google terminated 12,000 workers and stopped accepting PERM applications in January 2023. According to the outlet, workers were informed earlier this year that the PERM process would not be restarted by the company until the first quarter of 2025. The wave of widespread tech layoffs has made the green card application process more complicated.

Ava Benach, founding partner of Benach Collopy, a leading immigration law firm in Washington DC told the outlet that tech companies are following in the footsteps of Google due to its “outsized influence here.” “With more US workers available for open positions, the labor market test fails and so the process becomes a waste of time and money for these tech companies,” Collopy explained.

“If tech companies have done layoffs relatively recently, they also have to notify laid off workers of new positions that may be going to foreign workers. If some of these people say ‘yes, I’m interested,’ then you’re out of luck with the green card application,” she added, per the outlet.