PERM freeze: Eight tech employers lose access to the first step of the green card process
The Department of Labor suspended Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) processing involving eight major technology employers, including Microsoft, Adobe, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, and Capgemini.
Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the agency will immediately stop accepting new PERM applications and halt pending ones. Vance singled out Microsoft, criticizing the company for domestic layoffs while utilizing 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
Microsoft pushed back, explaining that 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications in the last fiscal year were filed for existing employees seeking status extensions or changes, rather than new foreign hires.
Representative Pramila Jayapal criticized the administration’s administrative freeze, arguing that taking a hammer to legal immigration pathways damages the system. Because PERM is the required initial step for employment-based EB-2 and EB-3, affected workers face frozen immigration pipelines.
DHS proposes $70K fee for first-time OPT and $30K for extensions
The Department of Homeland Security proposed a regulation requiring colleges and universities to pay an initial $70,000 fee for each international student participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT), plus $30,000 for subsequent periods, including STEM extensions.
Under the rule, higher education institutions must pay these fees before making the required SEVIS recommendation. Currently, institutional recommendations carry no charge, though students pay a $470 to $520 filing fee for work authorization.
DHS cited program integrity and fraud prevention as justification, asserting that higher institutional costs will force colleges to be more selective, while warning it may shut down OPT entirely without the fees.
DHS acknowledged that schools could pass these costs to students or employers. NAFSA: Association of International Educators strongly opposed the proposal, warning that driving away international talent harms American economic innovation and global leadership. Public comments close after 30 days.
Medicaid cutoff: Federal benefit reductions for humanitarian noncitizens
On October 1, statutory Medicaid changes under the 2025 reconciliation law (H.R. 1, Pub. L. 119-21) took effect, terminating federal Medicaid eligibility for lawfully present refugees, asylees, and humanitarian admittees who do not yet hold a green card.
KFF Health News estimates approximately 280,000 individuals will lose federal coverage.
The cutoff is not entirely absolute: most states retain the option to cover pregnant women and children, and Emergency Medicaid remains available for acute conditions under Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance.
For adults, full-price ACA marketplace plans remain accessible, though subsidized exchange eligibility is slated to end in 2027. CMS stated it is executing statutory mandates passed by Congress.
Healthcare advocates emphasize serious concerns regarding disrupted medical treatment for individuals with chronic illnesses, noting that some affected noncitizens may eventually obtain permanent resident status and regain coverage.
Bottom line
These stories reach people in different situations, but the pattern is the same: rules that applied to whole categories of people are being narrowed or repriced, sometimes within days of an announcement.
That makes a plan that depends on a single rule staying the same a risk in itself. Review your options now, based on your background, your current status and your goals, and identify the safest possible pathway for your situation, with a second route ready.
Shamayev Business Law offers a Free evaluation of your immigration case. Submit a request today, and within 2 business days you will receive a clear assessment of your options and potential risks, based on your background, before the next deadline arrives.
This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It summarizes publicly available information as of October 9, 2026, which may not reflect subsequent changes. Reading this publication or contacting the firm through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship.
