Google pauses new green card applications

Google announced the layoff of 12,000 employees globally, and now the company has some more bad news for IT engineers. Google has emailed its foreign (US-based) employees, informing them of its decision to halt Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) temporarily. In simpler terms, Google is pausing new PERM filings required to obtain an employer-sponsored immigrant visa (green card).

The email shared by Google was reportedly shared by a Google employee on Team Blind, which is an anonymous social networking website for certified IT workers. In the email, Google informed people about its decision to pause new green card applications, mentioning that this is quite difficult for them, but employees need to be aware of this step.

"Recognising how this news may impact some of you and your families, I wanted to update you as quickly as possible on the difficult decision we've had to make to pause new PERM applications. This does not impact other visa applications or programs," an email from a company executive read.

A green card is different from an H1B Visa, as the latter only permits you to live in the US temporarily and work for a company. The PERM program will enable people to stay in the country for at least ten years, and then they must renew it. The employer must first obtain a "Labor Certification (LC) from the Department of Labor (DOL) to apply for a foreign worker application to help them obtain a permanent stay in the country. Once the DOL approves this PERM application, the employer must file an immigrant worker petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within six months. Once everything is approved, the IT professional gets a green card.

In this PERM process, the employer must show that the company is not hiring a qualified worker in the US for a particular position and that it wishes to hire a foreign national. Many other things are taken into account for this.

Why is Google pausing new green card applications? The company has yet to reveal why, but it's very likely that it just announced the layoff of thousands of employees, so it could be challenging for Google to fight USCIS to accept foreign IT professionals as permanent residents.