US bars IT firm from sponsoring green cards, imposes $2m settlement

US bars IT firm from sponsoring green cards, imposes $2m settlement

WASHINGTON: The United States has barred California-based technology company Cloudera Inc. from participating in the employment-based green card process for two years and secured a $2 million settlement over allegations that it discriminated against qualified American workers. The settlement was announced jointly by the US Department of Justice and the Department of Labour. It resolves a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in April, alleging that Cloudera violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating against American workers while recruiting for seven positions under the Permanent Labour Certification, or PERM, programme. Under the settlement, Cloudera will establish a $1.4m fund to compensate qualified US workers who tried to apply for the positions but were not given fair consideration. The company will also pay $600,000 in civil penalties to the US government. “There are no exceptions: the Justice Department will hold accountable employers who discriminate against US workers,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. The warning has wider implications for future employment-based green card applications. Employers found to have discriminated against qualified American workers could face penalties and restrictions on their ability to sponsor foreign employees, potentially disrupting the permanent residency plans of those workers. The Cloudera case demonstrates how enforcement action against an employer can directly affect foreign professionals seeking green cards through company sponsorship. The company will also face enhanced monitoring, revised compliance procedures and reporting requirements designed to prevent future violations. The two-year debarment follows an earlier suspension of Cloudera’s PERM processing by the Labour Department. During the debarment period, the company cannot participate in the PERM programme to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based green cards. The PERM programme is generally the first major step when a US employer seeks to sponsor a foreign worker for an employment-based green card under the EB-2 or EB-3 categories. Employers must normally demonstrate that no qualified, willing and available American workers could be found for the position and that employing the foreign worker would not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers. According to the allegations, Cloudera’s recruitment for seven positions did not give qualified American workers a fair opportunity to compete. Applicants were reportedly directed to an email address that did not accept messages from outside senders, potentially preventing them from submitting applications. The decision is relevant to Indian and Pakistani professionals seeking US permanent residency through employer sponsorship, but it does not impose a general ban on green cards for nationals of either country. Cloudera-sponsored applications could face disruption. Employees whose green card cases depend on the company’s labour certification may face delays or need to explore lawful alternatives, depending on their individual circumstances and the stage of their cases. The debarment does not, by itself, establish that every existing green card application sponsored by Cloudera will be cancelled. The settlement also underscores the potential consequences for employers that fail to provide American workers a genuine opportunity to compete for jobs. Depending on the findings and enforcement action in an individual case, such employers could face financial penalties, compliance requirements or restrictions on their participation in employment-based immigration programmes. However, the wider immigration rules remain unchanged. The settlement does not alter employment-based visa eligibility, annual numerical limits or country-specific visa allocation rules. The Justice Department said the Cloudera settlement was the 14th since it relaunched its Protecting US Workers Initiative in 2025. The initiative targets employers accused of unlawfully favouring foreign workers holding temporary employment visas over qualified American workers. The case underscores the importance of fair recruitment practices in the green card sponsorship process. Employers must provide American workers a genuine opportunity to apply before seeking labour certification for foreign employees. On October 8, the Trump administration froze some green-card filings by Microsoft, Adobe and major IT outsourcers and opened probes into nine elite universities, widening a visa crackdown it said targets fraud and American job losses.