The Blubber

Amazon has decided not to sponsor any new US green cards for foreign workers for the remainder of this year, indicating ongoing challenges in the tech job market.

Earlier this year, the company informed employees that it would continue to suspend all new PERM filings through 2024, according to an internal announcement obtained by Business Insider.

The PERM process, overseen by the US Department of Labor, is a permanent labor-certification process aimed at ensuring that the admission of foreign workers does not negatively impact US workers' job opportunities, wages, or working conditions. It is often the initial step toward obtaining a green card.

Amazon stated in the memo that it had initially halted PERM applications in 2023 and decided to extend this suspension until the end of 2024 after assessing "labor market conditions and immigrant requirements."

"After reviewing labor market conditions and immigrant requirements, it was determined that we are unable to continue with PERM filings through 2024," the memo said. "We know this is disappointing, and we did not take this decision lightly."

Jennifer Gordon, a professor of immigration and labor law at Fordham University, noted that the wave of layoffs at Amazon and other tech firms has made the PERM process more challenging.

Companies now need to demonstrate that laid-off employees are not qualified for the positions intended for foreign workers. They must also inform individuals who were laid off in the past six months about job openings before filing PERM applications for foreign workers.

"To get a PERM application approved, an employer needs to show that there is no qualified US worker interested in filling the position," Gordon told BI. "Given how many layoffs there have been recently across the tech industry, it's become difficult for them to sustain that claim."

An Amazon spokesperson informed BI via email that the company has "temporarily paused" its PERM program and is assisting affected employees in finding "alternative immigration pathways" to extend their stay in the US.

"Due to government requirements for the Green Card process, we have temporarily paused our permanent labor certification program," the spokesperson wrote. "We know this is difficult for affected employees, and we're working hard to support them and find alternate immigration pathways as soon as possible."

If Amazon can resume the program this year, it will do so, the spokesperson added.

According to the internal memo, Amazon informed employees that it will "resume analyzing labor market conditions" at the end of 2024 to potentially reinstate the PERM program next year. Google also suspended new PERM applications last year, as reported by the Observer.