H-1B, Green Card Sponsorship Now Tied to Employer Layoff History
Executive Order 14431 makes layoff history a factor in H-1B and PERM adjudication, and DOL has already stopped processing green card certifications for eight major employers.
Executive Order 14431, signed September 18, 2026 and published at 91 FR 60501, directs DOS, DOL and DHS to consider whether an employer "directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs" affecting similarly situated US workers when reviewing LCAs, H-1B petitions, visa applications and admission. DOL's Wage and Hour Division must review previously filed LCAs within 30 days for enforcement under INA 212(n)(2)(G), and rulemaking authority is delegated to four agencies, so implementing guidance is likely to arrive in waves.
Separately, at an October 8, 2026 White House press conference, Labor Secretary Sonderling said DOL would stop accepting or processing PERM labor certifications for eight employers — six for certification volume and two under active federal investigations. The firms were not named, and DOL published no Federal Register notice or identified regulatory basis, making legal challenge plausible under 20 CFR 656.31, whose suspensions can run 180 days and, if fraud is found, support denial and debarment.
Counsel should map pending and planned H-1B and PERM filings against planned reductions in force, audit prevailing-wage and benching compliance, and track Federal Register notices. PERM-dependent H-1B extensions carry risk if freezes exceed the 180-day review point.