New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The US government's decision to freeze new and pending green-card sponsorship applications at eight technology companies is a warning for India's Information Technology (IT) industry to prepare for possible wider restrictions on foreign technology workers, according to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

The US suspended the companies from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme (PERM) on October 8, affecting Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech from India, along with Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant and Capgemini.

The report said the freeze affects PERM-based green-card sponsorship, which allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. However, it doe...