India, Oct. 10 -- Washington's suspension of green-card processing for eight companies, including TCS and Infosys, raises questions over due process and election-year politics

On Thursday, the Trump administration barred eight companies - Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini - from the Permanent Labour Certification programme, PERM, the step most employers must clear before sponsoring a green card. The Labour Department will accept no new applications from them and process none already pending. Existing H-1B visas and approved petitions are untouched.

Washington's stated reason is fraud. A Labour Department inspector general investigation, launched in July alongside the White House Fraud Task Force, allege...