The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft from a major immigration program that lets employers sponsor foreign workers for green cards, accusing the tech giant of systematically abusing the visa system at the expense of American workers.
Vice President JD Vance announced the move on Thursday at a White House event for his government fraud task force, saying Microsoft would be barred from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program — the employer-sponsored process used for many employment-based green cards.
“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft,” Vance said.
Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards, calling it a “scandalous system.” “For every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with 1½ foreign indentured servants,” he said. His remarks did not establish that each visa or green card represented a new hire replacing a laid-off worker.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension extends beyond Microsoft to Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini and Adobe. “We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,” he said, adding that “since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost 3 million foreign workers.”
What it means for workers: PERM is the first step most employers take to sponsor an H-1B worker for permanent residency, requiring them to show no qualified American worker is available for the role. With access suspended, foreign workers at the named companies cannot advance employer-sponsored green card applications, leaving many in visa limbo — while the administration says the move protects American jobs.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement came the same day Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was expected at the White House to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Trump.
This is a developing story.
Sources: New York Post, Fox Business, Newsmax
