WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six other technology companies from a US green card programme on Thursday, blocking their access to a route to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
US Department of Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the restrictions under the Permanent Labour Certification programme, known as PERM. Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL are among the affected employers.
Sonderling cited multiple active federal investigations into Microsoft and Adobe. He announced that the department would stop accepting or processing new labour-certification applications from the named companies.
PERM is a preliminary step in many employer-sponsored green card applications. Employers generally must demonstrate that no qualified US workers are available for the position.
At a White House briefing, US Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of replacing American employees with H-1B visa holders. He pointed to the company’s 6,000 layoffs in 2025.
Vance tied restoring access to companies “putting American workers first”.
Microsoft challenged the administration’s characterisation in a statement published on Thursday. It said most of its US employees were American and offered to provide officials with further information.
Read: Microsoft Layoffs Draw H-1B Backlash After Xbox Cuts
Of its approximately 6,000 H-1B applications in the last fiscal year, Microsoft explained that 80% sought extensions or status changes for existing employees. Applications for new employees concerned people already legally in the country.
Those hires represented 1% of its US workforce.
Microsoft added that it paid H-1B employees the same as other staff doing comparable work.
The suspension concerns labour certification for permanent residency. It does not prohibit Microsoft and Adobe from employing workers on H-1B visas.
(With input from UPI and The Washington Post)
