US Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Skilled Worker Green Card Program — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- The Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe, and IT services firms Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata, and Wipro from the PERM permanent labor certification program, accusing them of fraud.
- Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government will not accept any new or pending permanent labor certification applications involving the suspended companies.
- JD Vance told Microsoft directly at a Thursday press conference: "You're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers."
- Microsoft countered that 80% of its approximately 6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year were extensions or status changes for existing employees, with new-hire filings for individuals already in the U.S. equaling only 1% of its U.S. workforce.
- H-1B visa recipients are overwhelmingly Indian — nearly three-quarters of approved visas go to workers from India, according to the AP.
- Vance also announced the administration will investigate nine universities — including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford — over alleged abuse of international student programs and wage suppression.
Why it matters: By blocking the seven named firms from PERM labor certification, the administration shuts off a primary green card pipeline that disproportionately serves Indian workers — roughly three-quarters of H-1B recipients come from India. Microsoft's data showing 80% of its filings were status changes for existing employees directly challenges the fraud framing underlying the suspensions.
Ask SkimNews
