US Freezes Green-Card Processing for Microsoft, Infosys, Adobe in Immigration Crackdown

The United States has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several major technology outsourcing companies from a federal programme used by employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on alleged immigration and visa abuses.

US Vice President JD Vance announced the action on Thursday, October 8, accusing Microsoft of using foreign-worker programmes while laying off American employees. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension would prevent the affected companies from submitting new permanent labor certification applications and from having pending applications processed.

The companies affected include Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.

The programme, known as the Permanent Labor Certification Programme, or PERM, is administered by the US Department of Labor. It generally requires an employer to demonstrate that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages, working conditions or job opportunities of qualified US workers. An approved labor certification is then used in the wider employment-based green-card process.

Vance singled out Microsoft, saying the company had laid off about 6,000 American workers while obtaining thousands of H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. He accused the company of replacing American workers with foreign employees, although the administration’s allegations have not been established as criminal wrongdoing.

Microsoft disputed the characterization of its use of the H-1B programme. The company said about 80 per cent of the H-1B applications it filed in the previous fiscal year were for existing employees seeking extensions or changes of status, rather than new hires. It also said foreign hires accounted for about 1 per cent of its US workforce.

Sonderling said the companies affected had collectively sought millions of foreign-worker approvals over the years. Reuters reported that he said the firms had received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications since 2009.

The administration also announced investigations into nine universities over alleged misuse of J-1 exchange-visitor visas. The institutions named include Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Officials said subpoenas had been issued as part of the investigation.

The crackdown comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce reliance on foreign-worker programmes and encourage companies to employ more Americans. The administration has already taken other steps affecting the H-1B system, including a major increase in the cost associated with some new H-1B petitions.

For foreign technology workers, the PERM suspension could complicate an important route to permanent residency. The action does not, however, mean that existing H-1B visa holders immediately lose their legal status. It primarily affects the employer-sponsored process leading toward permanent residency.

The decision also puts major Indian technology companies, including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL Technologies, under additional pressure in the US market. Indian IT companies have historically been among the largest users of the H-1B programme.

The announcement came on the same day President Donald Trump was scheduled to honour Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and other technology leaders with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, highlighting the contrasting relationship between the administration and the technology industry.

The Labor Department’s suspensions and investigations are expected to have implications for companies that depend heavily on international technology workers, while the administration maintains that its actions are intended to protect American employment and prevent abuse of immigration programmes.