Trump administration says Microsoft ‘abused’ worker visa program and is cutting off access

Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday that tech giants Microsoft and Adobe have been barred from participating in the PERM program, a pathway for H-1B workers to potentially obtain green cards. The suspension stems from allegations of fraud and abuse within the system. Other outsourcing firms, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini, have also had their green card filings suspended.

Microsoft, in particular, faced heavy criticism, with Vance accusing the company of abusing the system and replacing laid-off workers with 1.5 times the number of foreign workers. The administration will no longer process new or pending Permanent Labor Certification applications for these companies. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling revealed that the move is a result of multiple active federal investigations into possible wrongdoing within the H-1B and PERM programs, which include fraudulent applications, wage kickbacks, coercion, and below-wage labor.

The U.S. government has been tightening its grip on the H-1B program, with the Labor Department launching nationwide investigations in July. President Trump signed an executive order in September to curb abuse of the H-1B program. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google were among the top recipients of approved H-1B visas in fiscal year 2025, according to estimates from the National Foundation for American Policy.