{
  "id": 12897308,
  "title": "US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from key green card programme",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/us-suspends-microsoft-major-it-firms-from-key-green-card-programme",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-08T15:45:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2035713/us-suspends-microsoft-major-it-firms-from-key-green-card-programme"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US government has suspended Microsoft, Adobe, and several other major IT firms from a green card programme designed for skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, officials announced on Thursday. The move comes after allegations of fraud and as part of a strategy to encourage companies to hire more Americans.\n\nUS Vice President JD Vance stated, \"You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers.\" He added, \"There has been no company in the United States that has abused this system more than Microsoft.\" Secretary of Labour Keith Sonderling echoed similar sentiments, saying, \"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.\"\n\nThe Permanent Labour Certificate (PERM) process requires employers to secure certification from the Department of Labour, proving no qualified, willing, or available US worker is available for a specific job. This step is mandatory before filing petitions for most employment-based green cards. Vance also announced an investigation into nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, for allegedly hiring international students to undercut American wages. Labour Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito revealed that subpoenas have already been served, stating, \"If an American university is breaking the law to save $1 while exposing American research to a foreign adversary, that is not academic excellence. It’s institutional betrayal.\"",
  "summary": "The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several other large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials announced on Thursday, citing alleged fraud and as part of an effort to push companies to hire more Americans. “Our message to Microsoft is: You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American…",
  "key_points": [
    "US suspends Microsoft, Adobe, and other IT firms from green card program",
    "VP JD Vance calls Microsoft abuser of system, demands hiring Americans",
    "Labor Dept. halts PERM process applications for these firms"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "The US suspends Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and others from a program that lets skilled foreign workers gain permanent residency, citing alleged fraud (Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff/Reuters)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/the-us-suspends-microsoft-adobe-cognizant-infosys-and-others-from-a",
        "published": "2026-10-08T14:55:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Microsoft, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, Cognizant, HCL and Capgemini hit by US H-1B, green card crackdown",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/microsoft-infosys-tata-wipro-cognizant-hcl-and-capgemini-hit-by-us-h",
        "published": "2026-10-08T15:21:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from green card programme",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/us-suspends-microsoft-major-it-firms-from-green-card-programme",
        "published": "2026-10-08T15:50:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "Microsoft suspended from applying for green cards for H-1B workers, JD Vance says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/microsoft-suspended-from-applying-for-green-cards-for-h-1b-workers-jd",
        "published": "2026-10-08T16:40:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "US freezes green card applications from Microsoft, major IT firms over alleged fraud",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/us-freezes-green-card-applications-from-microsoft-major-it-firms-over",
        "published": "2026-10-08T18:52:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Times",
        "title": "US Suspends Microsoft and Other IT Firms From Green Card Programme",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/us-suspends-microsoft-and-other-it-firms-from-green-card-programme",
        "published": "2026-10-08T22:07:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}