US bars Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from green card program for skilled foreign workers

The Trump administration announced it is suspending multiple major technology companies from a U.S. program that facilitates permanent-residency applications for skilled foreign workers, alleging fraud in program use. Vice President JD Vance, speaking at a news conference, said the move applied to Microsoft and Adobe as well as large IT services firms Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata and Wipro. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the Department of Labor would not accept any new or pending permanent labor certification applications involving those employers. The administration framed the action as part of an effort to prioritize hiring of American workers. In his remarks, Vance told Microsoft it must hire American workers, while Sonderling formalized the suspension of related labor certification filings. The announcements follow scrutiny of employer use of H-1B and related visa programs, which are designed for highly skilled roles that employers say can be hard to fill domestically. Microsoft pushed back with a statement to TechCrunch saying the majority of its U.S. workforce are American citizens and offering application-level details. The company said it submitted roughly 6,000 H-1B-related filings in the last fiscal year, about 80% of which were extensions or changes in status for existing employees. Microsoft added that filings to bring in new employees accounted for a very small share, and that the firm pays H-1B employees the same as comparable staff. The administration also said it will investigate nine universities — including Harvard, Yale and Stanford — over alleged misuse of a program that allows international students to come to the U.S., suggesting broader enforcement actions across several migration pathways. Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TechCrunch reported the story; the article was updated to include Microsoft’s statement.