The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe, and several technology companies from a program that helps skilled foreign workers obtain permanent U.S. residency, accusing fraud.
Vice President JD Vance said at a news conference: “Our message to Microsoft is: You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers,” per Reuters.
Also suspended: Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata, and Wipro. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government would not accept new or pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies.
H-1B visas target highly skilled roles; tech firms are major users, with nearly three-quarters of approved visas going to workers from India per AP.
Microsoft said the vast majority of U.S. employees are Americans; of ~6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year, 80% were extensions or status changes for existing employees, not new hires. Remaining new-employee filings were for people already legally in the U.S., about 1% of U.S. workforce.
Vance said the administration would investigate nine universities including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford over alleged abuse of international student programs and wage undermining.
Adobe did not immediately respond to TechCrunch.