U.S. Suspends Microsoft and Adobe From PERM Green Card Sponsorship Program

The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six outsourcing firms from the PERM program, the first step in sponsoring foreign workers for employment-based green cards, Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday, October 8. The reporting does not include a response from the companies.

What was announced

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspended employers can no longer file new PERM applications and that pending ones will not be processed. The six outsourcing firms named were Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.

• Duration: Vance said the suspensions will last "as long as it needs to" and could be extended indefinitely if hiring practices do not change
• Scale cited by the Labor Department: the eight companies have requested almost 3 million foreign workers since 2009, with more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications
• Microsoft figures cited by Vance: 6,000 U.S. layoffs last year alongside 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards

These are the administration's characterizations and were not independently verified in the report.

The administration's argument

The administration contends that employers' certifications that no qualified American worker is available are false when programs are used to replace U.S. staff with lower-paid foreign workers. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is investigating companies that favor foreign workers, with possible criminal and civil consequences.

The announcement also covered J-1 visa investigations, with subpoenas served on nine universities including Harvard, Stanford and MIT, and a proposed $70,000 fee from the Department of Homeland Security for schools sponsoring international students for Optional Practical Training.

Why it matters

Large technology employers rely heavily on employment-based immigration to hire engineers and researchers. A suspension from PERM halts the green card pipeline for those companies' sponsored employees, though the report does not say how many Microsoft or Adobe workers have applications pending.

KOMO noted the action came the same day Satya Nadella was scheduled to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and that it applies to Microsoft's use of PERM rather than to Nadella personally. Vance called for Congress to overhaul the H-1B system, saying the administration will use existing authority in the meantime.