The Trump administration will no longer allow Microsoft and other tech companies to participate in a program that allows H-1B visa holders to apply for green cards, one of the most common pathways for skilled foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States.
In addition to Microsoft, administration officials said on Thursday that software giant Adobe and IT companies including Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata will be suspended from the PERM program, the Labor Department’s permanent labor certification program. PERM is a key step for H-1B visaholders to gain permanent residency, requiring employers to prove that there are no American workers who would be suitable for the applicant’s permanent job opportunity.
Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said that the agency is investigating whether these companies committed fraud, undercutting American workers by hiring foreign employees.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, singled out Microsoft. “There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft,” Vance said in a press conference.
In a statement provided by Microsoft representative Kaitlin Haskins, the company said it “only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category,” adding that it develops its workforce by “strengthening this country’s talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world.”
Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
The suspension marks a victory for tech workers who have complained about unfairly losing out on jobs to immigrant workers.
Jobs Now, an advocacy group composed of US citizens working in big tech, celebrated Vance’s announcement on its X account with a video of dancing crabs. The group publicizes otherwise difficult-to-find PERM job postings and says it helped Americans apply to nearly 500,000 jobs across 7,000 employers between last January and this past July.
The organization and its members have also filed complaints against tech companies about alleged abuse of the PERM system, and have called for a number of changes to the employment immigration system. “Every job in America should be offered to an American first, no exceptions,” the group told WIRED in an unsigned statement.
This isn’t the first time tech companies have been targeted over PERM. Earlier this year, OpenAI and a company it acquired agreed to settle accusations from the Trump administration about violating rules for the program. Apple reached a similar deal in 2023.
The administration’s disparagement of H-1B visas—one of the most common work visas in the US—has sent waves of panic through Silicon Valley since Trump’s reelection. Tech companies are some of the H1-B program’s biggest users: So far in the fiscal year 2026, the top three employers with the most visas approved are Amazon, Tata, and Infosys.
Microsoft is No. 5, with 3,688 visas approved in 2026; in 2025, 6,258 visas were approved. According to the company, 80 percent of last year’s visas were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees, not to hire new people.
“The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only 1% of our U.S. workforce,” Microsoft’s statement said.
It’s unclear if Thursday’s announcement would affect the ability of employees at these companies to apply for H1-B visas themselves. The Office of the Vice President and the Department of Labor did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for clarity on if the suspension would impact those seeking H-1B visas.
“It’s one thing if you want to bring in someone like Elon Musk,” who aims to “build something great in America,” Vance said on Thursday. He equated the current state of the H-1B program to bringing “indentured servants” in the US, taking jobs away from American workers. (Musk, who was born in South Africa, came to the US via Canada to pursue a bachelor’s degree at University of Pennsylvania.)
The announcement came shortly before Trump was set to award Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. When asked about the upcoming event, Vance said, “We’re going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft, but we’re also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first.”
Vance also said that the administration is investigating nine universities to see if they might be committing fraud with the J-1 visa program, which allows international candidates to study and conduct research in the US.
“I don’t care how prestigious a university thinks it is, break the law and screw the American people, and I will personally cuff you in the university square,” Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said.
Paresh Dave contributed reporting.
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