The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six major IT outsourcing firms from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program, the first step employers take to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, or green cards.
The suspended companies are Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. The department said it will not accept new PERM applications from them and has stopped processing those already filed. Microsoft and Adobe were suspended due to multiple active federal investigations.
Vance targets Microsoft
Vice President JD Vance announced the move at a news conference with Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito and Attorney General Todd Blanche. Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
"You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants," Vance said. "Our message to Microsoft is, you’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers."
According to officials, the eight companies have sought roughly 3 million foreign workers since 2009, receiving more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications. Microsoft said about 80% of its H-1B filings were extensions or status changes for existing employees.
What it means for workers
The suspension does not revoke anyone’s H-1B status, and no end date has been set. But it freezes green card sponsorship at the companies, which could leave foreign employees waiting on permanent residency, including Turkish professionals in the U.S. tech sector, in limbo. Officials also said subpoenas were issued to nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and MIT, as part of a separate probe into the J-1 exchange visa program.
