The US suspends Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and others from a program that lets skilled foreign workers gain permanent residency, citing alleged fraud
US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that the federal government was suspending Microsoft from a program …
Context & Ripple Effects
The action lands after major employers including Microsoft told H-1B visa holders to return to the US and avoid travel in 2025, highlighting how immigration-policy shifts can immediately constrain employee mobility. Microsoft was also among the companies in the top 10 for H-1B visas in 2024, according to USCIS data on major H-1B employers.
The policy dispute is being argued alongside Microsoft's denial that it replaced thousands of US workers with foreign workers. That denial does not resolve the government's alleged-fraud case, but it makes the suspension a high-stakes challenge to the company's hiring and workforce narrative.
First-order effects
- Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys and the other suspended employers lose access to the cited permanent-residency pathway for affected skilled foreign workers while the suspension stands.
- Workers relying on their employer's sponsorship through the program face disrupted plans for permanent status, adding uncertainty to retention at the named companies.
Second-order effects
- The named employers must treat immigration-process compliance as an immediate staffing constraint, alongside the travel risks exposed by the 2025 H-1B travel guidance.
- Rival employers that retain access to permanent-residency sponsorship gain a recruiting distinction for skilled workers weighing stability as well as compensation.
Third-order effects
- If firm-specific suspensions become a recurring enforcement tool, immigration compliance will move from a specialist legal function into a more visible component of large tech employers' workforce strategy.
- The dispute extends a longstanding political linkage between layoffs and high-skilled visas, seen in debate over visas during the 2009 tech layoffs, into direct scrutiny of individual employers.
The trend: US employment immigration is becoming a direct enforcement and political pressure point for major technology employers.
Related: Microsoft · Adobe · Infosys · Microsoft denies JD Vance's foreign-worker claim · H-1B travel guidance for major tech employers
Related Coverage
- US bars Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from green card program for skilled foreign workers TechCrunch · Aisha Malik
- U.S. suspends Microsoft, Adobe from green card labor program in foreign worker crackdown CNBC · CJ Haddad
- Vance says foreign workers at Microsoft will no longer be able to apply for permanent status The Hill · Julia Shapero
- White House Suspends Visa Program for Microsoft, Other Tech Firms The Information · Aaron Holmes
- Microsoft Suspended From Green Card Program as Trump Officials Widen Fraud Drive New York Times · Erica L. Green
- Microsoft, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, HCL, Cognizant, and others barred from key US green card process People Matters · Samriddhi Srivastava
- India News Live Updates, 9 October 2026: Markets brace for impact as US suspends IT majors from green card programme The Indian Express · Majid Alam
- Trump administration bars Microsoft from green card program, citing H-1B visa abuse Quartz · Colleen Cabili
- Trump Admin Suspends Microsoft, Others From PERM Program Over Alleged Visa Abuse Legal Insurrection · Mary Chastain
- Microsoft faces PERM suspension over H-1B allegations The American Bazaar · Jayujyoti Mullick
- Satya Nadella had an awkward White House day Business Insider · Paul Squire
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- Vice President JD Vance Just Announced Two Massive Visa Fraud Crackdowns Townhall · Cameron Arcand
- U.S. suspends green card path for H-1B workers at Microsoft and Adobe — labor certification program blocked due to alleged fraud Tom's Hardware · Bruno Ferreira
- US freezes Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys green-card applications over alleged fraud Channel NewsAsia
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- US Bars Microsoft, Adobe, and Major IT Firms From Green Card Program Slashdot · BeauHD
- 8 IT firms including TCS, Infosys suspended from US green card programme: How does it hit Indian professionals? Times of India · Smriti Jain
- WATCH: JD Vance Blocks Visas for Microsoft and Indian Staffing Companies Breitbart · Neil Munro
- Vance says the US is suspending permanent visa residency program for Microsoft Business Insider
- Trump Just Blocked 8 Major Tech Companies From Green Card Program For Foreign Workers Over Fraud Allegations Baller Alert · Poli Girl
- Why Microsoft's H-1B Issues Are Sending Infosys Stock to Near a Six-Year Low Barron's Online · Mariapaula Gonzalez
- US bars Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from green card program for skilled foreign workers to ‘protect American jobs’ TechRadar · Benedict Collins
Discussion
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NewsMax.com
Jim Thomas
on x
Sec. Mullin to Newsmax: Vance ‘Spot On’ on Microsoft PERM
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@ccpecknold
Chad Pecknold
on x
“If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants.” — Vice President J.D. Vance https://apnews.com/...
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@tomwarren
Tom Warren
on x
on the same day Trump celebrates Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's contributions to the US, the Trump administration has accused Microsoft of abusing the visa system to bring in more foreign workers. Microsoft has now fired back against the accusations https://www.theverge.com/...
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@bulwarkclips
@bulwarkclips
on x
Q: “How do you define socialism personally?” Vance: “I think in reality, what it actually means in the American context is that you want to replace American workers with foreign workers, and you want boys to play in girls' sports.”
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@russellbrandom
Russell Brandom
on x
Very odd to single out a particular company instead of attempting to change the program https://www.reuters.com/...
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@dugalira
Ira Dugal
on x
Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini among those impacted https://www.reuters.com/...
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@jordannovet
Jordan Novet
on x
Satya Nadella had an H1-B, as he recounted in his book “Hit Refresh” https://www.ndtv.com/...
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@jdvance
JD Vance
on x
Thank you @Sonderling47 , @AGToddBlanche , @StephenM , @AFergusonFTC , and @USLaborIG for this major effort in the fight against fraud. It's time these jobs that were stolen from American workers finally go to Americans, and this step is going to make sure the wrongs of the past…
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@warddpatrick
Patrick Ward
on x
VP Vance this morning: we have decided to suspend the PERM program for Microsoft...you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers. Later today, President Trump will award Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella National Medal of Technology and Innovation
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@amritabhinder
Amrita Bhinder
on x
US suspending permanent residency program for Microsoft, US Vice President JD Vance said that the federal government was suspending Microsoft from a program that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, citing alleged fraud. https://www.reuters.com/...
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@mcfaul
Michael McFaul
on x
Ironic that the Trump administration announces this visa ban on foreign employees on the same day that he is giving science awards to immigrants, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, Lisa Su, and Elon Musk.
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@obrien
Chris O'Brien
on x
Let's build!
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@jobsnowpr
@jobsnowpr
on x
@USLaborIG ... Thank you for taking care of Adobe, Microsoft, and the body shops! We've got a list with tons more ideas for you!
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@sonderling47
Secretary Keith Sonderling
on x
We're cutting off the head of the snake and protecting American Workers. Beginning today, @USDOL is SUSPENDING Microsoft and Adobe among other companies from the permanent visa program. After a pipeline of systemic fraud has flooded our country for years with foreign labor, we'…
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Matthew Boyle
Matthew Boyle
on linkedin
The Trump administration said it would suspend an immigration program for Microsoft and other tech firms, alleging widespread abuse of a worker visa system. …
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@marypcbuk
Mary Branscombe
on bluesky
Who didn't pay Trump enough money/send enough shiny trophies? — H1B probably needs reforming but not like this [embedded post]
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@jake.sooscreek.productions
Jake
on bluesky
Uh oh, defense contracts at Microsoft could be taking a turn. Suspended from H1-B to green card applications for fraud 👀
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@crampell
Catherine Rampell
on bluesky
Trump admin is suspending a bunch of tech companies (Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini) from participation in the H-1B PERM program, alleging fraud. — Some other tech firms (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) notably absent from the list.
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@okane.fyi
Sean O'Kane
on bluesky
but they called it “SI” [embedded post]
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r/InterstellarKinetics
r
on reddit
BREAKING: The Trump Administration Suspends Microsoft & 7 Other Firms From A Program Allowing Foreign Workers To Apply For Green Cards …
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r/DevelEire
r
on reddit
Microsoft is being suspended from program to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers, Vance says
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r/microsoft
r
on reddit
Microsoft Comment on Recent Immigration Questions
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r/redmond
r
on reddit
The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft from a green card program, alleging fraud
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r/Layoffs
r
on reddit
Microsoft suspended from a green card program, alleging fraud
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r/politics
r
on reddit
US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from key green card program
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r/asianamerican
r
on reddit
Microsoft is being suspended from program to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers, Vance says
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r/UpliftingNews
r
on reddit
US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from key green card program
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r/CanadianVisaReform
r
on reddit
Can we take a page from our neighbours? We should scrap the LMIA program entirely ,not just rebrand it ,until we bring our unemployment rate down.