US suspends Microsoft and seven tech firms from PERM green card program

Suspension of green card certifications

The United States federal government suspended Microsoft and seven other technology corporations from the permanent labor certification program known as PERM on Thursday. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling named the affected firms as Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Paris-based Capgemini. Under federal regulation 20 CFR 656.31, the Department of Labor can hold new PERM filings until ongoing fraud investigations conclude. The administrative hold applies strictly to new filings, meaning existing petitions and approved green card cases remain valid while current visa statuses remain unaffected. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the investigation, and authorities have set no published end date for the suspensions.

Administration claims of labor displacement

During a White House press briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance argued that companies have relied on foreign labor pools to replace domestic staff following corporate layoffs. Vance singled out Microsoft, whose corporate headquarters is in Redmond, Washington, claiming that the company had abused the immigration system more than any other domestic business. Almost three-quarters of H-1B visa approvals are currently granted to workers from India, where several of the suspended IT outsourcing vendors maintain operations. Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the federal announcement.

If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants.

Vance maintained that federal policy encourages investment in the technology sector provided that firms prioritize domestic hiring over foreign sponsorships.

And so our message to Microsoft is, you're great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers. You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.

Investigations targeting elite universities

Federal scrutiny expanded beyond commercial technology companies to include higher education institutions on Thursday. The Trump administration opened formal investigations into nine universities, including Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, and MIT. Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito confirmed that subpoenas had already been served to institutions regarding foreign exchange programs. Officials allege that schools used temporary J-1 exchange visas at elevated rates to bring in international scholars and undercut prevailing domestic wage levels. The action follows an announcement on Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security proposing a $70,000 institutional fee for students enrolled in the Optional Practical Training program.

Enforcement across immigration channels

Thursday's administrative measures follow several months of regulatory actions directed at skilled visa categories. The Labor Department inspector general initiated a nationwide inquiry into H-1B and PERM practices in July, citing instances of fraudulent applications, wage kickbacks, and employee benching. In August, the Department of Justice took $3.2 million from OpenAI to resolve claims over how the company advertised PERM positions, while Homeland Security proposed a $103,265 fee for new capped H-1B visas. The Labor Department subsequently held new filings from Cognizant and data firm Cloudera in September. The latest suspensions also affect international firms, including Capgemini, which employs 421,000 people and derived 1,721 million euros from North America during the first quarter.