US suspends Microsoft from green card programme; JD Vance targets H-1B hires

US Vice President JD Vance cited Microsoft's workforce reductions in making the allegation. He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 after certifying that it could not find qualified US employees for the positions.

In Short

• Microsoft suspended from US H-1B visa sponsorship programme
• JD Vance accuses Microsoft of abusing visa system amid layoffs
• He claims Microsoft laid off 6,000 US workers to hire over 6,000 H-1B workers

Microsoft has been suspended from a US programme that allows employers to sponsor H-1B workers for permanent residency, amid allegations of fraud. US Vice President JD Vance has accused Microsoft of abusing the H-1B visa system, saying the government was suspending the company from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to seek permanent residency.

He said the H-1B programme was intended to help US companies recruit highly skilled workers for positions that could not be filled by American employees. He alleged that the system had instead become vulnerable to fraud.

"The H1-B visa programme is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers. Unfortunately, the programme has become rife with fraud."

He went further in his criticism of Microsoft, saying: "There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft."

JD VANCE POINTS TO MICROSOFT'S LAYOFFS

The US Vice President cited Microsoft's workforce reductions in making the allegation. He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 after certifying that it could not find qualified US employees for the positions. At the same time, Vance said, Microsoft was approved for more than 6,000 H-1B visas and filed 3,682 PERM applications, including nearly 1,000 applications for positions that matched jobs held by the American workers who were laid off.

US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said Microsoft was not the only major technology company facing action. He also announced the suspension of several other companies from the programme, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCO, Capgemini and Adobe.

Sonderling also announced investigations into nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, over allegations that they brought in international students to undercut American wages. Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said subpoenas had already been served.

HOW DOES AN H-1B WORKER GET A US GREEN CARD?

The H-1B visa allows skilled foreign workers to live and work temporarily in the US, while a green card gives someone permanent resident status. Having an H-1B does not automatically lead to a green card. Many foreign workers on H-1B visas, however, use employment-based green card pathways while continuing to work in the US.

For many employment-based green cards, the process begins with PERM labour certification, in which an employer must show that there are not enough qualified, willing and available American workers for the job and that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively affect US workers' wages and conditions. If the Department of Labour approves the PERM application, the employer can move to the next stages of the green card process, including an I-140 immigrant petition and, when a visa is available, the final permanent residency application.

This is a broader escalation by the Trump administration against what it describes as misuse of programmes designed to bring skilled foreign workers and students to the US.

- Ends
With inputs from agencies