Trump Awards Science Medals to Musk, Nadella and Four Other Tech Titans Hours After Vance Targets Them

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Summary · why it matters

The Trump administration suspended the PERM green-card labor certification program for Microsoft and other companies on October 8, the same day President Donald Trump awarded top science medals to six tech billionaires, five of whom are immigrants. Vice President JD Vance, speaking at the White House that morning as chair of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, accused Microsoft of abusing the H-1B and PERM programs more than any other U.S. company and said the government had decided to suspend the PERM program for Microsoft due to an ongoing investigation. The suspension also affects Adobe and six IT outsourcing firms: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. Microsoft pushed back, saying it only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the visa category's rigorous standards, while India called Vance's comments deeply offensive as USCIS data showed 70% of H-1B petition beneficiaries approved in FY 2025 were born in India. Later that day, Trump awarded the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su, and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Satya Nadella and Michael Dell. The PERM suspension does not stop the companies from applying for H-1B visas, but the administration added a $100,000 fee to each new H-1B petition in September 2025, up from the prior $2,000 to $5,000 range; federal courts blocked and vacated the fee in June and September 2026, and the government is appealing.

Impact on assets 7

Artificial Intelligence▼
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

Vance accused Microsoft of abusing H-1B/PERM and the administration suspended PERM for the company amid an investigation.

Adobe Inc.
ADBE
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

PERM green-card labor certification program suspended for Adobe as part of the administration's crackdown.

Information Technology▼
Capgemini SE
CAP
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

Capgemini is one of the six IT outsourcing firms affected by the PERM suspension.

Off-coverage companies 2

HCLTechi
Private▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

HCL Technologies is among the IT outsourcing firms affected by the PERM suspension.

Tata Consultancy Services Limitedi
Private▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

The PERM green-card labor certification program was suspended for Tata Consultancy Services and other IT outsourcing firms, restricting its ability to sponsor immigrant workers.