US suspends Microsoft, Adobe and IT outsourcing firms from green card programme

InfoQuest·9 Oct 2026·

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Summary · why it matters

JD Vance, the US Vice President, announced on Thursday 8 October that the US government has suspended Microsoft and Adobe from participating in the PERM programme, the process by which employers sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence in the United States, allowing companies to apply for green cards for employees holding H-1B visas. He added that Microsoft should hire American workers. Keith Sonderling, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Labor, disclosed that the department is suspending the participation of several major IT outsourcing companies in the permanent labour certification programme, namely Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. It is also suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the programme because both companies are subject to multiple federal investigations. Microsoft said it is ready to provide further information to the administration of President Donald Trump, explaining that of the roughly 6,000 H-1B visa applications the company filed in the most recent fiscal year, 80% were renewals or status changes for employees already working at the company, not applications to hire new employees, and that the remaining applications for new employees accounted for only 1% of Microsoft's total US workforce. The US Department of Labor also announced it is investigating nine leading American universities over their use of J-1 visas, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Todd Blanche, the US Attorney General, disclosed that the Department of Justice is investigating companies that prioritise hiring foreign workers over American workers.

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