Vance Halts Microsoft, Adobe from Green Card Program Amid Fraud Allegations

Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday the suspension of Microsoft and Adobe from the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) system, a key pathway for companies to sponsor foreign employees for permanent U.S. residency. Vance accused Microsoft of significant fraud within the program, stating it had abused the system more than any other company.

"So if the H-1B visa is how the people get into the country, the PERM program is how they stay in the United States to begin with," Vance said. "Now there has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft."

Vance alleged that Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers in the past year while simultaneously benefiting from nearly 3,000 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards. "In other words, if you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants," he stated.

Microsoft, in a statement, asserted that it "succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world’s best technology workforce" and attracts "the best talent from around the world." The company also stated that it "only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category" and pays its H-1B employees the same compensation as any other employees doing comparable work.

The suspension of Microsoft and Adobe from the PERM program comes on the same day President Donald Trump honored Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the Medal of Technology and Innovation. Vance acknowledged the timing, stating, "Microsoft is a great American company, and we have a great relationship with them... but we're also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first."

Vance, who leads the administration's Anti-Fraud Task Force, characterized the H-1B visa program as having become "rife with fraud" in recent years. The program is intended for positions that American workers cannot fill, but Vance claimed it has been misused.

Attorney General Todd Blanche reinforced Vance's concerns, promising investigations into companies that allegedly "discriminate against an American worker in favor of someone on the other side of the world," stating such actions violate public trust.

Separately, Inspector General of Labor Anthony D'Esposito announced an investigation into alleged fraud within the J-1 visa program involving nine major American universities, including Pitt, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State, and MIT. "If an American university is breaking the law to save a dollar, while exposing American research to a foreign adversary, that is not academic excellence. It's institutional betrayal," D'Esposito said.

Vance indicated that the suspension from the PERM program would remain in place "as long as it needs to," and that the administration possesses tools to extend it indefinitely if necessary. Adobe has not yet commented on the suspension.