White House Blocks Microsoft from Foreign Worker Hiring Program

The White House has barred Microsoft and seven other technology companies from hiring skilled international workers on a permanent basis through a key visa program, citing alleged fraud and the displacement of American workers. Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday that Microsoft, along with Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini, have been blocked from using the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM).

Vance directly accused Microsoft of abusing the H-1B visa program and its related PERM process, stating, "No company in the US has abused this system more than Microsoft." He further alleged that the company has been replacing American workers with "foreign indentured servants."

Secretary of Labor Kieth Sonderling confirmed that the government will not process any new or pending PERM applications from these eight companies. Sonderling characterized companies like Microsoft and U.S. universities as "visa mills" that are "flooding" the nation with foreign workers.

The H-1B visa program, a prerequisite for many foreign workers seeking permanent residency, has an annual cap of 85,000 visas.

A spokesperson for Microsoft stated that the "vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans," noting the company employs over 200,000 people globally. The spokesperson also clarified that 80% of the company's H-1B visa filings in the last fiscal year were for existing employees, not new hires. Additionally, she asserted that international workers hired through the program receive compensation on par with their American counterparts, with a reported median salary of $155,000 for H-1B workers at Microsoft.

Vance presented data suggesting Microsoft laid off approximately 6,000 workers while simultaneously filing 6,800 H-1B visa applications during the same period, which he contends demonstrates the company's practice of replacing domestic workers and suppressing wages. Microsoft has indicated it will provide further information to the administration.

The PERM program is designed to allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers when they cannot find suitable domestic candidates. It serves as a pathway to permanent U.S. residency, often leading to a Green Card.

In the last fiscal year, the Department of Labor certified over 130,000 PERM applications across ten business categories. Typically, foreign workers on sponsored visas have a 60-day grace period if their employment is terminated, although the government recently proposed eliminating this grace period. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was scheduled to be at the White House on Thursday for a technology innovation medal ceremony with President Donald Trump. Several other major tech firms, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple, and Nvidia, also utilize the H-1B visa program for hiring international talent, but they were not specifically targeted by Vance's criticisms on Thursday.