USAupdated 34m ago2 min read
Trump Administration Suspends Microsoft And Adobe From PERM Over Fraud Claims
US suspends Microsoft and Adobe from the PERM green-card program amid fraud investigations. JD Vance and Labor Secretary Sonderling announced the action, citing alleged visa-system abuse.
PERM Freeze Hits Tech
The Trump administration suspended Microsoft and Adobe from a green-card pathway by halting their participation in the Permanent Labor Certification Program, or PERM, amid fraud allegations, according to Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Vance said, "There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft," as the administration framed the move as a response to alleged abuse of foreign-worker hiring.
Sonderling said the Department of Labor would suspend Microsoft and Adobe "and also, due to multiple active federal investigations" from PERM, while also suspending Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. The Department of Labor said the action would stop accepting new PERM applications and processing ongoing applications for the named companies, and the suspension was described as targeting the PERM process rather than an across-the-board cancellation of H-1B visas or green cards already granted.
Vance, Sonderling, Microsoft Clash
JD Vance said the administration was acting because it believed Microsoft laid off American workers while using the program to bring in foreign workers, and he argued, "For every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants." Microsoft pushed back in a corporate statement, saying, "the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans," and it added that most of its H-1B filings were for extending or changing the status of existing employees.
Microsoft also said, "80% were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees," and it argued that the remaining filings for new employees were "only 1% of our U.S. workforce." The dispute unfolded alongside the administration’s broader push on immigration enforcement, with Al Jazeera reporting that Vance said the company obtained 6,300 H-1B foreign work visas and almost 3,000 permanent residencies while laying off 6,000 American workers.
Universities, Investigations, Stakes
The administration also announced a crackdown on alleged J-1 visa fraud involving nine universities, and Vance said the universities would be investigated over their use of J-1 visas.
“Subpoenas had already been served as part of the investigation.”
Vance alleged that when schools employ an American as a researcher, that person earns $20,000 more than someone brought in under a J-1 visa, and he said the universities used the program to undercut wages for American graduate students.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said subpoenas had been served and investigations were underway, and he warned, "Subpoenas have been served, investigations are underway, and nobody will be getting a free pass because their name is carved into an expensive building."
The administration’s stated stakes centered on protecting American workers, with Sonderling saying, "Today we are protecting something far more valuable than any dollar amount. We are protecting the American worker," as the PERM suspension threatened a key bridge from temporary work status to permanent residency for workers tied to the suspended companies.