Trump administration suspends PERM green-card applications for several tech firms
The U.S. Labor Department announced that Microsoft, Adobe and several outsourcing companies are barred from filing new PERM labor-certification applications, citing concerns that the H-1B to green-card pathway is being used to replace American workers.
The Department of Labor said on Thursday that Microsoft, Adobe and a group of IT outsourcing firms—including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini—will no longer be able to process existing PERM green-card applications or submit new ones. The move follows remarks by Vice President JD Vance, who argued that some companies use the H-1B visa and subsequent green-card process to replace U.S. workers with lower-cost foreign labor.
"We want you to thrive in the United States, but you have to employ American workers," Vance told reporters, citing Microsoft’s layoffs of about 6,000 U.S. employees in the past year while the company received roughly 6,300 H-1B visas and 3,000 green-card approvals.
Microsoft issued a statement emphasizing its reliance on American talent and saying it files H-1B petitions only for candidates who meet the visa’s rigorous standards, adding that its H-1B employees receive compensation comparable to U.S. workers in similar roles.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspensions are linked to “multiple active federal investigations” and will halt processing of current green-card cases for the affected firms. He warned that the administration had uncovered $22 billion in visa fraud and that limiting the PERM pathway would curb what he described as a flood of foreign labor that displaces U.S. workers.
Immigration-policy advocates offered mixed reactions. NumbersUSA co-president Jeremy Beck welcomed the announcement, calling it a rare acknowledgment that the H-1B program can displace American workers. In contrast, David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, criticized the action as “lawless” and warned it could harm both companies and foreign workers who rely on green-card sponsorship.
Former Department of Homeland Security official Doug Rand noted that blocking companies from sponsoring green cards may undermine the goal of reducing dependence on employers, since permanent-resident status gives workers greater job mobility and wage bargaining power.
The PERM program, administered by the Labor Department, requires employers to demonstrate that no qualified U.S. worker is available for a position before a foreign employee can be granted a green card. Critics argue that the process can be manipulated, while supporters say it provides stability for both employers and skilled foreign workers.
Vance said the administration is not seeking to eliminate the H-1B program but urges Congress to reform it, suggesting limits based on genuine labor shortages and higher wage requirements.