US Administration Suspends Green-Card Applications for Major Tech Firms and Launches University Visa Probe
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The Department of Labor halted PERM green-card filings for Microsoft, Adobe and several IT outsourcers while opening investigations into nine leading universities over alleged exchange-visitor visa misuse.
The U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday that it is freezing permanent labor certification (PERM) applications for several large technology companies, including Microsoft, Adobe and Indian IT outsourcers such as Infosys and Cognizant. The move is part of a broader enforcement effort aimed at preventing alleged abuse of the skilled-worker immigration system.
Vice President JD Vance said the suspensions will remain in effect "as long as it needs to" and urged the firms to change hiring practices that, in his view, rely on ineffective job advertisements and justify lower-paid foreign hires. He noted that Microsoft filed the most PERM applications, citing its use of 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards while laying off 6,000 U.S. workers last year.
Microsoft responded that roughly 80% of its recent H-1B filings were to extend or change the status of existing employees rather than to recruit new staff, and that it pays H-1B workers the same wages as comparable U.S. employees. The company also announced a reduction of 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, in July.
Ken Mahoney, chief executive of Mahoney Asset Management, warned that while the immediate financial impact on major tech firms may be limited, the longer-term effects on innovation and competitiveness could be significant.
In addition to the corporate actions, the administration disclosed subpoenas to nine universities—including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and MIT—over concerns that exchange-visitor visas may be used to suppress American wages. Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said investigators will examine potential foreign influence, improper financial relationships or visa abuse that could affect federally funded research.
Sarah Spreitzer, vice president of the American Council on Education, said the investigations could have a substantial economic impact, noting that international students historically spend about $40 billion annually in the United States.
The latest steps follow earlier measures such as the September "Project Firewall" enforcement drive and a $100,000 fee imposed on new H-1B petitions. The administration has emphasized a focus on keeping jobs and production in the United States during President Trump's second term.