Microsoft, Adobe suspended from U.S. green card labor program in foreign worker crackdown

U.S. is cutting off the greencard pipeline for Microsoft, Adobe and big IT companies

Microsoft, Adobe and six other major technology consulting firms have been placed on hold from the federal government's permanent labor certification (PERM) program by the Trump administration, which has essentially barred the tech companies from sponsoring foreign workers for employment-based green cards until further notice.

Announcement from the Labor Department

The Department of Labor will not file or process any new PERM applications that are currently pending or are being filed for the eight companies listed below: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL.

Sonderling said that Microsoft and Adobe were specified "because there are multiple active federal investigations" into the use of the program.

They said the companies have demanded almost 3 million foreign workers since 2009 and obtained more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications, a trend they say is evidence of widespread exploitation of the foreign labor system to push out Americans.

Why the White House says its acting Vice President JD Vance described the action as safeguarding U.S. jobs, had a dig at Microsoft regarding its 2025 layoffs.

Vance announced that Microsoft laid off approximately 6,000 workers in the United States in 2025 and subsequently "replaced" them with foreign workers on H-1B visas and green cards, in what Vance termed as discrimination against Americans.

The administration will have a "great relationship" with Microsoft, he said, but it will keep the company out of PERM until it shows it is "putting American workers first."

Microsoft's response

Microsoft disputed this characterization of its hiring and visa use.

Most of the employees are Americans, the company said.

Of the nearly 6,000 applications it submitted during the last fiscal year, about 80% were for existing Microsoft workers to extend or change their H1B status, not to add new outsiders, the company said.

Microsoft also said that it only files H-1B petitions for individuals who meet the high standards of that category and that its H-1B wages are some of the highest listed in the filings.

The broader tech and immigration context

The move comes as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to limit skilled-worker immigration ahead of next month's mid-term elections.

Big tech, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Apple – have historically been the most dominant H-1B sponsors. In 2026, Amazon was the top H-1B sponsor with 35,426 petitions, while Microsoft was the fourth highest with 21,706 petitions and the median base salary was approximately $180,710, according to Levels.fyi data.

"Since the PERM process is often necessary for many H-1Bs to proceed to a green card, the suspension has immediately impacted pipeline hires and pending cases related to those designated firms."

A stark contrast: sanctions and accolades on the same day

On the day the order is announced, President Donald Trump is scheduled to present the National Medal of Science to a handful of immigrant tech executives, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, SpaceX's Elon Musk and AMD's Lisa Su, at a White House science event.

Nadella (India), Huang and Su (Taiwan), and Musk (South Africa) all immigrated to the US, highlighting a dual message of the administration: embrace successful immigrant entrepreneurs and crack down on company visa schemes that it claims injure American workers.

Vance made a distinction, saying most Americans back allowing just single builders such as Musk or Su into the U. S., but in favor of "systems" he says that enable firms to "replace" U. S. employees with visa holders.

Implications in practice:

The two Saudi nationals are cited as defendants in the case. What are the companies listed above? For Microsoft, Adobe and the six IT companies: no new PERM registrations will be accepted, and pending applications related to the seven companies will not be processed while the suspension and investigations are ongoing.

For impacted workers: the PERM pause means a crucial pathway to green cards is blocked, leaving some H1B workers in limbo on temporary status until the policy change or investigations wrap up.

For the policy debate: the move reinforces the administration's 'America first' hiring pitch, even while it celebrates immigrant CEOs whose firms have a "heavy dependence" on foreign talent.

CNBC was attempting to reach Adobe for comment.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/microsoft-adobe-green-card-labor-suspension.html