Trump Administration Suspends Green Card Sponsorship for Eight Tech Firms

The Trump administration announced a series of immigration enforcement measures on October 8, suspending eight major technology companies from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program. J.D. Vance, the Vice President of the United States, and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the government will no longer accept or process new or pending permanent labor certification applications for Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.

Officials accused these firms of replacing American workers with foreign professionals to undercut wages. Vance specifically targeted Microsoft, claiming the company abused the system by replacing laid-off workers with foreign laborers. In response, Microsoft stated that the remaining filings for new employees represented only 1% of its U.S. workforce and primarily involved individuals already legally in the country.

Simultaneously, the administration launched investigations into nine universities, including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Yale, over the suspected misuse of J-1 exchange-visitor visas. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito announced a multi-agency visa-fraud strike team to prosecute these schemes. The administration is also proposing new fees for H-1B and Optional Practical Training programs to recover administrative costs.

Democratic lawmakers condemned the measures as a punitive attack on legal immigration. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene argued that targeting the PERM program undermines American innovation and unfairly penalizes skilled workers already residing in the United States.