WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Thursday to bar several prominent technology companies from a key federal program used to sponsor skilled foreign workers for permanent residency, Vice President JD Vance announced at a White House press briefing.
Under the action, the U.S. Department of Labor has halted the processing of both new and pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification program, commonly known as PERM, for software giants Microsoft and Adobe as well as several top global outsourcing corporations, according to reports from Al Jazeera and DW.
Administration Alleges Systemic Abuse
During Thursday’s announcement, Vance claimed that companies have routinely manipulated the system to displace domestic staff with lower-paid foreign personnel, whom he termed “indentured servants.” Vance contended that employers placed job postings in obscure outlets to manufacture a pretense of domestic labor shortages before securing visas for foreign staff, as reported by DW.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that the bar applies to French firm Capgemini alongside Indian IT giants Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL Technologies, citing open federal inquiries into the targeted businesses. Sonderling stated that the administration would freeze current and future certifications tied to those employers to halt what he described as widespread fraudulent filings, Al Jazeera reported.
Other prominent technology corporations that routinely sponsor workers through temporary H-1B visas, including Amazon, Meta and Google parent Alphabet, were not included in the restrictions, according to Al Jazeera.
Tech Firms and Lawmakers Push Back
Vance singled out Microsoft, arguing that the software maker dismissed 6,000 domestic personnel last year while obtaining roughly 6,300 H-1B visas alongside nearly 3,000 green cards. Microsoft pushed back against that characterization, stating that 80 percent of its visa petitions in the prior year sought extensions or status modifications for current staff, with the remainder covering people already living legally in the United States, according to statements reported by Al Jazeera and DW.
Microsoft added that its salaries rank among the highest across tech employers and noted that the majority of its global workforce remains based in the United States, DW reported. Notably, the policy rollout occurred hours before President Donald Trump was slated to present Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, according to DW.
Lawmakers in Washington state, where Microsoft maintains its headquarters, strongly condemned the freeze. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., stated that dismantling established employment routes damages the broader economy, arguing that the administration was attempting to take a hammer to legal immigration channels. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., characterized the move as a punitive and disruptive measure targeting legal visa holders already living in American communities, according to statements carried by KIRO 7 News.
Diplomatic Fallout With New Delhi
The policy changes sparked swift diplomatic pushback on Friday from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which labeled Vance’s remarks comparing foreign workers to indentured laborers as “deeply offensive” and unwarranted, CNBC reported. The ministry noted that such vocabulary invokes painful colonial memories while overlooking the extensive economic and technological contributions delivered by educated Indian professionals in the United States.
Indian authorities sought to reassure affected citizens, clarifying that the measure does not alter the underlying validity of existing H-1B visas held by workers or their dependents, according to CNBC.
Government data shows Indian nationals represent about 70 percent of H-1B visa recipients, and nearly 1 million Indians currently remain trapped in multi-decade employment-based green card processing queues, Al Jazeera reported. While Vance stated the company suspensions would remain active indefinitely, the long-term legal status of tens of thousands of pending green card petitions tied to the affected firms remains unresolved.
