Trump Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From PERM Program Over 6,000-Worker Abuse Claims
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Oct 28
Trump Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From PERM Program Over 6,000-Worker Abuse Claims
3 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Oct 28
Summary
Microsoft and Adobe were barred from using the PERM green-card channel after Trump alleged they replaced U.S. workers with cheaper foreign labor, targeting a key route H-1B employees use to gain permanent residency.
Microsoft said Vice President JD Vance’s math was wrong: about 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B filings last fiscal year were extensions or status changes for existing employees, not new hires.
Vance had tied Microsoft’s layoffs of 6,000 workers to foreign hiring, but the company said the cuts were unrelated to H-1B or green-card sponsorship and would have happened regardless.
The move fits a broader Trump crackdown on skilled-worker immigration that already included a $100,000 H-1B fee struck down by a judge, a proposed $103,265 replacement fee, and other restrictions.
Hours after the suspension, Trump awarded Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella a technology medal, underscoring the tension between honoring immigrant tech leaders and tightening the programs that brought many to the U.S.