WASHINGTON: The Trump administration froze on Thursday some green-card filings by Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT outsourcers and opened probes into nine top universities, widening a visa crackdown it says targets fraud and protects American jobs.
The twin actions mark the broadest strike yet against skilled-worker immigration programs — potentially cutting off a common path to permanent residency for foreign tech workers — while putting some of the country’s top research universities on notice.
“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft,” Vice President JD Vance said. He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B temporary worker visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
The announcement about the permanent labor certification process — PERM — came hours before Trump was due to give Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Under PERM, required for most employment-based green cards, employers must show that hiring a foreign worker will not harm US workers’ wages or job opportunities.
Microsoft is the largest filer of PERM applications, according to data from the US labor department.
The company said in a statement that about 80% of the H-1B applications it filed in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of current employees, not to hire new workers. In July, the company said it would cut 4,800 jobs, or about 2.1% of its global workforce.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension would also cover Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. “We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,” Sonderling said.
He said these companies had since 2009 sought almost three million foreign workers, and had received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.
Amazon.com was the largest employer of approved H-1B beneficiaries in fiscal 2026, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Apple and Microsoft, according to US immigration data.
Vance said the suspensions would last “as long as it needs to,” adding that the administration wants the companies to change how they hire. He said some companies post ineffective job ads, then cite a lack of applicants to justify hiring lower-paid foreign workers.
Microsoft said in its statement that it pays its H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work.
“The immediate financial impact on major technology companies may be relatively limited at this moment, but the longer-term implications for innovation and competitiveness could be much more significant,” said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management.
Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Capgemini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tata Consultancy Services declined to comment.
Nasscom, India’s IT industry body, said Indian tech companies in the US had significantly reduced their reliance on H-1B visas, and relatively few of their workers sought green cards through the PERM process.
CRACKDOWN WIDENS
The suspensions are the latest in a series of steps against skilled-worker programs. In September last year, the Labor Department launched an enforcement drive called “Project Firewall” as a White House proclamation imposed a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions for workers hired from abroad.
During President Donald Trump’s second term, companies have faced growing pressure to keep jobs and production in the United States rather than move them overseas.
The action comes despite closer ties between the administration and tech leaders, who are lobbying for lighter AI regulation.
UNIVERSITIES UNDER SCRUTINY
Vance also said nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, would be investigated for what the administration called the misuse of exchange-visitor visas to undercut American wages.
The nine schools also include Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said subpoenas had already been served.
D’Esposito said investigators would examine whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships or visa abuse were compromising federally funded research.
“It could have an enormous economic impact on the whole US economy,” said Sarah Spreitzer, a vice president at the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents. International students historically spent $40 billion a year while in the US, she said.
The probe deepens the administration’s long-running fight with Harvard over foreign students. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed the university over alleged misconduct by international students and its compliance with immigration law. Harvard called that subpoena “unfounded retribution” but said it would comply as far as the law requires.
