US suspends green-card program for Microsoft, Adobe and other tech firms

· Politics · United States

The Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and a half-dozen other companies indefinitely from a program that lets employers sponsor high-skilled foreign workers for permanent residency, accusing them of abusing the system. Vice President JD Vance said Microsoft replaced laid-off workers with "foreign indentured servants." Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling cited "multiple active federal investigations." The administration also launched visa investigations at nine top universities including Harvard, Stanford and MIT. Current H-1B holders are not directly affected. The move could cut off a common path to permanent residency for thousands of foreign tech workers.

Why it matters:The suspension could reshape how US tech companies recruit global talent, potentially pushing skilled workers toward other countries and straining university pipelines.

Key points

  • Microsoft, Adobe and other firms were suspended indefinitely from the green-card program.
  • Vance accused Microsoft of replacing laid-off workers with foreign workers.
  • Visa probes target nine universities including Harvard, MIT and Stanford.

Sources (original reporting)

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