US bars Microsoft, Adobe and other IT giants from tech talent green card program
On October 8 the Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several other major IT companies from a green card program that helps foreign tech workers obtain US permanent residency, accusing the firms of fraud. Labor Secretary Keith Sundling said the government will no longer accept new or pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies; the affected group also includes Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata and Wipro. Vice President JD Vance said companies must prioritize hiring American workers and said nine universities, among them Harvard, Yale and Stanford, will also be investigated; Microsoft responded that the overwhelming majority of its employees are American, and that about 80% of the roughly 6,000 H-1B petitions it filed last fiscal year were extensions or status changes for existing staff.
With competition for AI and hard-tech talent intense, tighter US immigration channels for major IT employers could shift where that talent goes and how these firms staff their R&D teams.