The United States has suspended the acceptance and processing of labor certification applications required for green cards for employees of eight technology companies, including Microsoft and Adobe. President Donald Trump's administration cites suspicions of abuse in hiring foreign workers, according to infohub.kz.
The decision was announced on October 8 by Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Vance accused Microsoft of laying off American employees and hiring foreign specialists.
"Our message to Microsoft: you are a great American company, but you must hire great American workers," Vance said.
Microsoft had not commented on the matter at the time of publication.
In addition to Microsoft and Adobe, the restrictions affect Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. According to Sonderling, the Labor Department will stop accepting new and processing already filed applications for permanent labor certification from these companies.
The decision concerns the PERM program — one of the main stages of obtaining an employer-sponsored green card. A company must confirm that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of Americans.
The freeze could block one of the common paths to permanent residence in the US for foreign employees of these companies. According to Reuters, the decision does not appear to directly affect current H-1B visa holders.
At the same time, Vance announced audits of nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. Authorities suspect them of abusing the J-1 exchange visa program. These accusations do not yet mean that violations have been proven.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the US Supreme Court rejected Trump's attempt to limit the right to American citizenship by birth.