US to halt green card applications for Microsoft, Adobe employees
Photo: JD Vance (Getty Images)
US Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration would suspend Microsoft and a number of other companies from a program that allows H-1B visa holders to apply for green cards, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Vance's actions target Microsoft, Adobe, and a number of other technology recruiting firms over alleged widespread abuse of the visa system.
Vance said no other company had abused the system more than Microsoft. He accused the company of laying off US citizens and subsequently replacing them with foreign workers.
"For every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants. Now that is a scandalous system that we’ve allowed in this country for far too long," Vance said.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company plans to send additional information to the Trump administration. She said that most of its employees in the US are US citizens and that, of approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications submitted last fiscal year, 80% were filed by current Microsoft employees.
"Microsoft only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category. We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work," spokeswoman Kate Frischmann explained.
Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The H-1B program was created by Congress in 1990 and is the main pathway into the US for highly skilled foreign professionals, making it a driving force behind the technology industry and startup ecosystem.
Visa holders may eventually become eligible to apply for a green card, which allows them to remain in the country indefinitely.
What else is important to know
In late August, media outlets reported that the Trump administration was preparing to revoke up to 200,000 tourist and business visas. The measure concerns foreign nationals who applied or are applying for asylum after entering the country.
The Trump administration halted the scheduling of visa interviews worldwide. The decision was made as part of a campaign to tighten immigration enforcement.
