US suspends Microsoft and seven firms from worker visa program

The Trump administration on 8 October 2026 suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six other technology companies from the permanent labor certification program, which lets employers sponsor foreign workers for US permanent residency. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the government would not accept any new or pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies. The other suspended firms are Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata and Wipro.theverge.com+1

The suspension matters because permanent labor certification is the route by which skilled foreign workers obtain green cards through an employer. Cutting off eight major technology and IT services firms at once restricts a hiring channel the industry relies on, at a moment the administration is already raising H-1B visa costs. It marks an escalation in the clash between the Trump administration and the tech industry over immigration policy.semafor.com

What the suspension covers

Vice President JD Vance, who helms the administration's fraud task force, announced the action at a news conference. He said the H-1B visa program is meant to bring in the best talent for positions impossible to fill with American workers, and that the program has become rife with fraud. "Our message to Microsoft is: you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers," Vance said.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said Microsoft and Adobe together requested almost 3 million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals, and obtained over 100,000 permanent labor certifications. Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards. Sonderling claimed no company has abused the system more than Microsoft.

Vance explained the fraud allegation by pointing to certifications companies must make to receive visas, including that the worker has a specialized, hyper-capable skill set. He said that representation is false if a company is replacing an American worker with a foreign worker and undercutting wages, making the application fundamentally illegitimate and ultimately illegal. Microsoft said it only files H-1B petitions for workers who meet the visa's rigorous standards.

The fraud allegations against Microsoft

Microsoft said in a statement that it looks forward to providing the administration with additional information. Adobe, Cognizant and Infosys did not immediately return requests for comment, and Microsoft and Adobe did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The suspension sits within a broader immigration crackdown that includes a recently announced price hike on H-1B visas and a move to charge more than $100,000 for a single H-1B visa.

The administration also announced it served subpoenas for an investigation into universities over their use of J-1 visas for exchange students. Named institutions include Pitt, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State and MIT. Labor Department inspector general Anthony D'Esposito said the investigation will examine whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships or visa abuse are compromising federally funded research.

Vance also said the administration would investigate nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, over allegations they are abusing a program allowing international students into the US and using it to undermine wages for American workers. Businesses challenged the proposed H-1B fee in court, saying they need visas to overcome worker shortages that stem partly from lagging workforce development.

The university visa probe

Foreign workers made up almost a quarter of the US science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce in 2023, according to the American Immigration Council. Nearly three-quarters of approved H-1B visas went to workers from India. The suspension follows a partial pullback of earlier policy shifts, including May's clarification that H-1B holders would have to apply for permanent residency from outside the US.

Trump plans to award a medal to the CEO of Microsoft later on 8 October 2026, the same day the administration moved to cut the company off from the certification program. Vance has framed the fraud focus as bipartisan heading into the midterms and 2028, though Trump, when he announced the task force earlier this year, suggested it would focus primarily on blue states.