The White House has barred Microsoft and seven other technology firms from processing new or pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM), a key pathway for foreign workers to obtain permanent residency in the United States. The decision, announced Thursday, follows accusations by Vice President JD Vance that these companies have abused the H-1B visa system to displace American workers. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling confirmed that the government would not process PERM applications from the named companies, citing concerns over the integrity of the immigration system.
The companies affected include Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini. The PERM program is typically the final step for H-1B visa holders seeking Green Cards, allowing them to remain and work in the US indefinitely. The H-1B program itself is capped at 85,000 visas per year and is designed for highly skilled or specialized roles that companies claim cannot be filled by the domestic workforce.
What the Left Is Saying
While specific Democratic legislative responses to this immediate executive action are still developing, progressive labor advocates and tech industry unions have historically supported stricter enforcement of visa rules to prevent wage suppression. Critics of the current visa system from the left have long argued that companies use H-1B visas to undercut local wages by hiring foreign workers willing to accept lower compensation or who are bound to their employer due to visa sponsorship.
The Vice President’s framing of foreign workers as "indentured servants" resonates with arguments made by some labor groups who contend that the tie between a worker’s visa status and their employment limits their bargaining power. If a sponsored worker is laid off, they have a 60-day grace period to find new employment or leave the country. The administration recently proposed eliminating this grace period, a move that labor advocates note would increase vulnerability for foreign workers.
Microsoft has responded by stating that 80% of its H-1B filings over the last fiscal year were for existing employees, not new hires, and that these workers receive the same compensation as their US counterparts. The company employs more than 200,000 people worldwide, with a spokeswoman noting that "the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans."
What the Right Is Saying
Vice President JD Vance led the charge against the tech firms, stating, "No company in the US has abused this system more than Microsoft." He argued that Microsoft had laid off approximately 6,000 workers while simultaneously filing 6,800 H-1B visa applications, suggesting a direct replacement of American labor with foreign workers. Vance described the situation as a case of companies using "foreign indentured servants" to undercut domestic wages.
Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling reinforced this perspective, describing companies like Microsoft and US universities as "visa mills" that were "flooding" the United States with foreign workers. The administration’s stance is that the H-1B and PERM programs have been distorted from their original intent to hire specialized talent unavailable domestically, and are instead being used to hire general labor at lower costs.
The criticism was notably specific to the eight named companies. Other major tech firms that heavily utilize the H-1B program, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple, and Nvidia, were not mentioned in Vance’s Thursday comments. The White House emphasized that its message was to encourage companies to "hire great American workers" and avoid replacing domestic staff with foreign employees who are legally bound to stay in the country only as long as they are employed by the sponsoring firm.
What the Numbers Show
The H-1B visa program is capped at 85,000 new visas per year. During the last fiscal year, the US Department of Labor certified more than 130,000 PERM applications across ten business categories. According to Ellis, a firm that assists tech companies with international hiring, the median salary for an H-1B worker at Microsoft is $155,000. This figure is often cited by companies to argue that they are paying competitive, high-end wages rather than undercutting the market.
Vance cited specific figures for Microsoft, alleging 6,000 layoffs against 6,800 H-1B visa filings in the same period. Microsoft’s response indicates that 80% of those filings were for employees already working at the company, suggesting a continuation of employment rather than a net new hiring surge of foreign labor. Microsoft employs over 200,000 people globally.
The PERM process is a prerequisite for obtaining a Green Card for many employment-based immigration categories. By blocking these applications, the administration effectively halts the path to permanent residency for workers at these companies who are in the pipeline. The proposed elimination of the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B workers, which was suggested by the US government last month, would further tighten the legal constraints on these employees.
The Bottom Line
This action marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to restrict employment-based immigration, specifically targeting the technology sector. By blocking PERM applications, the White House is directly impacting the ability of skilled foreign workers to achieve permanent residency, potentially forcing them to leave the US if they cannot find sponsors outside the affected companies. The move highlights a growing tension between tech firms’ reliance on global talent pools and the administration’s priority of protecting domestic labor markets.
Industry analysts will be watching to see if this enforcement action expands to other major tech companies like Amazon or Google, which also utilize the H-1B program extensively. The decision may also prompt legal challenges from the affected firms, who argue they are complying with wage and hiring regulations. For now, the administration has signaled that it will not process new applications from these eight companies, leaving thousands of workers in a state of uncertainty regarding their long-term status in the United States.