Trump administration says Microsoft ‘abused’ worker visa program and is cutting off access
The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft and several other technology companies from a programme used by employers seeking to hire foreign workers who may become permanent US residents. Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of abusing the system, which is intended for jobs without enough available US workers, as part of a wider administration crackdown on immigration.
Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said Microsoft and Adobe sought nearly three million foreign workers and received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and 100,000 permanent labour certifications. Vance cited Microsoft layoffs of 6,000 US workers alongside 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. Microsoft said 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year were for existing employees, while new hires already lived legally in the US and represented 1% of its US workforce.
- The US is suspending Microsoft and other firms from a worker immigration programme.
- Vance accused Microsoft of abusing the system.
- Microsoft says most recent H-1B applications were for current employees.
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The H-1B visa programme allows American employers to hire foreign workers for positions where there aren't enough available US workers. These visas can lead to permanent residency, commonly known as green cards, if employers sponsor workers. The scheme has been controversial, with some supporting it as necessary for filling specialist roles and others arguing it displaces American workers.
The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft and other large technology companies from the H-1B programme, alleging they have abused it by hiring foreign workers whilst laying off Americans. The administration cited instances where Microsoft laid off thousands of US workers whilst sponsoring thousands of foreign workers. Microsoft disputes this, saying most of its H-1B applicants were existing employees and that new hires already possessed legal status to work in the US.
This action reflects the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown as part of efforts to protect American employment. Technology companies have historically relied on the H-1B programme to hire specialists in computing and engineering. The disagreement between the administration and major tech firms reveals broader tensions about how the visa programme should be used.
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The case for
The administration argues that visa programmes like H-1B were designed specifically for situations where employers cannot find qualified American workers. When companies like Microsoft lay off thousands of American workers whilst simultaneously sponsoring hundreds of thousands of foreign workers for permanent residency, this suggests the system is being abused to reduce labour costs rather than fill genuine skill gaps. The sheer scale—nearly three million visa requests between Microsoft and Adobe—alongside documented layoffs raises legitimate questions about whether these programmes serve their intended purpose or function as cost-cutting mechanisms that displace American workers.
The case against
Microsoft contends that the visa programme serves legitimate business needs that the domestic labour market cannot fully meet. The company notes that eighty per cent of its H-1B sponsorships in the last fiscal year were for existing employees, representing continuity and retention rather than displacement, whilst new foreign hires already possessed legal status and constituted only one per cent of its US workforce. Critics of the administration's position argue that attacking visa programmes conflates separate hiring decisions and that restricting access could harm competitiveness by preventing companies from retaining and recruiting talent in high-demand fields where domestic labour supplies are genuinely insufficient.