Trump Administration Suspends Microsoft and Seven Other Firms From Green Card Program

The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft and several other large employers from a program that lets companies sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, Fortune reports. Vice President JD Vance, who announced the move, accused the firms of replacing laid-off Americans with foreign hires.

Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini were also named. Vance said Microsoft cut 6,000 U.S. jobs last year while securing 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. Microsoft responded that about 80% of its H-1B filings were extensions or status changes for existing staff, and that filings for new hires amount to roughly 1% of its U.S. workforce.

Vance also singled out nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and MIT, for possible investigation over J-1 exchange-visa fraud. Immigration specialists were divided on the significance of the step: a former USCIS adviser called it incoherent, while a Howard University professor described it as a major development.

Read the original story at Fortune.