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The US administration has suspended the processing of permanent residency applications, commonly known as green cards, involving Microsoft, Adobe and several major information technology (IT) service providers as part of a broader crackdown on immigration fraud and efforts to protect jobs for American workers.
The US Department of Labor has reportedly stopped accepting new applications for permanent labour certification, known as PERM, from the affected companies. Processing of existing applications has also been temporarily suspended.
The companies reportedly covered by the move include major global IT service providers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.
US Vice President JD Vance has accused Microsoft of exploiting the immigration system by laying off American employees while continuing to provide employment opportunities to foreign workers.
Microsoft has rejected the allegation, arguing that most of its applications are not intended to recruit new employees. Instead, the company says, they largely concern existing employees seeking visa extensions or changes in employment status.
The latest move follows other immigration restrictions introduced by the White House, including a one-time $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications and the launch of a special oversight initiative known as Project Firewall.
The administration has also expanded its scrutiny to the higher education sector, reportedly launching federal investigations into nine prominent universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The inquiries reportedly focus on alleged misuse of exchange visitor and residency visa programmes.
Investigators are examining whether foreign influence, questionable financial transactions and potential violations of visa regulations at the institutions could jeopardise federally funded research.
The measures targeting technology companies and universities have raised concerns among businesses, foreign professionals and the international academic community over the potential impact on recruitment, employment and research collaboration.
