Vice President JD Vance Accuses Microsoft of Replacing Laid-Off Workers with Foreign Hires
The Trump administration suspended eight tech companies, including Microsoft and Adobe, from the PERM program that allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of replacing its 6,000 laid-off employees in 2025 with individuals on H-1B work visas. However, data shows two-thirds of Microsoft's approved H-1B applications were for existing employees rather than new hires. Amazon and Meta, the top sponsors of H-1B visas, remained unaffected by the suspension despite having significantly higher numbers of approvals compared to Microsoft. The crackdown also extended beyond tech firms as an investigation into J-1 visa fraud at nine major U.S. universities was announced during a press conference with Vance and other administration officials. The controversy highlights ongoing concerns about foreign labor programs potentially displacing American workers, though the data suggests that not all companies use these visas in the same way.
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Topics: H-1B visas immigration PERM program tech industry regulation