US freezes Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys green-card applications over alleged fraud

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Trump administration froze on Thursday some green-card filings by Microsoft , Adobe and major IT outsourcers and opened probes into nine top universities, widening a visa crackdown it says targets fraud and protects American jobs.

The twin actions mark the broadest strike yet against skilled-worker ‌immigration programs — potentially cutting off a common path to permanent residency for foreign tech workers — while putting some of the country's top research universities on notice.

"There has been ‌no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft," Vice President JD Vance said. He said the company laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B temporary worker visas ​and nearly 3,000 green cards.

The announcement about the permanent labor certification process — PERM — came hours before Trump was due to give Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Under PERM, required for most employment-based green cards, employers must show that hiring a foreign worker will not harm US workers' wages or job opportunities.

Microsoft is the largest filer of PERM applications, according to data from the US labor department.

The company said in a statement that about 80% of the H-1B applications it filed in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of current employees, ‌not to hire new workers. In July, the company said it ⁠would cut 4,800 jobs, or about 2.1% of its global workforce.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension would also cover Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies," Sonderling said.

He said ⁠these companies had since 2009 sought almost three million foreign workers, and had received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.

Amazon.com was the largest employer of approved H-1B beneficiaries in fiscal 2026, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Apple and Microsoft, according to US immigration data.

Vance said the suspensions would last "as long as it needs to," adding that the administration wants the companies to change how they ​hire. ​He said some companies post ineffective job ads, then cite a lack of applicants to justify hiring lower-paid ​foreign workers.