US suspends Microsoft and Adobe from green card certification process

The US government is suspending Microsoft and Adobe from a process that helps foreign workers obtain employment-based green cards, accusing the companies of abusing visa programs while American workers lose jobs.

“We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies,” Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said Thursday. Labor certification is a step toward an employment-based green card; the announcement does not say the companies are barred from applying for H-1B visas, which allow employers to hire skilled foreign workers.

Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft at a news conference. “Our message to Microsoft is: You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers,” he said. “You cannot lay off American workers and replace them with foreign indentured servants.”

Vance said Microsoft had laid off 6,000 American workers while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards, according to Al Jazeera. He argued that tying a worker’s immigration status to an employer leaves that worker vulnerable: “If they lose that job, they have to leave the country.” The Guardian reported that Vance claimed H-1B workers earned $20,000 less on average than US workers in the same positions.

According to The Guardian, Microsoft applied for H-1B visas for nearly 3,700 workers in 2026, making it the fifth-largest employer of workers on that visa. Amazon led with more than 9,300 petitions this year. Sonderling said Microsoft and Adobe had received about 230,000 H-1B approvals and 100,000 permanent labor certifications since 2009, The Guardian reported.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s request for comment. Neither Microsoft nor Adobe responded to Al Jazeera’s requests. More than 131,000 jobs have been cut across the tech and startup sectors in 2026, according to the layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, as cited by Al Jazeera.

The action extends beyond the two companies. Sonderling said Indian technology firms Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were among other firms being suspended from the certification process, Al Jazeera reported. The Labor Department said it had uncovered $22 billion worth of visa fraud, according to Al Jazeera. “Today we are protecting something far more valuable than any dollar amount. We are protecting the American worker,” Sonderling said.

Officials also announced an investigation into alleged abuse of J-1 visas at nine universities, including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Cal State, Al Jazeera reported. The visas allow foreign nationals to enter the United States temporarily for educational or cultural programs, including academic research. Vance claimed American researchers at those schools earn $20,000 more than researchers brought in on J-1 visas. Al Jazeera said the White House did not respond to its request for data supporting that claim.

Immigration advocacy groups also raise concerns about workers whose visas are tied to their employers, but disagree with Vance’s approach. The National Immigration Forum warned in a September 2026 blog post that policies making the United States less attractive to skilled workers could strengthen global competitors.

Microsoft shares fell 7.5%, while Adobe shares rose 4% in midday Thursday trading, Al Jazeera reported.