The US government has suspended several tech companies' access to an H-1B visa program for skilled international workers. Microsoft and Adobe are the two biggest tech brands targeted in today's announcement. The other five businesses that have seen their programs frozen are 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," Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said. The announcement by Vice President JD Vance claimed that the targeted businesses had abused federal programs that allow workers on H-1B visas to apply for green cards. He alleged that the companies have intentionally under-advertised jobs domestically in order to seek out international employees rather than hiring American citizens and particularly called out Microsoft as a reported offender.
In a statement, Microsoft noted that "the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans." It continued, "We look forward to providing the Administration with additional information. For example, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80 percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees."
In August, the Department of Justice won a $3.2 million settlement from Open AI on similar claims. Similar cases were also brought and settled against Meta in 2021 and Apple in 2023.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing