The White House has banned Microsoft and various technology companies from hiring skilled foreign workers on a permanent basis through a widely used visa program. The White House had previously expressed strong objections to international workers and immigration issues.
elchi reports that on Thursday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft and other companies of fraud using the H-1B visa program and the process that allows foreign workers to obtain permanent resident status in the U.S.
Vance claimed that Microsoft, one of America’s most valuable companies, is replacing American workers with foreign contract workers. He stated that no company in the U.S. has abused this system as much as Microsoft.
Vance also made similar accusations against Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini.
Speaking at the same conference, Department of Labor official Keith Sonderling stated that the U.S. government will not review new or pending Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) applications from Microsoft and seven other companies.
Sonderling claimed that companies like Microsoft and U.S. universities have turned into “visa factories” that are filling the country with foreign workers. BBC contacted all companies for comment. The total number of H-1B visas, a prerequisite for those wishing to go through the PERM process, is limited to 85,000 per year.
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