The Trump administration recently announced the suspension of eight tech companies, including Microsoft and Adobe, from the Labor Department’s PERM program, which enables employers to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. Vice President JD Vance criticized Microsoft, accusing the company of replacing the 6,000 American workers it laid off in 2025 with employees on H-1B work visas. Although the suspension affects green card sponsorships, it does not impact H-1B visa approvals, which continue to provide insight into the companies’ use of foreign labor.

Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ H-1B Employer Data Hub reveals that Microsoft had over 6,000 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025. However, two-thirds of these visas were granted to individuals already employed at Microsoft rather than new hires. This complicates the narrative that the company simply swapped out American workers for foreign ones. In comparison, Amazon and Meta, the largest sponsors of H-1B visas, were not suspended and have higher totals, with Amazon receiving over 19,000 approvals in the same period.

Most of the suspended firms are IT services and consulting companies ranked among the top 50 H-1B sponsors nationally. Adobe, the smallest on the list, ranks 45th. Meanwhile, Amazon, having overtaken Microsoft as the leading H-1B sponsor since 2017, now obtains roughly three times as many visa approvals and remains unaffected by the Labor Department’s recent crackdown. The scrutiny is part of broader efforts including investigations into alleged visa fraud connected to university programs.

Vice President Vance emphasized that although Microsoft is a major American company with a strong partnership with the government, the visa data suggests a troubling trend in the tech industry’s hiring practices. The administration’s actions reflect ongoing concerns by Trump supporters that foreign labor programs create incentives for companies to undercut American workers by prioritizing visa holders. The situation highlights the complex interplay between tech companies’ workforce strategies and U.S. immigration policies.