Trump Administration Suspends Microsoft From H-1B Green Card Program, Gives Reason

• The Trump administration suspended Microsoft from a programme that allows H-1B visa holders to apply for permanent residency in the United States
• Vice President JD Vance made the announcement at a White House press conference, accusing the tech giant of replacing laid-off American workers with foreign hires
• The move came a day after the Department of Homeland Security proposed a $70,000 fee targeting international students in work training programmes

The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft from the programme that lets H-1B visa holders apply for green cards, accusing the technology company of abusing the immigration pathway at the expense of American workers.

Vice President JD Vance made the announcement at a White House press conference, framing the suspension as a response to what the administration described as deliberate fraud by the company.

"If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants," Vance said.

Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment on the decision.

What the H-1B programme covers

H-1B visas allow employers to bring in workers from abroad for highly specialised roles that are hard to fill domestically. Technology firms are the heaviest users of the programme, and nearly three-quarters of all approvals go to workers from India.

The programme has long drawn criticism from Trump supporters, who argue it depresses wages for American workers and is vulnerable to abuse.

The suspension of Microsoft marks one of the most direct actions the administration has taken against a major technology employer over H-1B practices.

Broader crackdown on International workers and students

The Microsoft announcement came one day after a separate proposal from the Department of Homeland Security that would require universities to pay a $70,000 fee for every international student who takes part in Optional Practical Training, known as OPT. The OPT programme allows international students to work in roles connected to their field of study during or after completing their degree.

According to NBC, Vance also turned his attention to universities at the press conference, singling out nine institutions he said were using J-1 visas at a disproportionately high rate compared to peer institutions. J-1 visas cover international visitors who come to the United States for work and study exchange programmes. He said those nine universities merited further investigation for potential fraud in how they used the J-1 scheme.

The flurry of actions signals a broader push by the Trump administration to tighten controls over the pathways through which foreign nationals enter the American workforce, both through employer-sponsored visa schemes and through student-linked work authorisation programmes.

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