Microsoft H-1B Visas: What Suspension of Green Card Program Means for Workers

The suspension of Microsoft from a federal program for processing permanent residency does not cancel the H-1B visas of its employees, but it does freeze the path to a green card for many of them. On Thursday, October 8, the Department of Labor excluded Microsoft, Adobe, and six technology service firms from the PERM program amid investigations for possible fraud, according to The Center Square and immigration attorneys who followed the announcement.

• The suspended program is PERM, the labor certification that is the first step for most employment-based green cards. It is not the H-1B program.
• In addition to Microsoft and Adobe, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling named Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini.
• According to the government, Microsoft replaced laid-off U.S. workers with foreigners. The company denies this.

Why it matters: hundreds of thousands of professionals live and work in the United States with an H-1B visa, and many wait years for a green card. A pause in PERM can delay this process and complicate the renewal of their stay permit.

What the Government Announced

In a press conference at the White House, Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of fraud. According to The Center Square, Vance said that the company laid off about 6,000 U.S. workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. «For every worker that Microsoft laid off, it replaced them with one and a half foreign workers,» he stated.

Vance also claimed that an H-1B visa holder earns, on average, $20,000 less than a citizen in the same position, and $48,000 less if hired by a subcontracting firm. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that criminal charges could be filed, according to the Ellis immigration law firm.

Ellis, citing the Department of Labor, indicated that the eight companies have received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and at least 100,000 permanent labor certifications. Cognizant was already suspended from PERM earlier in September.

Microsoft’s Response

In a statement, Microsoft said that the vast majority of its employees in the United States are Americans. According to the company, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications it submitted last fiscal year, 80% were to extend or change the status of people already working there, «not to hire new people.»

Microsoft added that applications for new employees were for people who already lived legally in the country and account for only 1% of its U.S. workforce. The company also assured that it pays its H-1B employees the same as other employees doing comparable work.

H-1B Visa Figures

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 328,185 H-1B petitions in fiscal year 2025, compared to 399,402 in 2024 and 442,043 in 2022, according to its annual report to Congress. The same person can have multiple petitions, so the figure does not equal the number of workers. In 2025, 70% of approvals were for people born in India.

In the case of Microsoft, USCIS’s complete annual data show 7,210 approved petitions in fiscal year 2022, most of which (6,202) were to continue the employment of people already working with that visa.

What Changes and What Doesn’t for H-1B Visa Holders

• Your H-1B visa remains valid. The suspension affects PERM, not the current work permit, according to immigration attorneys.
• Pending PERM cases are put on hold. The federal rule (20 CFR 656.31) allows suspending an investigated company’s proceedings for up to 180 days initially and extending the pause until the investigation or trial is completed.
• Watch out for the six-year limit. Many people need a pending PERM case to extend their H-1B beyond six years. If you already have an approved I-140 petition, which USCIS processes, the impact is usually lesser.
• If you lose your job, federal law gives you up to 60 consecutive days (or until your authorization expires, whichever comes first) to find another employer, change status, or leave the country, once per validity period. During this time, you cannot work.

What You Can Do

• Ask your employer in writing about the status of your PERM and I-140 cases.
• Check your I-94 to see when your status is valid.
• Consult USCIS options for workers whose employment ends.
• Seek an accredited immigration attorney; avoid «notarios» who promise results.

Sources: The Center Square; Ellis; eCFR, 20 CFR 656.31; eCFR, 8 CFR 214.1; USCIS, H-1B petitions report FY 2025; USCIS, H-1B Employer Data Hub; USCIS, options after employment termination. Data consulted on October 9, 2026.