US Suspends Microsoft, Adobe from PERM Green Card Program Amid $20bn Visa Fraud Crackdown

By LOVETH-AZODO CHIJIOKE

In an aggressive move to curb widespread abuses within the American employment-based immigration system, the United States Government has suspended tech giants Microsoft and Adobe from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program.

The crackdown comes as federal investigators revealed they have uncovered roughly $20 billion in fraudulent activity and secured more than 200 criminal convictions over the past five months.

Announcing the measures during a press conference alongside Attorney General Todd Blanche and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Vice President JD Vance declared that the administration is executing targeted actions to combat systemic fraud across both H-1B skilled worker and J-1 exchange visitor visa pipelines.

Under federal regulations, the Department of Labor’s PERM program serves as a mandatory gateway for employers seeking to sponsor foreign nationals for permanent residency (green cards) by requiring proof that qualified American workers are unavailable for the positions. However, the administration disclosed that active federal investigations into alleged displacement of American employees prompted the immediate suspension of both Microsoft and Adobe.

According to Vance, Microsoft systematically substituted domestic talent with foreign visa holders, alleging the tech firm laid off thousands of American employees while simultaneously petitioning for thousands of H-1B visas and green card approvals.

The sanctions also extend well beyond Big Tech. The Department of Labor confirmed the suspension of several global IT outsourcing conglomerates from the PERM program, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini. Federal authorities allege that high-volume outsourcing entities have exploited procedural loopholes to drive down domestic tech salaries and displace qualified local workers.

In parallel with corporate enforcement, the administration has deployed a specialised federal strike team to scrutinise higher education institutions. A probe has been launched into nine prestigious universities: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California Davis, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Arizona State University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Investigators are probing allegations that J-1 exchange visas were improperly leveraged to undercut prevailing wages for American graduate students and academic researchers.

Vance maintained that while the administration remains committed to welcoming top-tier global talent, it will shut down pipelines that treat foreign visa categories as low-cost labour pools.
“While we welcome elite international talent, this administration will not tolerate visa programs being used as a source of cheap foreign labor that undercuts the American middle class,” Vance stated.

The suspension bars the affected companies from submitting or progressing PERM certifications until ongoing federal inquiries reach conclusion, marking one of the steepest administrative crackdowns on Silicon Valley’s hiring practices to date.