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Thu, 08 Oct 2026

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 White House blocks Microsoft from foreign worker hiring programme

An international visa programme has for years allowed US tech companies to hire highly skilled workers from abroad.

* The White House has accused Microsoft and several other tech companies of committing fraud by using H-1B visa programme to replace American workers with foreign employees.
* Vice President JD Vance claimed that Microsoft, one of the most valuable US companies, is effectively replacing American workers with "foreign indentured servants".
* Microsoft responded that 80% of its H-1B visa filings over the last fiscal year were for existing employees who are paid the same as local staff.
* The US government will not process any new or pending Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) applications from Microsoft or seven other companies, accused of abusing the system.
* Vance stated that these companies have turned into "visa mills" and are flooding the US with foreign workers.
* Microsoft employs over 200,000 people worldwide, and a spokesperson noted that the vast majority of its employees in the US are Americans.
* The H-1B visa programme is capped at 85,000 per year, and Vance claimed that companies like Microsoft use it to replace American workers and "undercut" their wages.