PERM suspension for Microsoft and Adobe was announced Thursday by Vice President JD Vance, who said the Trump administration is halting both companies’ participation in the federal program that employers use to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
Vance alleged that Microsoft misused the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM. The program is typically the first step for employers seeking to obtain an employment-based green card for a worker. It requires companies to demonstrate that no qualified and available U.S. workers can fill the position in question.
“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 at a press conference.
Microsoft and Adobe were asked for comment.
PERM suspension for Microsoft: impact and open questions
The announcement marks an escalation by the administration in its scrutiny of employers that depend on highly skilled foreign labor, including through the H-1B visa category. Microsoft is among the largest U.S. users of H-1B workers, according to public records.
It was not immediately clear how long the suspension would remain in effect or how it would affect employees at Microsoft and Adobe whose permanent residency applications are already pending under the PERM process.
This is a developing story. For more on how major tech executives are navigating policy and regulation around advanced technologies, see Sam Altman AI regulation stance favors broad access.