Trump Admin Targets H-1B Visas, Vance Demands American Workers Come First
The Trump administration is tightening scrutiny of employment-based immigration, accusing eight major technology companies of relying on foreign workers at the expense of American employees.
Vice President JD Vance announced the restrictions October 8 alongside Labor Department officials. The action applies to Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM, a key step in many employer-sponsored green card applications. It does not suspend the H-1B visa program, cancel existing H-1B visas or automatically revoke green cards already issued.
Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini face the restrictions. The Labor Department said it would stop accepting new PERM applications from the companies and halt processing applications already pending.
That could delay permanent residency plans for foreign employees affected by the decision, including workers who currently hold valid visas.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito defended the crackdown, arguing that temporary foreign hiring should address genuine skills shortages rather than become a long-term staffing strategy.
“This is not a business model,” D’Esposito said in remarks circulated online after the announcement.
“They are using the H-1B as a business model, and that’s wrong.”
“They’re taking American jobs away from American workers,” he added.
D’Esposito said foreign hiring should give companies time to find qualified Americans.
“It was a temporary opportunity for them to put workers in place until they found a talented American,” he said.
He also pointed to “plenty of people graduating schools and universities looking for a job” across the country.
Vance said the administration supports successful technology companies but expects their growth to create opportunities for American workers. He accused outsourcing intermediaries of exploiting the system and said foreign workers can be paid substantially less than Americans. In his October 8 remarks, he cited pay differences of $20,000 and $48,000 in separate hiring arrangements.
Vance also criticized Microsoft layoffs while questioning why technology firms continued sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residency. Microsoft said about 80% of its H-1B hires were already working for the company.
The dispute highlights a growing divide between the administration’s worker-protection agenda and technology companies’ defense of global recruitment. Critics of the restrictions warn they could disrupt businesses, delay residency applications and make the United States less attractive to skilled professionals.
India has raised concerns because several of the affected outsourcing companies have major operations there and employ large numbers of Indian professionals.
The PERM restrictions are part of a broader administration effort to tighten oversight of employment-based immigration and investigate possible displacement of American workers. A September presidential proclamation extended restrictions involving certain H-1B petitions and a $100,000 payment requirement through September 2027.
The White House says those rules are intended to deter companies from replacing American professionals with lower-cost foreign labor. Federal agencies have also been directed to scrutinize applications connected to recent or expected layoffs of similarly situated U.S. workers.
The White House reported that H-1B registrations by the largest outsourcing firms fell 92% following earlier restrictions. Federal authorities have also announced investigations involving nine universities, widening the review beyond private technology employers.
The suspensions and investigations do not, by themselves, establish criminal wrongdoing. The allegations against the companies remain subject to examination.
For American technology workers, the dispute raises a central question: whether employment-based immigration programs fill genuine talent gaps or reduce opportunities for domestic workers.