Labor Department Suspends Microsoft, Adobe and Six Outsourcing Firms From Green-Card Labor Program

The Labor Department said Thursday, Oct. 8, that it has stopped accepting and processing applications for permanent labor certification, the first step in an employer-sponsored green card, from Microsoft, Adobe and six other companies.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling named Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL along with the two U.S. tech companies. He announced the action at a White House news conference alongside Vice President JD Vance.

"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies," Sonderling said. He said Microsoft and Adobe were suspended "due to multiple active federal investigations." Sonderling said the other six companies were suspended "due to ongoing criminal investigations led by the Department of Labor's Inspector General, Anthony D'Esposito." No end date for the suspensions was given.

Sonderling said that since 2009 the companies together had requested almost 3 million foreign workers and received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications. "That's hundreds of thousands of jobs that were taken from American workers," he said.

Vance focused on Microsoft. He pointed to the company's 6,000 layoffs in 2025 and said it replaced those workers with H-1B visa holders. "We're going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft, but we're also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first," Vance said.

Permanent labor certification, known as PERM, is the Labor Department approval an employer needs before it can petition for a foreign worker's green card. The suspensions apply to the named companies only. The Labor Department has not announced any finding of wrongdoing.