US visa crackdown: What Microsoft, TCS said after green card programme suspension

Microsoft on Friday said 80% of its nearly 6,000 H-1B visa applications filed in the last fiscal year were for existing employees, after the US government suspended eight technology companies from the green card programme.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), also among the impacted companies, said the US suspension of its applications under a green card programme is unlikely to affect its workforce strategy or customer engagements.

The US department of labor on Thursday announced the suspension of eight technology companies, including Microsoft, TCS, Infosys and Wipro, from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme (PERM), accusing them of using the system to the detriment of American workers.

Microsoft said the majority of its H-1B filings were to extend or change the status of existing employees, rather than recruit new workers.

"Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people," the company said in a statement.

The remaining applications for new employees were for individuals already legally present in the US, who chose to join Microsoft, and accounted for just 1% of its US workforce, it said.

Microsoft said it pays H-1B employees the same as other employees doing comparable work and that its wages are among the highest across H-1B filings.

"We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans," the company said.

TCS, in a regulatory filing on Friday, said it had noted the US government's announcement on PERM and would comply with any directive from the Department of Labour.

"Our workforce strategy in the US is anchored in hiring local talent, supported by a robust campus recruitment model," the company said.

TCS said it had established a substantial local workforce across 31 offices and delivery centres in the country. It plans to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years to expand its local workforce.

"Our PERM applications were in single digits in the last two years and hence we do not expect the suspension of the program to impact our workforce strategy and customer engagements," it said.

Indian professionals account for more than 70% of H-1B petitions approved annually, according to the information provided.

US Vice President J D Vance, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling and Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the action as part of a crackdown on alleged visa programme abuse.

Sonderling said the Labor Department was suspending Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the programme.

The department will neither accept new applications nor process pending permanent labour certification applications involving the companies, Sonderling said.

Vance alleged that Microsoft had laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 while securing approval for more than 6,000 H-1B visas and filing 3,682 PERM applications, including nearly 1,000 for positions similar to those held by the laid-off workers.

Sonderling said the eight companies had collectively sought nearly three million foreign workers since 2009, receiving more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.

Vance also announced an investigation into the J-1 visa programme for research scholars at nine major universities, alleging that the programme was being used to undercut wages for American graduate students and researchers.

“Something weird is going on at these universities. They're using these visas way too much. They're using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers,” Vance said.

The J-1 programme allows foreign nationals to enter the US as exchange visitors for activities, including research, teaching, study and specialised professional work.

"This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and to the American way of life. We cannot allow visa programs that were designed to ensure that American corporations had access to the best and the brightest, to use them to undercut the wages of American workers," Vance said.