'80% Of H-1B Filings Were For Existing Staff': Microsoft Reacts After US Suspends Its Green Card Access

Microsoft has pushed back on the Trump administration's crackdown on its use of employment-based visas, saying most of its H-1B filings last year covered employees it already had in the United States.

Microsoft says filings were made for existing staff

In a statement titled 'Microsoft Comment on Recent Immigration Questions', the company said it believes in the strength of the American workforce and that most of its US employees are Americans. It said it would give the administration more information. Of the roughly 6,000 H-1B applications it filed in the last fiscal year, 80 percent were to extend or change the status of current employees, not to hire new people.

The company said the remaining filings covered people who were already legally in the US and had chosen to join Microsoft. By its account, these hires amount to about 1 percent of its US workforce and are not new arrivals to the country.

Pay and eligibility claims

Microsoft said it files H-1B petitions only for candidates who meet the visa category's strict standards. It said it pays H-1B employees the same as other staff doing comparable work, and that its wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. The company added that it strengthens the US talent pipeline, hires American workers and attracts talent from around the world.

What did the US government do?

Vice President JD Vance and Labor Department officials announced that Microsoft, Adobe and others were being suspended from a key employment-based green card programme, with the administration accusing large tech and outsourcing firms of abusing the visa system at the expense of American workers. The Labour Secretary said Adobe and Microsoft were suspended over multiple active federal investigations. The programme in question requires companies to advertise a role in the US before asking the Labor Department to certify that no American worker is available, a step needed before sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card.

Vance's allegations

Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards. He argued that for each laid-off worker, the company brought in one and a half foreign workers, whom he described as "indentured servants". Vance also said the administration would continue to work with Microsoft but would deny it permanent residency applications until it shows it is putting American workers first.

Wider scrutiny of the H-1B programme

Microsoft has been under pressure on this front for some time. Last year, social media users criticised the company for reportedly seeking thousands of H-1B visas soon after announcing layoffs. USCIS data showed Microsoft filed 9,491 H-1B petitions in fiscal 2024. The administration has also targeted the visa through fees. It announced plans in August for a $103,265 fee, which the proposed regulation described as a revenue mechanism to recover part of the government's costs of running the immigration system.

That follows the $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions announced in September 2025. USCIS later clarified that the fee does not apply to extensions of stay, amendments or changes of status for people already in the US. That distinction bears directly on Microsoft's argument about its filings.

The US has also suspended Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, and Adobe from its Permanent Labour Certification Programme. Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said no new or pending applications involving the firms will be processed, alleging they sought millions of foreign workers and contributed to American jobs being displaced.