US suspends green-card filings for Microsoft, Adobe as AI talent race tightens

The US Department of Labor has suspended the processing of all new and pending green-card labor certification requests for Microsoft, Adobe, and six IT outsourcing companies as of Thursday. This represents yet another challenge for foreign technology professionals to secure their green cards as the competition for talent in the field of artificial intelligence intensifies.

A freeze on the PERM pipeline

The announced suspension is aimed at PERM, a process employers need to complete before bringing foreign nationals on board through employment-based green cards. In the PERM application, it is necessary to prove that the employment of foreign workers will not put US workers at a disadvantage.

In addition to the above-mentioned company, the suspension will also impact the likes of Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that since 2009, the eight companies requested almost three million foreign workers and received over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.

VIce President JD Vance declared that the ban will continue until companies modify their hiring practices.

How this differs from the September H-1B order

While Trump’s executive order on September 18 concerned tightening of H-1B regulations, the present move deals with the issue of permanent residency.

The H-1B visa allows for non-permanent yet skilled employment, while the PERM procedure allows for gaining a green card. Both restrictions on H-1B and PERM may make it harder for foreign workers to build long-term careers in the US.

The White House claims that the misuse of H-1B leads to downward pressure on American wages, but broader estimations do not prove any employer’s wrongdoing.

Vance’s allegations against Microsoft, and the company’s answer

Vance accused Microsoft of abusing immigration rules while laying off American workers.

Microsoft denied that description. The company said that about 80% of its H-1B applications that have been submitted recently included existing employees. New employees amount to only about 1% of its US workforce. The company also said it pays H-1B workers the same rates as comparable employees.

The accusations come after an investigation in July into allegations of visa fraud, wage theft, and workers’ trafficking. Nonetheless, the investigations do not prove misconduct of all companies facing suspension.

Why the timing matters for the AI race

The United States is depending increasingly on foreign researchers to maintain its lead in artificial intelligence, but that is becoming increasingly difficult. The Stanford 2026 Report underlined America’s dependence on foreign graduates in STEM fields and the issues surrounding their retention.

In the meantime, China is catching up. According to Carnegie’s recent research, 41% of top AI researchers in its 2025 data were working in China compared to 34% in the USA. This percentage has dropped from the 46% in 2022. With China successfully luring a bigger percentage of top talent, stricter migration controls could push American research bodies and enterprises into an even worse situation while they compete for AI talent.

Offshoring risk and the knock-on for crypto

B​​rookings researchers warn that tighter immigration rules could push more technology work overseas, including to India, China and Canada.

The shift may already be taking shape. Cryptopolitan reported on Alphabet’s planned Bangalore expansion, although only one building was confirmed leased.

AI and crypto companies compete for many of the same engineers. Prolonged restrictions could make US-based development harder while encouraging more overseas hiring. Meanwhile, nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown and MIT, face investigations over alleged misuse of exchange-visitor visas. The scrutiny adds uncertainty to America’s international research pipeline.