At a Thursday press briefing, Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft, asserting the company filled the 6,000 positions it cut in 2025 with employees on H‑1B visas. The statement came as the Trump administration announced a suspension of the Labor Department’s PERM program, which allows foreign workers to obtain green cards, for eight technology firms.
PERM suspension and its scope
The PERM suspension targets the pathway to permanent residency for foreign nationals but does not affect H‑1B visas, which are temporary work permits. While the administration halted green‑card sponsorship for the eight firms, the H‑1B program remains open, allowing companies to continue hiring foreign talent on a non‑immigrant basis.
In addition to the tech sector, Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito announced an investigation into alleged J‑1 visa fraud involving nine major American universities. Critics of the visa programs argue that they can depress wages and job opportunities for U.S. workers.
H‑1B sponsorship figures
Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) H‑1B Employer Data Hub shows that all eight suspended companies rank among the nation’s top 50 sponsors of H‑1B visas. Most of these firms are IT services and consulting providers, with Adobe being the smallest sponsor at rank 45.
Amazon and Meta emerged as the two largest sponsors for fiscal year 2025, receiving 19,178 and 6,294 H‑1B approvals respectively. Neither company was placed on the suspension list. Microsoft followed closely, with 6,258 approvals, making it the third‑largest sponsor according to the same data set.
Historically, Microsoft had out‑sponsored Amazon for H‑1B visas, but Amazon overtook the software giant in 2017 and now secures roughly three times as many approvals each year.
Interpreting the numbers
Vance’s claim that Microsoft replaced the 6,000 laid‑off workers with H‑1B hires is partially reflected in the raw approval count—Microsoft did receive more than 6,000 H‑1B approvals in the most recent fiscal year. However, USCIS data clarifies that about two‑thirds of those approvals were for individuals already employed by Microsoft, not new hires.
By contrast, Amazon’s H‑1B approvals were largely for new entrants; the company brought in nearly four times as many H‑1B workers who were new to the firm as Microsoft did. This discrepancy underscores that while Microsoft’s H‑1B usage aligns with Vance’s headline figure, the composition of those hires differs markedly from the narrative of wholesale replacement.
The broader context shows that the eight suspended firms collectively rely heavily on foreign talent, but the data also reveals variation in hiring practices. Companies like Amazon, which were not suspended, continue to bring in large numbers of new foreign workers, suggesting that the PERM suspension targets a specific subset of firms rather than the entire industry’s reliance on H‑1B visas.
Overall, the USCIS figures provide a nuanced picture: Microsoft’s H‑1B approvals exceed the number of layoffs cited by Vance, yet the majority of those visas support existing employees. Meanwhile, rivals such as Amazon and Meta, which avoided suspension, have leveraged the H‑1B program to expand their workforces with new foreign hires.
The debate over foreign‑worker programs is likely to continue as policymakers weigh the economic benefits of skilled immigration against concerns about domestic labor market impacts. The latest data offers concrete insight into how leading tech firms are navigating the evolving regulatory environment.
Norman Pearlstine is the Executive Editor and Co-Founder at News Raise. With over two decades of experience across financial journalism, corporate governance, and market analysis, Norman leads the editorial direction and ensures strict adherence to journalistic accuracy and ethics.
