World

Former AWS Engineer Claims Immigrant Talent Key to U.S. Tech Growth

By Anjali Thakur

Former Amazon Web Services employee Daniel Vassallo said that immigrant workers were essential to the rise of major American technology companies. In a post on X, Vassallo recalled that when he joined AWS in Seattle, the workforce was largely immigrant, with a ratio of about 20:1. He described this as “visa abuse” that was necessary to create the biggest American companies, noting that the Seattle metro area became one of the world’s wealthiest regions because of it. Vassallo, who has worked at Amazon for more than eight years and now runs Small Bets, added that the Department of Labor’s pause on new or pending PERM applications for certain companies does not automatically strip employees of existing H‑1B visas or green cards.

The pause follows a decision by U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling on October 8 to suspend several major IT outsourcing firms—including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini—from the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM). Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended amid federal investigations. PERM is a labor‑certification step in the employment‑based green‑card process that requires employers to prove a lack of qualified U.S. workers for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect wages or working conditions.

The suspensions have drawn attention to the use of employment‑based immigration programs by technology companies. Vice President J.D. Vance has criticized the H‑1B visa program, arguing that it was intended for positions that cannot be filled by qualified American workers but has become rife with fraud. The administration has urged companies to prioritize American workers and has expressed concerns about foreign‑worker programs in the context of domestic layoffs.

Vassallo’s comments come amid a broader debate over the role of immigrant talent in the U.S. tech sector and the regulatory scrutiny of immigration pathways used by large firms.