World

Microsoft President Warns Trump Green‑Card Restrictions Could Weaken U.S. Tech Industry

By Prabhakar Jha

Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith said the Trump administration’s decision to limit green‑card access for skilled foreign workers could cripple the U.S. technology sector for more than a generation. Smith told Politico’s Decoded that blocking permanent‑residency pathways for highly skilled immigrants could drive talent to other countries. His remarks came less than a week after Vice President J.D. Vance announced that the administration would bar Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for skilled foreign workers.

Smith rejected Vance’s claim that Microsoft had abused the H‑1B visa program to avoid hiring American workers at higher salaries, calling the allegations "completely off base." He said the U.S. should be wary of sending signals that might encourage talented artificial‑intelligence and software engineers to pursue opportunities abroad. Smith added that Microsoft’s green‑card applications largely involved long‑serving employees rather than new hires, attributing the issue to a backlog in processing applications. He said someone had failed to provide Vance with accurate information about the company’s figures.

Microsoft maintains that it pays all employees the same, regardless of immigration status. Smith noted that the company employed more than 9,000 U.S.–born workers last year and argued that this contribution had been overlooked in the administration’s criticism of the use of skilled‑worker visas. He urged the White House to reassess its position based on a more accurate account of the company’s hiring practices.

The Trump‑led administration suspended the PERM program on October 8 for certain IT companies, including Microsoft, TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant. The suspension bars the affected companies from submitting new PERM applications and stops the processing of pending applications. The PERM program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, allows companies to sponsor foreign employees for U.S. green cards, which grant permanent residency.