The Trump administration said Thursday that it was suspending Microsoft from a key program used to sponsor employees for green cards. Later that day, the administration honored the tech giant's CEO with a medal for innovation.
Why it matters: The split-screen day highlights the tension between the administration's championing of Big Tech and its immigration policies, which constrain an industry that has long relied on hiring foreign-born workers.
- Tech leaders have said that restrictions on hiring hamper the country's ability to compete — especially at a moment when the U.S. is in a race with China on AI.
Driving the news: The administration's move Thursday also targeted Adobe and six IT services firms over the Permanent Employment Program, or Perm.
- It's typically the first major government approval step in employers sponsoring workers, often H-1B holders, for employment-based green cards.
- The administration accused these companies of hiring foreign workers and paying them less, at U.S. workers' expense.
State of play: President Trump awarded Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation at the White House's New Golden Age Summit Thursday night.
- Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO of AMD Lisa Su — like Nadella, all immigrants to the U.S. — were awarded the National Medal of Science.
- At the event, Trump called the honorees "national treasures."
What they're saying: Vice President Vance addressed the apparent contradiction at a press conference earlier Thursday, saying: "Our message to Microsoft is not that we want to harm your company; it's that we want your company to thrive, but we want it to thrive by employing and empowering your fellow Americans."
- Microsoft "laid off 6,000 American workers while replacing them with 6,300 H-1Bs," he said.
- Vance didn't provide a timeline. "The suspension of Perm is going to last as long as it needs to," he said. "We have a number of tools to suspend it indefinitely."
The other side: Microsoft said in a statement Thursday that 80% of the applications it submitted in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees — not to hire new people.
- "We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings."
- It didn't directly address the Perm program.
Zoom in: The Department of Labor said it won't accept new Perm applications from the eight companies it named nor would it process those already in the pipeline.
- This is a process that can already take years for some workers — and many are long-time trusted employees inside those companies.
By the numbers: In fiscal year 2025, the Labor Department certified nearly 140,000 of these Perm applications, and nearly 118,000 new ones were filed — down 22% from the previous year.
- Roughly 30% of certified applications were for software developers, computer systems analysts and data scientists.
- Microsoft's stock price fell about 1% after the news, but overall investors didn't seem flustered. Adobe shares rose nearly 4%.
What to watch: Lawyers say the move could make companies more reluctant to sponsor workers for visas and permanent residency. And it could turn off talented foreign workers and students from coming to the U.S.
- The Perm program is "a fundamental way of getting a green card in the U.S. for workers," says Patricia Gannon, chair of the Immigration and Naturalization Group and the law firm Greenspoon Marder.
- "It's going to make foreign workers more hesitant to accept positions in the United States," says Hiba Anver, an attorney at Erickson Immigration Group. "I have concerns about a shrinking talent pool in the United States."
Catch up quick: This isn't the administration's first effort on the H-1B labor force.
- In September 2025, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas.
- Roughly five months later, just 85 people had paid the fee, according to a court filing.
- Numerous federal judges have now struck down the fee.
Brittany Gibson contributed reporting.