Trump Administration Cuts Off Access to a Major Immigration Program for Workers at Microsoft and Adobe

The Trump administration will no longer allow Microsoft and other tech companies to participate in a program that allows H-1B visa holders to apply for green cards, one of the most common pathways for skilled foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States.

特朗普政府将不再允许微软和其他科技公司参与一项允许 H-1B 签证持有者申请绿卡的计划，这是寻求美国永久居留权的外国技术工人最常见的途径之一。

In addition to Microsoft, administration officials said on Thursday that software giant Adobe and IT companies including Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata will be suspended from the PERM program, the Labor Department’s permanent labor certification program. PERM is a key step for H-1B visa holders to gain permanent residency, requiring employers to prove that there are no American workers who would be suitable for the applicant’s permanent job opportunity.

除了微软之外，政府官员周四表示，软件巨头 Adobe 以及包括高知特 (Cognizant)、印孚瑟斯 (Infosys) 和塔塔 (Tata) 在内的 IT 公司将被暂停参与劳工部的永久劳工认证计划 (PERM)。PERM 是 H-1B 签证持有者获得永久居留权的关键步骤，要求雇主证明没有适合申请人永久工作机会的美国工人。

Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said that the agency is investigating whether these companies committed fraud, undercutting American workers by hiring foreign employees. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, singled out Microsoft. “There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft,” Vance said during a press conference.

劳工部长基思·桑德林 (Keith Sonderling) 表示，该机构正在调查这些公司是否通过雇佣外国员工来削弱美国工人的利益，从而犯下欺诈行为。与此同时，副总统万斯 (JD Vance) 点名了微软。万斯在新闻发布会上说：“不幸的是，在美国，没有哪家公司比微软更滥用这个系统了。”

In a statement provided by Microsoft representative Kaitlin Haskins, the company said it “only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category,” adding that it develops its workforce by “strengthening this country’s talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world.” Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

微软代表凯特琳·哈斯金斯 (Kaitlin Haskins) 在一份声明中表示，该公司“仅为符合该签证类别严格标准的人员提交 H-1B 申请”，并补充说，它通过“加强本国人才储备、雇佣美国工人以及吸引全球最优秀人才”来发展其员工队伍。Adobe、高知特、印孚瑟斯和塔塔没有立即回应《连线》(WIRED) 的置评请求。

The suspension marks a victory for tech workers who have complained about unfairly losing out on jobs to immigrant workers. Jobs Now, an advocacy group composed of US citizens working in big tech, celebrated Vance’s announcement on its X account with a video of dancing crabs. The group publicizes otherwise difficult-to-find PERM job postings and says it helped Americans apply to nearly 500,000 jobs across 7,000 employers between last January and this past July.

此次停权对于那些抱怨因移民工人而不公平地失去工作的科技从业者来说是一次胜利。由在大科技公司工作的美国公民组成的倡导组织“Jobs Now”在 X 账号上发布了一段跳舞螃蟹的视频，以庆祝万斯的声明。该组织负责发布难以找到的 PERM 职位空缺，并称在去年 1 月至今年 7 月期间，它帮助美国人向 7,000 家雇主申请了近 50 万个职位。

The organization and its members have also filed complaints against tech companies about alleged abuse of the PERM system, and have called for a number of changes to the employment immigration system. “Every job in America should be offered to an American first, no exceptions,” the group told WIRED in an unsigned statement.

该组织及其成员还针对科技公司涉嫌滥用 PERM 系统提起了投诉，并呼吁对就业移民制度进行多项改革。该组织在一份未署名的声明中告诉《连线》：“美国的每一个工作岗位都应该首先提供给美国人，没有例外。”

This isn’t the first time tech companies have been targeted over PERM. Earlier this year, OpenAI and a company it acquired agreed to settle accusations from the Trump administration about violating rules for the program. Apple reached a similar deal in 2023.

这并非科技公司首次因 PERM 问题成为目标。今年早些时候，OpenAI 及其收购的一家公司同意就特朗普政府关于其违反该计划规则的指控达成和解。苹果公司在 2023 年也达成了类似的协议。

The administration’s disparagement of H-1B visas—one of the most common work visas in the US—has sent waves of panic through Silicon Valley since Trump’s reelection. Tech companies are some of the H1-B program’s biggest users: So far in the fiscal year 2026, the top three employers with the most visas approved are Amazon, Tata, and Infosys.

自特朗普连任以来，政府对 H-1B 签证（美国最常见的工作签证之一）的贬低在硅谷引发了恐慌。科技公司是 H-1B 计划最大的使用者之一：在 2026 财年迄今为止，获批签证最多的前三名雇主分别是亚马逊、塔塔和印孚瑟斯。

Microsoft is No. 5, with 3,688 visas approved in 2026; in 2025, 6,258 visas were approved. According to the company, 80 percent of last year’s visas were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees, not to hire new people. “The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only 1% of our US workforce,” Microsoft’s statement said.

微软排名第五，2026 年获批 3,688 份签证；2025 年获批 6,258 份。据该公司称，去年 80% 的签证是用于延长或更改现有微软员工的身份，而非雇佣新人。微软的声明称：“其余针对新员工的申请是针对已经合法居住在美国并决定来我们公司工作的人员，他们仅占我们美国员工总数的 1%。”

It’s unclear if Thursday’s announcement would affect the ability of employees at these companies to apply for H1-B visas themselves. The Office of the Vice President and the Department of Labor did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for clarity on if the suspension would impact those seeking H-1B visas.

目前尚不清楚周四的公告是否会影响这些公司的员工自行申请 H-1B 签证的能力。副总统办公室和劳工部没有立即回应《连线》关于此次停权是否会影响 H-1B 签证申请人的澄清请求。

“It’s one thing if you want to bring in someone like Elon Musk” who aims to “build something great in America,” Vance said on Thursday. He equated the current state of the H-1B program to bringing “indentured servants” into the US, taking jobs away from American workers. (Musk, who was born in South Africa, came to the US via Canada to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania.)

万斯周四表示：“如果你想引进像埃隆·马斯克这样旨在‘在美国建立伟大事业’的人，那是另一回事。”他将 H-1B 计划的现状比作将“契约奴仆”带入美国，抢走了美国工人的工作。（马斯克出生于南非，经由加拿大来到美国，在宾夕法尼亚大学攻读学士学位。）

The announcement came shortly before Trump was set to award Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. When asked about the upcoming event, Vance said, “We’re going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft, but we’re also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first.”

在这一公告发布前不久，特朗普原定授予微软首席执行官萨提亚·纳德拉 (Satya Nadella) 国家技术与创新奖章。当被问及即将举行的活动时，万斯说：“我们将继续支持微软，并与微软保持良好的关系，但我们也将拒绝他们申请这些永久居留权的资格，直到他们表现出认真对待美国工人优先的态度。”

Vance also said that the administration is investigating nine universities to see if they might be committing fraud with the J-1 visa program, which allows international candidates to study and conduct research in the US. “I don’t care how prestigious a university thinks it is, break the law and screw the American people, and I will personally cuff you in the university square,” Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said.

万斯还表示，政府正在调查九所大学，以查看它们是否在 J-1 签证计划中存在欺诈行为，该计划允许国际候选人在美国学习和进行研究。劳工部监察长安东尼·德埃斯波西托 (Anthony D’Esposito) 表示：“我不在乎一所大学认为自己有多么负有盛名，如果触犯法律并坑害美国人民，我会亲自在大学广场给你们戴上手铐。”

Paresh Dave contributed reporting.

Paresh Dave 对本文亦有贡献。