Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith has warned that the Trump administration’s move to restrict green-card access for skilled foreign workers could damage US technological competitiveness and drive top talent overseas. He also rejected Vice President JD Vance’s allegations that the company abused the H-1B visa programme, calling the claims “completely off base”.

In an interview with POLITICO, Smith said blocking pathways to permanent residency for highly skilled immigrants could cripple the US technology sector for more than a generation.

His remarks came less than a week after Vance announced that the administration would bar Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for skilled foreign workers. Vance had accused Microsoft of exploiting the H-1B visa programme to avoid hiring American workers at higher salaries.

Smith’s comments come a day after IT services major Wipro responded to the Trump administration’s decision, saying it doesn’t expect any material business interruption.

White House last week announced the suspension of new US permanent labour certification (PERM) applications, widening its crackdown to target fraud and protect American jobs. In a filing on Tuesday at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Wipro highlighted that the US government’s decision relates to a specific permanent residency pathway and is separate from skilled talent mobility programmes like that of the H-1B visa.

US Labour Department suspended eight IT outsourcers, including Wipro Microsoft, Infosys, Adobe and HCLTech, from the green card programme, which potentially cuts off a common path to permanent residency for foreign tech workers.

US IMMIGRATION · OCT 2026 Caught in the ? What it means for you On Oct 8, the US Labor Department stopped green-card sponsorship filings from eight big employers, including four Indian IT firms. Pick your situation to see where you stand. PERMANENT RESIDENT · USA ON HOLD Adobe Tata Consultancy Services Infosys HCLTech Cognizant Capgemini The eight employers suspended from PERM Where the freeze hits PERM Labor Dept checks no US worker is available I-140 Employer petitions immigration agency Green card When a visa number is free for your country The suspension, under a Labor Department rule on suspected fraud (20 CFR 656.31), applies to the first stage only.

Officials have alleged that employers ran job searches designed not to find Americans; none of the eight has been charged. Find your situation Where are you in the green-card process? I’m on an H-1B My PERM is pending I was about to start PERM I already have a green card Tap the card that fits you How much of your six-year H-1B limit is left? More than a year A year or less, or already past six Pick one to see what it may mean for you Your visa is safe.

Your green-card clock is not. H-1B status UNAFFECTED Green-card filing at this employer OFFICIALS SAID The action targets the first stage of an employer-sponsored green card.

It does not suspend H-1B status, and you can keep working. THE RULES To extend an H-1B beyond six years a PERM or I-140 must usually have been filed at least 365 days earlier. A long freeze eats into that runway. An employer that is not on the list can start its own PERM for you if you move jobs. Try another situation → Everything depends on what is already on file H-1B status today Extensions past six years DEPENDS With an approved I-140 and a wait for a visa number, as most Indians face, you can extend in three-year steps without a new PERM.

If a PERM or I-140 was filed at least 365 days ago, one-year extensions are available. LAWYERS SAY If neither is on file, the freeze stops your employer from filing now. Lawyers point to changing employers or self-filed routes such as EB-2 NIW or EB-1A, which skip PERM but set a high bar for evidence. Where has your case reached?

Filed, awaiting Labor Dept approval Certified, or my I-140 is filed Your case is in the freezer Your PERM application FROZEN Your H-1B status The Labor Department will not process pending applications from the eight employers while investigations continue.

A first suspension can last up to 180 days and be extended until investigations or court cases end. Without a finding of fraud, each application must be decided on its own merits. While it is held, the case cannot move on to the next stage, the petition.

You are past the frozen stage, probably Later stages NOT NAMED Priority date after 180 days of I-140 approval GENERALLY KEPT STILL UNCLEAR Officials have not said whether certified PERMs or I-140 petitions are affected. The I-140 is decided by a different agency, US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

An I-140 approved for at least generally keeps its priority date your place in the queue, even if the employer later withdraws it. A new employer’s petition can use that date. Who is your employer?

One of the eight A company not on the list The door is shut for now New PERM filing BLOCKED Your place in the queue NOT RESERVED not accepting new PERM applications from the eight employers.

Your is usually set on the day the PERM is filed. Every month of delay pushes you further back in a queue that is already years long for Indians.

PERM job advertising must be done within a set window before filing. If it lapses during the freeze, the employer may have to restart recruitment Business as usual, under a brighter spotlight PERM rules UNCHANGED Scrutiny HIGHER The suspension names eight employers only Lawyers describe it as targeted, not a programme-wide shutdown.

Expect closer checks on recruitment and on layoffs that coincide with sponsorship. Lawyers advise employers to audit PERM compliance Which describes you?

Green card in hand Final application (I-485) pending You are outside the freeze Your permanent residence NOT TARGETED The action concerns PERM applications Officials have not said it reaches existing green cards. A permanent resident is not tied to a sponsor and can change jobs freely. Investigations into alleged fraud at the eight employers are continuing. No findings have been announced.

Past PERM, but watch the fine print PERM freeze STAGE ALREADY PASSED Official word on pending I-485s NONE YET not addressed pending green-card applications.

Under the AC21 law, once an I-485 has been pending or more, you can generally move to a“same or similar” job without restarting the process.

This applies to workers sponsored by the eight named employers, unless stated. For everyone else, PERM rules have not changed. General information, not legal advice.

The freeze in numbers employers suspended: Microsoft, Adobe and six IT services firms Labor Department days: the longest a first suspension can run before it must be extended 20 CFR 656.31 certified PERM cases for TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech combined in fiscal 2026 The Economic Times, Labor Dept data 230K+ H-1B approvals for the eight employers, officials say Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling What we still don’t know How long it will last.

Vice President JD Vance said it would run “as long as it needs to.”Whether already-certified PERMs and I-140 petitions are touched. What the investigations will find. No company has been charged or debarred.

The written notice: lawyers say it had not been published as of Oct 13.

Two views“You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers.”JD Vance, US Vice President, on Microsoft The company “does not anticipate a material impact.”Infosys, in a stock exchange filing on Oct 10 Sources: Business Standard; Deccan Herald; Immigration Analytics (citing The Economic Times and Labor Department data); Ellis; Samper Law; WR Immigration; Boundless; 20 CFR 656.31 and 8 CFR 214.2(h).

Express InfoGenIE Created by Aniruddha Dhar Brad Smith defends Microsoft’s foreign workers Smith argued that restricting immigration pathways for skilled workers could undermine the United States’ ability to attract talent in artificial intelligence and software engineering.

“I think we should all be worried about sending — intentionally or inadvertently or otherwise — signals that send the most talented next wave of AI [or] SI software engineers to other countries, rather than the United States,” he said on the sidelines of the International AI Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

Smith also questioned the timing of the administration’s action, noting that President Donald Trump had honoured Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and other recipients of technology and science medals on the same day. Nadella, who was born in India, previously held an H-1B skilled-worker visa.

“We should consider the fact that when the president honored six Americans with these technology and science medals, five of the six had come to the United States as immigrants,” Smith was quoted as saying.

“And those five individuals, if you put them and their companies together, have companies that have a market value equal to more than 25% of the market value of the total S&P 500,” he added.

He further said, “Think about what those five individuals have done for the well-being, even the wealth and standard of living, of Americans across the country. Let’s not put that at risk.”Microsoft rejects H-1B visa fraud allegations Smith strongly rejected Vance’s accusations that Microsoft had abused the H-1B programme, which allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialised occupations. “Completely off base,” he said of the vice president’s claims. Smith suggested that Vance had not been given accurate information about the company’s employment and immigration figures.

“Someone had failed to inform the vice president accurately about our numbers,” he said, adding that the “vast majority” of Microsoft’s green-card applications were for long-time employees rather than new hires. “Unfortunately, it’s just because the green card backlog is so long,” Smith said.

He also denied that Microsoft paid foreign-born employees less than American workers, saying the company applied the same compensation system regardless of immigration status.

“It doesn’t matter whether you came on a visa or you’re an American worker, everybody has the same compensation system,” he said.

Smith further argued that the administration’s criticism had overlooked Microsoft’s domestic hiring. The company hired more than 9,000 US-born workers last year, he said. Those employees had been “left out of the narrative” surrounding the White House’s allegations, Smith added.

“We will stand by our record,” he said. “And I hope that folks at the White House might look again and look at what we think is a more accurate picture.”A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Smith’s remarks, Reuters reported. The vice president’s office had also not responded to an earlier request for comment on concerns from technology lobbyists that restrictions on skilled immigration could undermine US competitiveness. Smith praises Trump administration’s AI controls Despite his criticism of the administration’s immigration policy, Smith also praised the White House’s approach to certain artificial intelligence safety measures.

He expressed support for the administration’s introduction of export controls on Anthropic’s new AI models this summer, saying the move demonstrated a willingness to act on public safety. “I would strongly applaud what they did,” Smith said.

He added, “What government in the world took the most decisive action in 2026 to pause product releases in order to ensure public safety? It wasn’t in Brussels; it was in Washington, D.C. It was the White House. It was the team that works for the president of the United States.”The interview highlighted Microsoft’s concerns about immigration restrictions alongside its support for stronger AI safeguards and a global safety regime.