Microsoft has pushed back against Vice President JD Vance’s accusations that the company has abused the H-1B visa program to replace American workers, disputing the administration’s claims about its hiring practices and the number of foreign workers it brings into the United States.
In a statement Thursday, the Redmond-based technology company said most of its H-1B visa applications filed during fiscal year 2026 were for existing employees or workers already based in the United States. The response came hours after the Trump administration announced a suspension of Microsoft and seven other companies from a program that allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based green cards.
During a news conference Thursday, Vance accused Microsoft of being among the biggest abusers of the H-1B visa system. He also questioned the legitimacy of the broader program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals in specialized occupations.
READ: JD Vance says H-1B program is ‘completely broken’ and backs eliminating it (October 2, 2026)
“If the H-1B visa is how the people get into the country, the PERM program is how they stay in the United States to begin with,” Vance said. “Now there has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft.”
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced at the same news conference that the Labor Department would stop accepting PERM applications from Microsoft and seven other companies and would not process applications already pending.
The companies affected include Adobe and technology consulting firms Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata and Wipro.
Microsoft, which ranked among the top 10 recipients of H-1B visa approvals in fiscal year 2026, challenged the administration’s characterization of its workforce and visa filings.
Of the roughly 6,000 H-1B visa applications Microsoft filed during its 2026 fiscal year, about 80% were intended to extend or change the immigration status of existing employees, the company said. The remaining applications were for foreign-born workers already living in the United States who were employed by other companies and were joining Microsoft. According to the company, these workers account for about 1% of its workforce.
READ: Microsoft faces PERM suspension over H-1B allegations (October 8, 2026)
Microsoft said the figures did not support the administration’s suggestion that its visa applications primarily involved bringing new workers into the country.
The company also disputed Vance’s claim that H-1B workers in the United States were earning “$20,000 less than an American citizen hired in the same position.”
In response, Microsoft said its compensation levels were “among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work.”
The company emphasized its commitment to hiring American workers, saying, “We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce,” Microsoft said. “That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans.”
The dispute also created an awkward backdrop for a technology awards ceremony later Thursday, when President Donald Trump honored several industry leaders. Among the recipients was Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who previously held an H-1B visa and received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from Trump.
The administration’s action against Microsoft and the other companies places fresh scrutiny on the H-1B program and the employment-based green card process, both of which are widely used by U.S. technology companies to recruit and retain skilled foreign professionals.