# Trump suspends Microsoft from visa sponsorship over layoffs

> The administration halted eight tech firms from green card sponsorship, citing Microsoft's replacement of laid-off workers with foreign hires. The data tells a more complex story.
- Title: Trump suspends Microsoft from visa sponsorship over layoffs
- Summary: The administration halted eight tech firms from green card sponsorship, citing Microsoft's replacement of laid-off workers with foreign hires. The data tells…
- Keywords: microsoft, h-1b visa, trump administration, jd vance, labor department, green card sponsorship, tech layoffs, business, finance, Trump, suspends, visa
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/10/10/vance-microsoft-h1b-layoffs-visa-data.html
- Author: Marshall Ritzel,Gabriel Cortés
- Published: 2026-10-10T14:22:23+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: microsoft, h-1b visa, trump administration, jd vance, labor department, green card sponsorship, tech layoffs, business, finance
## Trump halts visa sponsorship for eight tech firms
The Trump administration suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six IT services firms from the Labor Department's PERM program on Thursday, which lets employers sponsor foreign workers for green cards.
## Vance accuses Microsoft of replacing American workers
Vice President JD Vance claimed Microsoft replaced the six thousand workers it laid off in twenty twenty-five with people on H-1B work visas, temporary permits distinct from green cards.
## Microsoft's actual H-1B approvals tell a different story
Microsoft received six thousand two hundred fifty-eight H-1B approvals in fiscal twenty twenty-five, but two-thirds went to people already working at the company, not new hires.
## Bigger visa sponsors escaped suspension
Amazon, with nineteen thousand one hundred seventy-eight H-1B approvals, and Meta, with six thousand two hundred ninety-four, were the top two sponsors in fiscal twenty twenty-five and neither was suspended.
## Amazon brought in far more new foreign workers
Amazon brought in nearly four times as many H-1B workers new to the company as Microsoft did, yet Amazon was not placed on the suspension list despite its larger visa footprint.
## Key takeaway

The Trump administration suspended Microsoft and seven other tech companies from sponsoring foreign workers for green cards, with Vice President JD Vance claiming Microsoft replaced six thousand laid-off workers with H-1B visa holders, though visa data shows two-thirds went to existing employees.