‘Visa abuse was what was necessary to create the biggest American companies': Ex-AWS techie defends immigrant workforce

Ex-Amazon Web Services employee Daniel Vassallo has defended immigrant talent in the US technology industry, saying an immigrant-heavy workforce helped build major American companies. 

Former Amazon Web Services (AWS) employee Daniel Vassallo has defended the role of immigrant workers in building America's technology industry, arguing that the presence of foreign talent was instrumental in the growth of some of the country's biggest companies.

"When Amazon brought me to Seattle to help build AWS, almost everyone at the org was an immigrant. The ratio was probably ~20:1. This “visa abuse” was what was necessary to create the biggest American companies in the history of commerce. The Seattle metro area became one of the wealthiest regions in the world because of this, but let’s shut the whole system down that made this possible," Daniel Vassallo wrote in a post on X.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Vassallo is currently running Small Bets. He was associated with Amazon for over eight years.

Quick answers to key questions

•5

QUESTIONS

Vassallo said immigrant workers were instrumental in building major American technology companies. He recalled that most of the AWS organisation he joined in Seattle were immigrants.

PERM is a Department of Labor certification process for permanent employment of a foreign worker. It is an important step in some employment-based green-card applications, but PERM approval does not itself grant a green card.

The Department of Labor said it would not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the affected companies. This pauses that labour-certification step for those applications.

No. The article says the suspension does not by itself mean employees automatically lose existing H-1B visas or green cards.

An H-1B is a temporary work visa for qualifying specialty occupations. PERM is a labour-certification process connected to permanent employment and can be a step towards an employment-based green card.

His comments come amid an intensifying debate in the United States over the use of employment-based immigration programmes by technology companies, with the administration of President Donald Trump stepping up scrutiny of foreign-worker hiring and sponsorship practices.

US suspends major technology firms from green card programme

On October 8, US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspension of several major IT outsourcing companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, from the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM). The US government also suspended technology companies Microsoft and Adobe from the programme, citing multiple active federal investigations.

The PERM programme is a key step in the employment-based green card process. It generally requires employers to demonstrate that there are insufficient qualified US workers available for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers.

The suspensions mean the Department of Labor will not accept new or process pending permanent labour certification applications involving the affected companies, according to the announcement. The action concerns the PERM programme and does not, by itself, mean that employees of these companies automatically lose their existing H-1B visas or green cards.

JD Vance alleges H-1B visa programme is rife with fraud

Speaking at a press conference on fighting visa fraud, US Vice President JD Vance criticised the use of the H-1B visa programme by technology companies, arguing that it was intended to fill positions that could not be staffed by qualified American workers.

"The H1-B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers. Unfortunately, the program has become rife with fraud," he said.

The administration has argued that companies must prioritise American workers and has raised concerns about the use of foreign-worker programmes alongside layoffs of domestic employees. The suspensions have brought major technology companies and Indian IT services firms into the spotlight as Washington expands its scrutiny of employment-based immigration pathways.

About the Author

Anjali Thakur is a Senior Assistant Editor with Mint, reporting on trending news, entertainment and health, with a focus on stories driving digital conversations. Her work involves spotting early signals across news cycles and social media, sharpening stories for SEO and Google Discover, and mentoring young editors in digital-first newsroom practices. She is known for turning fast-moving developments—whether news-driven or culture-led—into clear, tightly edited journalism without compromising editorial rigour.<br><br> Before joining Mint, she was Deputy News Editor at NDTV.com, where she led the Trending section and covered viral news, breaking developments and human-interest stories. She has also worked as Chief Sub-Editor at India.com (Zee Media) and as Senior Correspondent with Exchange4media and Hindustan Times’ HT City, reporting on media, advertising, entertainment, health, lifestyle and popular culture.<br><br> Anjali holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miranda House, and is currently pursuing an MBA, strengthening her understanding of business strategy and digital media economics. Her writing balances newsroom discipline with a clear instinct for what resonates with readers.