Microsoft Defends H-1B Visa Use After US Suspends Green Card Filings

 Microsoft has said 80 per cent of the 6000 H1-B visa applications it had submitted last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees and not to hire new people.

The statement came on Thursday hours after Vice President J D Vance suspended Microsoft from a programme to apply for green cards for foreign workers, accusing it of abusing the system.

"We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the US are Americans. We look forward to providing the administration with additional information," Microsoft said.

"For example, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80 per cent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people," it said.

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 one per cent of the US workforce. 

"They are not new arrivals to our country," Microsoft said.

Microsoft only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category, the company said.

"We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work," Microsoft said.

"Microsoft succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world's best technology workforce. We do this by strengthening this country's talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world," the company said.

The suspension covers the Labour Department's Permanent Labour Certification program, known as PERM, considered the first step for a foreign worker to receive permanent residency or a green card to live and work in the US. 

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