U.S. suspends Microsoft and other tech firms with India links from visa program

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (center), flanked by Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling (left) and Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito, speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday. The Trump administration said Thursday that it would suspend an immigration program for multiple tech firms, including Microsoft, alleging widespread abuse of a worker visa system. | BLOOMBERG

Oct 9, 2026

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump accused Microsoft, Adobe and a half-dozen other companies of abusing a U.S. worker visa program and suspended them indefinitely from a longstanding immigration initiative that has served as a crucial talent pipeline for Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

The suspensions, announced Thursday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, also targeted information technology services giants Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Capgemini. Those firms, either based in India or with large operations there, are often called outsourcers for their role offering contract IT work to other businesses.

At a briefing in Washington, Sonderling said there were multiple federal investigations underway into the use of a system that allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. Vance singled out Microsoft, the world’s third most-valuable company, for what he characterized as exploitation of the program.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.