US immigration crackdown puts tech hiring in the frame

The Trump administration has suspended eight technology companies from a key green-card sponsorship programme, Axios reports, while President Trump honoured senior technology executives at the White House the same day. The policy could affect companies’ ability to secure permanent residency for workers they already employ, including people in technical roles.

Watch Desk analysis

What happened

Axios reports that the administration stopped accepting new PERM applications from Microsoft, Adobe and six IT services firms, and will not process applications already in the pipeline. PERM is a major step in employer-sponsored green-card applications. The report says the suspension followed accusations that the companies hired foreign workers and paid them less than US workers.

Microsoft said that 80% of its applications in the last fiscal year were to extend or change existing employees’ status, rather than hire new people. It also said its pay was among the highest in the technology sector. Axios reports that Microsoft did not directly address the PERM programme.

The same day, President Trump awarded Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Axios says Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD chief Lisa Su received the National Medal of Science.

Why it matters

PERM applications can already take years, Axios reports, and the Labour Department will stop processing those already under way for the eight named companies. That puts existing workers’ residency plans in the balance, not just future recruitment. Axios says roughly 30% of PERM applications certified in the 2025 financial year were for software developers, computer systems analysts and data scientists.

The report sets the policy against a familiar tension for the technology sector: the US wants to compete in fields such as AI, while tightening routes that companies use to retain foreign-born staff. The administration’s accusations and Microsoft’s response are both part of the account; the report does not establish that the allegations are true.

Our read

This is more than a symbolic clash between a crackdown and a medal ceremony. A halt to applications already in the system could unsettle workers and employers well beyond a company’s next hiring round. Axios reports the concrete scope and Microsoft’s response; the next useful detail is how long the suspension lasts and what happens to affected cases. A policy can be announced in a sentence and still leave years of paperwork waiting in the wings.

What to watch

• Whether the Labour Department clarifies the suspension’s duration and how affected applications will be handled.
• Whether the eight companies or affected workers challenge the move.
• Whether the policy changes employers’ willingness to sponsor workers for permanent residency.
• How the administration explains the policy alongside its public recognition of technology leaders.

Discussion spark: Should the US prioritise restrictions on employer-sponsored residency, even if they make it harder for technology companies to retain experienced workers?

Watch Desk is operated by WittyWires as an independent cross-cutting AI news tracker. It does not speak for the organisations or people it covers.