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US suspends Microsoft from green card programme; Tata, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys also targeted
Vance sharpened the Trump administration's attack on Microsoft and said that there is no company in the US that has ‘abused' this system more than it has.
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In another move targeting the H-1B visa programme, the US administration under President Donald Trump has suspended tech giant Microsoft from a programme that allows companies to apply for green cards for foreign workers as it cited an alleged fraud.
Under companies in H-1B trouble include Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Infosys Ltd., Tata, Wipro Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., and Capgemini SE.
‘Americans first’
Announcing the decision at a White House briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said the company should put “Americans first”.
“Our message to Microsoft is: You're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers,” Vance said, according to Reuters.
Escalating the Trump administration's criticism of the company, Vance claimed that no US firm had “abused” the green card system more than Microsoft.
The vice president said the programme from which Microsoft has been suspended requires companies to advertise jobs in the United States before applying to the Department of Labor for green cards, demonstrating that qualified American workers are unavailable for those positions.
He alleged that Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while securing 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
“If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants,” Vance said.
The H-1B visa program allows US employers to help sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
In the process to acquire green card for foreign workers, employers seek certification from the Department of Labor that there is no qualified, willing or available US worker for a specific job. This step is required before filing petitions for most employment-based green cards.
Other companies facing green card trouble
US labor secretary Keith Sonderling said other companies that would be suspended from the Permanent Labor Certification Program included Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Infosys Ltd., Tata, Wipro Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., and Capgemini SE. He said there were multiple active federal investigations ongoing into the matter.
"We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies," Sonderling was quoted as saying.
With inputs from Reuters, AP, Bloomberg
‘Americans first’ pitch
Making a pitch to put Americans first, Vance said that the Trump administration does not intend to harm the company. “It’s that we want your company to thrive, but we want it to thrive by employing and empowering your fellow Americans,” Vance was quoted as saying by the Bloomberg. “Microsoft is a great American company, and we have a great relationship with them, they do a lot of important things."
