US Suspends Microsoft H-1B Green Card Processing, Proposes $70K Student Work Fee

The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft from the program allowing companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers, formally accusing the technology corporation of fraud. Vice President JD Vance announced the decision Thursday, claiming the company hired foreign workers at a 1.5-to-1 ratio for every domestic worker it laid off. Technology companies are the dominant users of the H-1B visa system, with roughly three-quarters of all approvals historically granted to highly skilled workers from India. In a parallel policy move targeting international labor, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking employment under the Optional Practice Training (OPT) program. Microsoft has not yet publicly responded to the administration's fraud allegations or the immediate suspension of its green card processing capabilities. "If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants." — JD Vance