Microsoft shares fall as US labor department suspends gaint from PERM green card program

The Trump administration banned Microsoft, Adobe, and six other companies from sponsoring green cards for H-1B visa workers, citing investigations and allegations of displacing American workers. The ban affects pending and future applications, with no end date set. Microsoft received 6,258 H-1B approvals and 3,157 PERM filings in the last fiscal year, according to federal data.

The US suspended Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from a green-card program, citing alleged abuse. Vice President Vance accused Microsoft of laying off US workers while hiring foreign labor. The suspension also covers Cognizant, Infosys, and others. Nine universities, including Harvard and Yale, are under investigation for visa misuse. Microsoft and others denied wrongdoing.

Microsoft shares fell 1.35% after the U.S. Labor Department suspended it from the PERM program due to immigration rule probes. The company stated most H-1B applications were for current employees. Separately, OpenAI's lower-than-expected revenue pressured AI-linked shares. Analysts maintain a Strong Buy consensus on Microsoft, with a 12.2% upside target.

On October 8, 2026, the US suspended eight companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft, and Adobe, from the PERM program, halting new and pending green card applications. The move follows allegations of fraud in H-1B and PERM programs, with the labor department citing 3 million requested workers and 100,000 certifications since 2009. Microsoft faced specific accusations of laying off Americans while hiring foreign workers.

The US suspended 8 IT firms, including TCS, Infosys, and Microsoft, from the PERM green card program. The US Department of Labour alleges misuse of employment-based immigration programs. Microsoft faces additional scrutiny for layoffs while hiring foreign workers. The suspension halts new PERM applications and pending ones, impacting thousands of Indian IT professionals.

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge stated that the US suspension of the Permanent Labour Certification Programme for IT firms may increase operating costs for Indian companies, complicate employee retention, and reduce onsite deployment flexibility. However, it could also accelerate the growth of Global Capability Centres in India, boosting demand for senior tech professionals and strengthening India's role in product development and innovation.