Washington Suspends Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Firms From the PERM Green-Card Process

On 8 October 2026 the US Labor Department suspended Microsoft, Adobe and six IT outsourcing firms from a key step in sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residence. Below: what is confirmed, what is alleged, and what Microsoft says. A separate TSN post covers Axios’s report on AI companies’ “day after” planning.

Spotted via Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) on X.

Also on 9 October: Axios on AI companies’ “day after” planning

Reported (Axios scoop, unnamed sources). Axios reports, citing unnamed sources, that executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately planning for a political backlash after a catastrophic AI event, mainly by educating members of Congress [1]. OpenAI says its scenarios “are not treated as inevitable”, and Anthropic declined to comment [1]. TSN covers the report, its sourcing and its limits in a separate post: AI Companies Plan for a “Day After” a Catastrophic AI Event, Axios Reports.

Labor Department suspends eight companies from PERM

Confirmed (official announcement); the misconduct claims are allegations. PERM, the Permanent Labor Certification Program, is the step in which a US employer must show that no qualified US worker is available before sponsoring a foreign employee for a green card [5].

At a White House event on 8 October, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said: “I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labor Certification Program some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world — Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini — and also, due to multiple active federal investigations, @USDOL is suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the program” [2]. According to Channel Dive, he added that the department “will not accept any new or process any pending” PERM applications involving these companies [4]. No end date was announced [5][6].

Allegations. In his own post, Sonderling spoke of “a pipeline of systemic fraud” [3]. He also said that since 2009 these companies had “requested almost 3 million foreign workers” and received “over 230,000 H-1B visas approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications” [4]. Vice President JD Vance said Microsoft had “replaced” laid-off workers with people on H-1B visas, CNBC reports [4]. Officials did not publish findings or evidence, and the investigations they mention are not described [3][4].

Microsoft’s response (company statement). Microsoft said “the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans” and that “Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees” [4]. CNBC said it had asked Adobe for comment [4].

What this does not prove

• That any of the eight companies committed fraud. The suspensions are confirmed; the fraud claims are allegations, and no findings have been published [2][3][4].
• That existing visas or green cards are cancelled. The suspension covers new and pending PERM applications [4][5].

The Bottom Line

The US has stopped processing PERM applications from Microsoft, Adobe and six IT firms, citing investigations whose details have not been made public. Separately, Axios reports, citing unnamed sources, that AI companies are privately planning for a political backlash after a future AI disaster (see our stand-alone post).

Related on TSN: Six Tech Leaders Receive America’s Top Science and Technology Medals; AI Companies Plan for a “Day After” a Catastrophic AI Event, Axios Reports

Sources

1. Maria Curi, “Scoop: AI companies plot ‘the day after'”, Axios, 9 October 2026 (unnamed sources; OpenAI statement on the record). https://www.axios.com/2026/10/09/ai-companies-day-after-major-attack
2. Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47), X post with video, 8 October 2026, 15:38 BST (White House rapid-response account quoting Sonderling; read via the X API). https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2108205448063037667
3. Secretary Keith Sonderling (@Sonderling47), X post, 8 October 2026, 16:43 BST (official’s statement; read via the X API). It goes beyond the announcement with “systemic fraud” and “cutting off the head of the snake”, which are allegations and rhetoric, not published findings. https://x.com/Sonderling47/status/2108221827822604462
4. “U.S. suspends Microsoft, Adobe from green card labor program in foreign worker crackdown”, CNBC, 8 October 2026, 16:24 BST (updated 19:52 BST), and Matt Ashare, “US authorities crack down on IT outsourcing”, Channel Dive, 8 October 2026 (source of the “pending” quote). https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/microsoft-adobe-green-card-labor-suspension.html and https://www.channeldive.com/news/trump-administration-crackdown-it-services-outsourcing-microsoft/832546/
5. Roy Maurer, “PERM Suspensions Latest Blow to Immigration Programs”, SHRM, 8 October 2026 (explains PERM; reports the suspensions as indefinite and that existing visas and green cards are not cancelled). https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/microsoft-adobe-perm-suspensions
6. Bloomberg News, “US suspends immigration program for Microsoft and others”, via Staffing Industry Analysts, 8 October 2026 (reports Vance saying the suspensions are indefinite, and that the firms did not immediately respond). https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/us-suspends-immigration-program-for-microsoft-and-others