Slashdot has reported:

The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several other technology companies from a programme that helps skilled foreign workers seek permanent residency in the United States, accusing the firms of fraud. U.S. Vice-President JD Vance announced the move at a news conference on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The other companies named are Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata and Wipro. U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said the government would not accept new or pending permanent labour certification applications involving the companies.

“Our message to Microsoft is: You're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers,” Vance said at the news conference. H-1B visas are intended for highly skilled jobs employers may have difficulty filling with qualified U.S. workers. Technology companies are among the programme’s largest users, and nearly three-quarters of approved visas go to workers from India, according to The Associated Press.

Vance also said the administration would investigate nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford. The universities are accused of abusing a programme that allows international students to come to the United States and using it to undermine wages for American workers.

Microsoft said most of its U.S. employees are American and that it would provide the administration with more information. “We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce,” a company spokesperson said. “That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans. We look forward to providing the Administration with additional information. For example, 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.”

The spokesperson said the applications were not for new hires. “These were not to hire new people. The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only 1% of our U.S. workforce. They are not new arrivals to our country.”