Microsoft has defended its use of H-1B visas, stating that around 80 per cent of the approximately 6,000 applications it filed during the last fiscal year involved existing employees rather than new hires, amid a Trump administration move to suspend the company from a key employment-based green card programme.
The technology giant said most of its H-1B applications were intended to extend or change the immigration status of employees already working for the company. The clarification comes after the US administration moved to suspend Microsoft from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, which employers generally use as an initial step towards securing employment-based permanent residency for foreign workers.
“We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans,” the company said in a statement published on its corporate website.
Microsoft added that it looked forward to providing the administration with further information about its hiring practices.
Explaining its application figures, the company said approximately 80 per cent of the 6,000 H-1B applications submitted during the previous fiscal year related to employees already on its payroll and were not intended to recruit new workers.
The remaining applications involved individuals who were already legally present in the United States and had decided to join the company. Microsoft said these applications represented only around one per cent of its American workforce.
“They are not new arrivals to our country,” the company said.
Microsoft also rejected suggestions that it used H-1B workers to undercut American employees on wages. It said it filed petitions only for candidates meeting the visa category’s requirements and paid H-1B employees the same as other employees performing comparable work.
The company maintained that its long-term success depended on developing domestic talent while also attracting highly skilled professionals from around the world.
The response comes amid increased scrutiny of the H-1B programme, which allows US employers to recruit foreign professionals for specialised occupations. The Trump administration has argued that stricter enforcement is necessary to prevent abuses of employment-based immigration programmes and protect American workers.
Microsoft did not specify the legal grounds for its suspension from PERM or how long the restrictions might remain in force. It also did not disclose how many employees could be affected through pending or future permanent residency applications.
The PERM suspension concerns the company’s ability to use the labour certification process for eligible employment-based immigration cases. It does not, by itself, revoke existing H-1B visas or require affected employees to leave the United States.
The programme is administered by the US Department of Labor and is generally required for certain employment-based immigrant visa categories.
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