Microsoft president Brad Smith warns after US suspends company from Green Card sponsorship programme

The US government suspended Microsoft from a programme that helps employers sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, and Microsoft president Brad Smith warned the move could drain talent from the United States. Smith framed the suspension as a threat to the country's technological competitiveness and said the curbs would prompt skilled workers to look for opportunities overseas. He also rejected Vice President JD Vance's accusation that Microsoft had abused the H-1B visa programme, calling Vance's claim "completely off base."

Smith made his remarks in coverage carried by several outlets, including an interview excerpt cited by the Times of India and reporting by American Bazaar Online and Livemint. He highlighted what he said was the contribution of immigrant-founded companies to US markets, telling the Times of India that five of six Americans honoured with White House technology and science medals had come to the United States as immigrants and that those five and their companies together have a market value equal to more than 25% of the S&P 500's market value. Livemint reported Smith's emphasis on Microsoft's domestic hiring figures, saying he told interviewers the company employed more than 9,000 US-born workers last year and that someone had provided Vice President Vance with inaccurate information about Microsoft's figures. American Bazaar Online and Livemint both quoted Smith warning that the administration's restrictions on green-card applications for skilled foreign workers could weaken US competitiveness in technology. Reporting across the outlets ties Smith's comments to a recent White House action: Livemint says the Trump administration on October 8 suspended the PERM programme for certain IT companies including Microsoft, and American Bazaar Online and the Times of India say the suspension affecting Microsoft and seven other tech companies followed the administration's claim of alleged visa abuse and its stated goal of protecting American workers. Smith framed his argument around the economic contributions of immigrant talent and current Microsoft hiring, portraying the suspension as likely to prompt migration of skilled workers to other countries. Vice President Vance's office characterises the restrictions as targeting alleged visa misuse; Smith disputes that characterisation and disputes the factual basis of Vance's allegation about Microsoft. Coverage varies in emphasis: the Times of India foregrounded Smith's warning and his invocation of the White House technology awards, Livemint set the administration's October 8 PERM suspension into the report's timeline and American Bazaar Online foregrounded Smith's rebuttal to Vance and his statement that the restrictions would harm US competitiveness. None of the sources in this package presents independent verification of the administration's allegation of visa abuse or an independent audit of Microsoft's immigration or hiring records. Together the accounts show a dispute between the company and the administration over both facts and policy consequences of the suspension.