Vance: Microsoft Is Being Dropped From Visa Program

President Trump's administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the US to live and work using an H-1B visa. The administration accuses the company of fraud, citing layoffs earlier this year, the AP reports. "If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants," said Vice President JD Vance in a White House news conference announcing the decision. The H-1B program has long been a target of Trump supporters who say that the program undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse.

"Our message to Microsoft is: you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers," Vance said. H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling, who was confirmed by the Senate last week, said major IT companies, including Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata would also be suspended from the program, Reuters reports.

• Vance also called out universities that he suggested were abusing a program to allow international students to come to the US. These temporary visas, called J-1 visas, allow international visitors to temporarily come to the US for work and study exchange programs. Vance singled out nine universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, that he said merited further investigation for J-1 visa fraud, saying they used the program in greater proportions than their counterparts.
• The Vance announcement came one day after Trump's administration launched another broadside against international students and their ability to work in the US. The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking to work in the United States. The proposed rule would require schools to pay the fee for every student who participates in the Optional Practice Training program, known as OPT, which allows students to work in jobs related to their major during or after their time in school.