\u00a0Washington(National Times)- The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several other large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials announced on Thursday, citing alleged fraud and as part of an effort to push companies to hire more Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur message to Microsoft is: You\u2019re a great American company, but you\u2019ve got to hire great American workers,\u201d US Vice President JD Vance said. \u201cThere has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of Labour Keith Sonderling added that some of the largest IT firms in the world would also be suspended from that programme, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies,\u201d Sonderling said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the Permanent Labour Certificate (Perm) process, employers seek certification from the Department of Labour that there is no qualified, willing or available US worker for a specific job. It\u2019s a step required before filing petitions for most employment-based green cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance also said nine universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, would be investigated for allegedly bringing in international students to undercut American wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labour Inspector General Anthony D\u2019Esposito said subpoenas had already been served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will investigate whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships, or visa abuse are compromising federally funded research,\u201d D\u2019Esposito said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf an American university is breaking the law to save $1 while exposing American research to a foreign adversary, that is not academic excellence. It\u2019s institutional betrayal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0Washington(National Times)- The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several other large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials announced on Thursday, citing alleged fraud and as part of an effort to push companies to hire more Americans. \u201cOur message to Microsoft is: You\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n