Breaking News! Microsoft, Adobe and 8 Other Giants Hit with a "Green Card Pause" — What Should International Students in the U.S. Do?

On October 8, 2026, a political bombshell was dropped in the United States: U.S. Vice President Vance and the Secretary of Labor jointly announced the formal suspension of the eligibility of eight major tech and IT outsourcing giants, including Microsoft and Adobe, to participate in the "Permanent Labor Certification (PERM)" program.

Simply put, the core channel through which these major companies help foreign employees obtain green cards has been directly cut off.

As a professional institution deeply engaged in the U.S. immigration field, Globevisa is here to sort out the key points of the incident and possible response strategies for you.

"Microsoft Became the Prime Target"

The eight named companies include: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini.

Among them, Microsoft became the veritable "prime target." At the press conference, Vance criticized without mincing words: "No company in America has abused this system more severely than Microsoft."

Officials presented a rather striking set of data: Microsoft laid off about 6,000 American employees last year, but in the same period obtained more than 6,300 H-1B approvals (work visas) and submitted nearly 3,000 green card applications for foreign employees. Vance's exact words were: "For every American employee Microsoft lays off, it replaces them with 1.5 foreign workers."

What Is PERM? Why Is It Important?

Many friends cannot distinguish between a work visa and a green card. Let us use a simple analogy:

H-1B visa: equivalent to your legal "temporary work and residence permit" in the United States. It allows you to work with peace of mind, but it has a time limit.

PERM (Permanent Labor Certification): this is the "first step" to obtaining a U.S. green card and a required path for applying for one. Only after obtaining PERM are you eligible to apply for a U.S. green card. The company must prove to the Department of Labor: "We truly cannot find a suitable person in the local U.S. labor market for this position, so we must retain this foreign employee, and we absolutely have not depressed wages."

Here comes the key distinction:

What is suspended this time is PERM (Permanent Labor Certification), and it does not affect existing H-1B visas.

In other words: people at Microsoft and other companies can still continue to work legally, but if you want to obtain a green card through that company, this path is temporarily locked. If the green card cannot be obtained before the H-1B expires, employees face passive unemployment after the H-1B expires and being forced to leave the United States.

Why Now?

This action is not an isolated event. As early as last July, the Department of Labor had already launched a nationwide investigation into the H-1B and PERM systems, focusing on issues such as visa fraud, wage kickbacks, and false applications. In September of this year, Cognizant was the first to have its PERM eligibility suspended. This expansion to eight leading companies marks a significant escalation in regulatory intensity.

What Impact Does This Have on International Students and Working Professionals?

On the job-seeking side: for foreign employees entering these major companies, green card applications cannot be initiated in the short term. For international students who have just graduated and are looking for jobs, when choosing an employer, they need to reassess the key question of "whether this company can sponsor a green card."

On the studying side: H-1B employment and immigration regulation of U.S. tech companies is tightening across the board. Subsequent reviews of foreign employment at major companies and green card approval thresholds will continue to rise, and the difficulty for international students to land jobs and immigrate will increase on both fronts.

A deeper change: U.S. immigration policy is shifting from "inclusively absorbing overseas talent" to "prioritizing protection of domestic employment." Scrutiny of H-1B and PERM will only become stricter, and the certainty of the employer-sponsored immigration path is continuing to decline.

Where Is the Way Out?

As the traditional path of "H-1B → employer sponsorship → PERM → green card" becomes narrower and less controllable, planning in advance for an identity solution that does not depend on an employer is becoming the choice of more and more families with students in the United States.

This is precisely where the core advantage of the new EB-5 investment immigration law lies: no employer sponsorship, no PERM, and no need to participate in the H-1B lottery, fundamentally breaking free from the shackles of employer binding.

For international students physically in the United States holding valid F-1 status, if they choose EB-5 reserved visa projects such as rural or high-unemployment area projects, the visa bulletin is still "Current" at present. If they meet the conditions, they can use "concurrent filing" — simultaneously submitting the I-526E immigrant petition and the I-485 application to adjust status, and at the same time applying for the EAD work permit and AP re-entry permit. Once approved, they can work freely in the United States and enter and exit freely, without being constrained by an employer.

Against this backdrop, to stay in the United States without worries, identity planning must be done in advance. And choosing a professional institution familiar with U.S. immigration laws and with extensive practical experience is particularly important. Globevisa has been deeply engaged in U.S. immigration for more than 15 years and has helped more than 5,000 families apply for U.S. green cards. Since the launch of the new EB-5 law in 2022, it has successfully assisted in raising funds for more than 25 EB-5 projects. We have a mature EB-5 project screening and documentation team and can tailor identity planning solutions according to each family's situation, helping international students efficiently complete their arrangements within the policy window.

In an environment of rapidly changing policies, rather than passively waiting in a continuously tightening channel, it is better to plan ahead with a certain identity solution and take the initiative for your studies and career development.

If you are currently studying in the United States on an F-1 visa, or your child is about to go to the United States, you may wish to first ask yourself three questions:

1. As the H-1B lottery selection rate continues to decline, what is your Plan B?

2. As the employer-sponsored green card path becomes increasingly uncertain, can your identity be kept in your own hands?

3. How much longer will the new EB-5 law's reserved visa window last?

Welcome to leave a comment below with [Identity Planning] or send us a private message. Globevisa will provide one-on-one identity planning advice based on your specific situation.