Microsoft defends foreign hiring after US green card programme suspension

Microsoft reacted to the Donald Trump administration's immigration crackdown on Thursday, post facing suspension from the Permanent Labour Certification Program, while the US President honoured the tech company's CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Microsoft highlighted that a huge majority of its US employees were Americans and stressed on its belief in the "strength and talent of the American workforce."

Also read: Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL among 8 IT firms suspended from US green card programme


,"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," Microsoft said on immigration issues.

"We look forward to providing the Administration with additional information. For example, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people," the company further said.

The firm added that the H-1B filings which were left for the new employees included people were already present in the US, legally, and made a choice to work for the company.

"They are not new arrivals to our country," it said, adding that these employees accounted for only one per cent of Microsoft's US workforce.

Microsoft further added that it only files H-1B petitions for workers who would meet the "rigorous" standards of the visa category and shunned any suggestions that its workers from foreign countries were being paid any less than their colleagues.

"We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work," Microsoft said.

"Microsoft succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world's best technology workforce. We do this by strengthening this country's talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world," it added.

This came at a time when Trump was recognising CEO Nadella at the White House's "Science: A New Golden Age Summit". Trump praised the Indian-American for his role in changing Microsoft and its cloud computing business.

"For more than three decades, Satya Nadella has been a key figure in the transformation of Microsoft, revolutionising the company and empowering businesses, students, and consumers from all over the world with some of the most capable software ever built or ever even conceived," Trump said.

"Before becoming CEO in 2014, Satya led Business Services research and development efforts, and the cloud computing platform that undergirds products used by billions and billions of people every single day," he added.

Trump also credited Nadella with making Microsoft an early leader in superintelligence.

"Satya, we are honoured to give you the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. It is so well deserved. Congratulations, Satya," Trump said.

"Satya Nadella. The National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Satya Nadella of the Microsoft Corporation, for his transformative leadership of a critical American technology company which led to its rejuvenation for a new era of cloud computing, and for his construction of a hyperscale infrastructure that enabled the training and global deployment of American superintelligence. Congratulations," White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios said while announcing the award.

Microsoft's statement comes at a time when the Trump administration has been cracking down on immigrations pertaining to the H-1B visa programme and permanent labour certifications.

Earlier, US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspension of Microsoft, along with Adobe and major IT companies including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, from the Permanent Labour Certification Program, citing multiple active federal investigations.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the action was being taken to send a message to employers across the country.

"This announcement today should send and does send a strong signal to every single employer in the United States that the Trump Administration will not tolerate discrimination against American workers," Blanche said.

Sonderling added that the Labour Department would not be accepting any new application or process pending permanent labour certification applications involving the companies.

Sonderling further said the companies had together requested about three million foreign workers since 2009 and got more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.

These developments come after the Department of Homeland Security announced on October 7 to impose a $70,000 fee for initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) applications by F-1 non-immigrant students and $30,000 for OPT applications.

DHS said the proposed fees were aimed at fighting against abuse, fraud and reducing the flow of cheap labour into the US while protecting American workers.