I remember when a colleague I’d worked alongside for years finally received her green card. She had spent more than a decade building a career in the United States — designing the foundational architecture of our systems, mentoring junior engineers, and renewing her visa while waiting for a finish line that stayed out of sight.
For her, that green card meant finally being able to plan a future without the same uncertainty hanging over her.
That’s why the news on October 8 stopped me cold.
The Trump administration announced it was suspending Microsoft, Adobe, and six major IT services companies from a federal program employers use to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
The administration says the action is intended to address fraud and protect American workers. Critics argue that restricting sponsorship can also hurt employees who followed the rules and spent years waiting for their green cards.
Behind the acronyms H-1B and PERM are real questions about American jobs, employer accountability, and the people who have built their lives here.
How can someone work legally in the United States for more than a decade and still be waiting for permission to stay permanently?
To understand that, we need to follow the road from an H-1B visa to a green card — and see where the delays begin.
Good to Know: Four Terms Worth Understanding
H-1B Visa
A temporary visa for foreign professionals in specialty occupations, such as technology, engineering, and medicine. Workers can change employers under certain conditions.
PERM (Permanent Labor Certification)
A process requiring employers to demonstrate that no qualified, available U.S. workers were found for a permanent position at the required wage.
Priority Date
Your place in the green card line, generally established when the employer files the PERM application.
Country Cap
A federal limit on employment-based green cards issued to people born in any one country. The commonly cited 7% rule has exceptions but contributes to long waits for applicants born in India.
The Road Itself: From H-1B to Green Card
An H-1B visa allows someone to work temporarily in the United States. A green card grants permanent residency. Getting from one to the other is like a relay race, except each leg has different rules — and some runners face a much longer course.
Getting an H-1B Visa
Most private employers seeking new H-1B workers compete for a limited number of visas. For years, the government used a lottery when demand exceeded the annual cap. In 2026, it introduced a weighted selection system that gives higher-paid positions better odds. Qualifying universities and research organizations are among the employers exempt from the cap.
The selection process has faced criticism over attempts to manipulate it, prompting reforms. But receiving an H-1B visa doesn’t automatically put someone on the path to a green card.
The Employer Begins Green Card Sponsorship
An employer may sponsor an H-1B worker for permanent residency through a process called PERM.
The employer must test the U.S. labor market and demonstrate that no qualified, willing, available U.S. worker was found for the position under the applicable rules.
Filing the labor certification application generally establishes the worker’s priority date — their place in the green card line.
And here’s the part that can be difficult to understand from the outside: Getting a place in line doesn’t mean you know when you’ll reach the front. You can have a steady job, an employer willing to sponsor you, and years of experience in the United States — and still have no clear answer about when you’ll become a permanent resident.
Waiting for a Green Card to Become Available
Federal law limits the number of employment-based green cards issued each year, including how many can go to applicants born in any one country.
Workers born in India face especially long backlogs in employment categories commonly used by technology professionals.
Imagine two checkout lines. Both customers have finished shopping, but one line has far more people — and only a limited number can check out each year.
That’s how two equally qualified engineers working for the same employer can face dramatically different waits simply because of where they were born.
Finally Receiving Permanent Residency
When a worker’s priority date becomes current and the remaining requirements are met, they can complete the green card process.
For some, that takes a few years. For others, more than a decade.
During that time, workers continue building careers, raising families, paying taxes, and contributing to their communities while maintaining lawful immigration status.
For my colleague, receiving her green card meant finally reaching a finish line that had remained out of sight for years.
Good to Know: Just How Long Is the Line?
More than 1.2 million people: A September 2026 analysis estimated that the employment-based green card backlog exceeds 1.2 million people.
India faces some of the longest waits: A 2026 National Foundation for American Policy analysis estimated that nearly one million Indian applicants and family members were waiting in the employment-based green card backlog.
A 179-year wait? A September 2026 analysis projected that a new Indian applicant in the EB-2 category could theoretically wait 179 years under existing limits. That’s a mathematical projection, not an actual waiting period.
The line reaches back more than a decade: The October 2026 Visa Bulletin listed Final Action Dates of November 1, 2013, for Indian EB-2 applicants and January 1, 2014, for EB-3 applicants.
The takeaway: Two people can have similar qualifications, work for the same American employer, and follow the same immigration rules — yet face vastly different paths to permanent residency because of their countries of birth.
And remember, this isn’t a line people stand in while putting their lives on hold. They’re working, raising children, buying homes, and making plans. A child might start kindergarten while a parent’s green card application is pending and graduate from high school before that parent receives permanent residency. The family may have built an entire life in America, even as its long-term future remains uncertain.
What the News Story Is Actually About
Now imagine being somewhere along that long road when you hear that the government has suspended your employer from part of the green card process. You may have done everything required of you, but suddenly, the company sponsoring your application is under investigation.
That’s what makes the October 8 announcement more than another immigration headline.
On October 8, 2026, Vice President JD Vance announced the suspension of eight companies from the PERM program: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.
The Department of Labor said it would stop accepting new applications and processing pending ones involving these companies while investigating alleged abuses.
An important distinction: The administration did not cancel employees’ existing H-1B visas. It restricted a pathway many depend on for permanent residency.
The announcement came hours before President Trump presented Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, himself a former H-1B holder, with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The suspension was not mentioned during the ceremony.
Why People See This Differently
The Administration’s Argument: Protect American Workers
Vance pointed to Microsoft’s layoffs of approximately 6,000 workers while the company received thousands of H-1B approvals. He argued that companies should not replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.
If companies misuse immigration programs to avoid hiring qualified Americans or suppress wages, those practices deserve investigation. The concern isn’t simply that companies hire foreign workers. It’s whether the program is being used to fill genuine labor needs or to give employers access to workers with less bargaining power.
Microsoft’s Response: Those Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Microsoft disputes the suggestion that its visa filings represent thousands of new foreign workers replacing Americans.
The company says approximately 80% of its 6,000 H-1B filings involved existing employees. The remaining filings involved people already legally living in the United States and represented approximately 1% of its American workforce.
Microsoft also says it pays H-1B employees comparably to Americans performing similar work. These are the company’s claims, not independent findings.
The Workers’ Concern: What Happens to People Already Waiting?
For employees whose green card applications depend on PERM, the suspension creates another obstacle. These workers did not necessarily choose how their employers recruited, filed applications, or complied with labor rules. Yet they may be the ones left waiting while the government investigates.
Some may maintain their temporary work status or pursue other options. Others face uncertainty, particularly if they are approaching deadlines affecting H-1B extensions.
If an employer is suspected of violating immigration rules, how should the government enforce those rules without unnecessarily harming employees who followed them?
Protecting American jobs and preventing the exploitation of foreign workers do not have to be opposing goals. The challenge is designing policies that accomplish both.
DID YOU KNOW? Some Familiar Names Started With H-1B Visas
The H-1B program isn’t just a pathway for software engineers.
First Lady Melania Trump held H-1B visas while working as a model before receiving her green card in 2001. Elon Musk, who also held an H-1B visa, publicly defended the program in 2024, arguing that American technology companies depend on international talent.
Their experiences illustrate how temporary work visas can lead to lasting careers and opportunities in the United States. But not everyone who enters through the same program has the same resources or path to permanent residency.
Why It Matters: More Than a Visa Number
American workers deserve fair wages and employment opportunities, and companies that misuse immigration programs should be held accountable. But what happens to foreign workers who followed the rules?
Many H-1B workers have spent years building careers and lives in the United States. They pay income taxes and, generally, Social Security and Medicare taxes, just like American workers. Some may eventually qualify for retirement benefits, while others who leave before earning enough work credits may not.
They also purchase homes, pay property and school taxes, support local businesses, and contribute to their communities. Some have children who have never known another country as home. Yet their ability to remain in the United States can still depend on an employer and an immigration process largely outside their control.
That dependence matters for American workers, too. When employees fear losing both their jobs and the right to remain in the country, negotiating wages or reporting mistreatment can become more difficult. That vulnerability can create opportunities for exploitation.
None of this means the H-1B program should be immune from criticism or reform. It means distinguishing between holding employers accountable and penalizing the people they employ.
We can disagree about who should receive a visa, how many visas should be issued, and what protections American workers need. But those disagreements should not erase the contributions or dignity of people who are already part of our communities.
Join the Discussion
- Should companies accused of misusing immigration programs face restrictions even when those restrictions affect employees who did everything the system asked of them?
- Can the United States protect American jobs while also protecting foreign workers from exploitation?
- If someone has worked legally in the United States for more than a decade, should that influence their path to permanent residency?
Continue Reading
- Visa Bulletin (October 2026): travel.state.gov Visa Bulletin, or USCIS adjustment-of-status charts page
- NFAP, Cato, AP, Reuters, ABC, Fortune.
- Microsoft’s response: Those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
- Executive Agencies Explained and How A Bill Becomes A Law
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