‘Indentured servants’: US green card move will hit thousands of IT workers

The US is suspending top tech firms, including Microsoft, from a key programme to sponsor foreign workers’ green cards. Save Share The United States government has moved to exclude some of the world’s top tech companies from a programme that allows them to sponsor skilled foreign workers for permanent residency. Vice President JD Vance said the action was a response to companies abusing the system to hire lower-paid foreign workers at the expense of US workers. It comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration continues efforts toclamp down on immigration– both legal and undocumented – and make it harder for immigrants to get residency or citizenship. But the latest move also potentially impacts thousands of foreign workers, many of whom have spent years waiting for a backlog in applications to clear. Here’s what to know about the latest policy: The suspension concerns the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, which enables a US-based employer to sponsor a foreign worker’s green card — as the permanent residency is commonly known. To qualify, the employer is supposed to demonstrate that there are insufficient US workers for a needed job role and that bringing a foreign worker will not impact the pay or conditions of US workers in the industry. PERM is a key step in the green card process for many skilled foreign workers. Major tech companies often hire workers on temporary visas, such as the H-1B, before they transition to permanent residency through the PERM process. Vance on Thursday accused major companies offraudulently using the current visa regimeto displace US employees and bring in lower-paid foreign workers who amount to “indentured servants”. “The programme has become rife with fraud,” said Vance at a White House news conference. He claimed that many workers who start off on temporary H-1B visas and later apply for permanent residency under the PERM programme are “being mistreated by their employers” and “used to undercut the wages of American workers”. “You’ve got to hire great American workers,” the US vice president said. “You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.” Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling used similar language, saying the US would “shut down the pipeline of systemic fraud that has flooded our country”. “The fraud doesn’t end with getting the job,” said Sonderling....