Microsoft President Brad Smith warns Trump’s Green Card restrictions could hurt tech

# Microsoft President Warns Green Card Restrictions Could Hurt U.S. Technology Competitiveness

Microsoft President Brad Smith has warned that the Trump administration’s restrictions on green-card applications for skilled foreign workers could undermine the United States’ technological competitiveness by encouraging talented professionals to pursue opportunities in other countries.

In an interview with Politico, Smith said preventing highly skilled foreign workers from obtaining permanent residency could have long-term consequences for the American technology industry. He also rejected allegations by Vice President JD Vance that Microsoft had misused the H-1B visa program, describing the claims as “completely off base.”

Smith’s comments come less than a week after the Trump administration announced restrictions preventing Microsoft and seven other technology companies from using a program that allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency. The affected companies are Adobe, Cognizant, Capgemini, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.

The administration said the measures were intended to address what it described as alleged visa abuse and protect American workers. The decision has brought renewed attention to the role of skilled immigration in the U.S. technology sector, particularly as companies compete for expertise in artificial intelligence, software engineering and other advanced fields.

Smith disputed the administration’s characterization of the companies’ hiring practices and pointed to the contributions of immigrants to American innovation. He cited an event at the White House where Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on the same day the administration announced the restrictions. Nadella, who was born in India, previously held an H-1B skilled-worker visa.

“We should consider the fact that when the president honored six Americans with these technology and science medals, five of the six had come to the United States as immigrants,” Smith told Politico.

He also highlighted the economic contributions of those recognized, saying the combined market value of the five individuals’ companies exceeded 25% of the total market value of the S&P 500. His remarks underscored Microsoft’s argument that immigrant professionals have played an important role in building successful American technology businesses.

Vance has accused Microsoft of taking advantage of the H-1B program by employing foreign workers at lower salaries than those that might be paid to American employees performing comparable work. Smith rejected the allegation, saying Microsoft applies the same compensation system to employees regardless of whether they are U.S.-born workers or immigrants.

Smith also said most of Microsoft’s green-card applications were submitted on behalf of long-serving employees rather than newly recruited workers. He argued that this distinction was important because the company was seeking permanent residency for professionals who had already established careers within its workforce.

The Microsoft president further said the company hired more than 9,000 U.S.-born workers last year. He suggested that the company’s contribution to domestic employment had received insufficient attention amid criticism of its use of skilled-worker immigration programs.

Smith warned that restrictions could send an unfavorable message to international professionals considering where to build their careers, particularly those working in rapidly developing areas such as artificial intelligence and advanced software engineering.

“I think we should all be worried about sending — intentionally or inadvertently or otherwise — signals that send the most talented next wave of AI [or] SI software engineers to other countries, rather than the United States,” Smith said.

The dispute centers on the distinction between temporary work authorization and permanent residency. The H-1B visa program allows eligible U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals for specialized occupations, while an employer-sponsored green-card process can provide a route to permanent resident status.

A green card is an identity document confirming that a foreign national has been granted permission to live and work permanently in the United States. Green-card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents.

The administration’s announcement halted new and pending green-card applications involving the eight companies, according to the report. Its stated rationale was to address alleged abuses of work-visa systems, while Microsoft has argued that restricting permanent residency opportunities could make it harder to retain experienced international employees.

The disagreement highlights a wider debate over how the United States should balance protecting domestic workers with attracting and retaining highly skilled talent from around the world. As technology companies expand their investments in AI and other advanced technologies, immigration rules could influence where professionals choose to work and where companies build their future engineering capabilities.