Microsoft President Brad Smith Warns Green-Card Curbs Could Hurt U.S. Tech Competitiveness and Drive Talent Overseas
Microsoft President Brad Smith warned in an interview published by Politico on Thursday, October 15, that the Trump administration's move to restrict green-card access for skilled foreign workers could hurt U.S. technological competitiveness and drive talent overseas, according to Reuters. Smith said blocking pathways to permanent residency for highly skilled immigrants could cripple the U.S. technology sector for more than a generation.
In the interview, Smith also pushed back against Vice President JD Vance's accusations that Microsoft had abused the H-1B visa program, calling them completely off base. He denied that foreign-born employees were paid less than American workers, saying the company uses the same compensation system for all employees regardless of immigration status. Smith said Microsoft hired more than 9,000 U.S.-born workers last year, arguing that contribution had been overlooked in the administration's criticism, according to the report.
Smith's comments came less than a week after Vance announced the administration would bar Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for skilled foreign workers. GSM reported on October 8 that the United States had suspended the PERM labor-certification channel — the starting point for most employment-based green cards — for Microsoft, Adobe and six other companies, with pending applications frozen. The White House and Microsoft did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, according to Reuters.
Related:
U.S. Freezes Green-Card Labor Filings for Microsoft, Adobe and Six IT Giants
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：微软总裁兼副董事长布拉德·史密斯（Brad Smith）2025年11月在里斯本Web Summit舞台上。Paul Devlin / Web Summit 摄，CC BY 4.0（Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair of Microsoft, on Centre Stage at Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon, November 2025. By Paul Devlin / Web Summit, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
