Trump honors Microsoft CEO as White House suspends company from visa program
President Donald Trump awarded Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on Thursday. Hours earlier, Vice President JD Vance said Microsoft had been suspended from a program that lets companies seek green cards for skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas. Vance accused the company of replacing American workers with foreign labor, while Microsoft said most of its H-1B applications were to extend or change the status of existing employees.
Microsoft employs about 223,000 people globally. Vance said the company cut 6,000 U.S. jobs last year while securing 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. Microsoft countered that most of its H-1B requests concerned current staff seeking extended or altered status.
Five of the six honored technology executives were foreign-born. Musk, Brin, Huang and Su received the National Medal of Science; Nadella and Dell received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Dell, born in Texas, backed government investment accounts for children.
The visa suspension could affect Microsoft’s ability to sponsor skilled foreign workers for permanent residency, potentially complicating hiring and retention. It may also intensify scrutiny of how large tech firms balance workforce cuts with immigration sponsorship. American tech workers, foreign-born employees, and companies relying on H-1B talent may feel the effects, while the broader debate over immigration and economic competitiveness may sharpen.