Microsoft's PERM Is Frozen. Let Its I-140 Holders Raise Their Hands

If your company can still sponsor green cards, Microsoft and Adobe engineers now have a reason to take your call. Since October 8, 2026, the Labor Department has refused new PERM applications from both companies and stopped processing the ones already pending. The trouble is that you can't search for the engineers who can actually move, and screening for them is exactly the conduct the Justice Department has been penalizing throughout 2026.

What did the Labor Department freeze on October 8?

The Labor Department froze PERM for Microsoft, Adobe and the other companies it named, covering both new filings and pending cases, with no end date. It did not touch anyone's current H-1B status.

PERM is the labor certification an employer has to get from the Department of Labor before it can sponsor most employment-based green cards. It shows that no qualified US worker is available for the job. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling's statement was blunt: "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies." JD Vance, who chairs the anti-fraud task force, said the freeze will last "as long as it needs to."

What is known so far:

• Microsoft has the most at stake. It is the largest PERM filer in DOL data.
• The task force's stated reason: Microsoft "laid off roughly 6,000 American workers last year" while employing 6,300 H-1B non-citizens. Microsoft replied that 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B filings were extensions or status changes for existing staff, and that its wages are "among the highest of all H-1B filings."
• No paperwork yet. As of the afternoon of October 8, DOL had not posted a press release or named the regulation it relied on, and no charges had been announced.
• The likely legal basis is 20 CFR 656.31(b). It allows an initial suspension of up to 180 days, extendable until an investigation or court case ends. It clearly covers suspending processing. Whether it covers refusing new filings is less clear, and that is where a challenge could come.
• This has happened before. Cloudera got a 180-day PERM suspension in May 2026. Executive Order 14431 (September 18, 2026) tells agencies to weigh recent or planned layoffs in H-1B decisions.

Amazon and Meta, the biggest H-1B sponsors, were not suspended. They compete for the same engineers you want.

Which Microsoft and Adobe engineers can actually move?

The engineers who can move are the ones with an approved I-140, because they can switch employers and keep their place in the green-card line. Engineers with a pending PERM lose that work when they leave, because a PERM never transfers to a new employer.

An I-140 is the immigrant petition filed after PERM is certified. Once it is approved, it fixes the worker's priority date, which is their place in the green-card queue. An approved I-140 holder keeps their priority date at a new employer unless the approval is revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, an invalidated labor certification, or material error. Once the I-140 has been approved for 180 days, the old employer can withdraw it without revoking it (8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C)).

The hiring company always runs its own PERM from scratch. An I-140 holder brings their priority date, not their paperwork.

How many Microsoft and Adobe engineers are in the pool?

Microsoft's pool is far bigger than Adobe's. In Refolk's index of professional profiles, 19,018 US profiles with software engineer titles mention Microsoft in their headline. The figure is 1,091 for Adobe and 621 for Infosys.

19,018

These numbers come from three US queries on titles of Software, Senior or Principal Software Engineer, with the employer name as a headline keyword. The headline counts include alumni. The derived columns extrapolate from 25-profile samples, so treat them as rough. The index has no field for visa or green-card stage, and it shouldn't.

What the table tells you:

• Scale. Microsoft has about 17x as many matches as Adobe. For most hiring teams, the freeze matters mainly because of Microsoft.
• Seniority. 40% of the Microsoft sample hold Principal titles, against 8% at Adobe. Senior engineers on H-1B are more likely to be far along in the green-card process. The downside is that matching their pay raises the prevailing-wage bar on your new PERM.
• Location. Nearly half the Microsoft sample is in the Seattle area. That matters a lot for the layoff rule covered below.

Why are the easiest engineers to move the least desperate?

The approved I-140 that makes these engineers easy to move also lets them wait out the freeze. They are portable, but they are not in a hurry.

Once their I-140 has been approved for 180 days, their current employer can't revoke it by withdrawing it. AC21 §104(c) gives them three-year H-1B extensions for as long as the I-140 stays approved and their priority date isn't current. Someone at Microsoft in that position can sit tight for years. They will take your call because they're curious, not because they're afraid.

The group under real pressure is people whose PERM was filed at least 365 days ago and is still pending. That filing can support one-year H-1B extensions even at a new employer, but their green-card progress is frozen with no end date. There is a second problem too. PERM job ads have to run within the six months before filing, so a long freeze can force a restart even after it lifts. That pushes these workers further back in line than the length of the freeze alone.

Many Microsoft engineers on H-1B are Indian or Chinese nationals waiting years in the backlog. That explains why their green-card stage matters so much to them. It can never be a reason to target them.

The engineers easiest to move are the ones who least need to. Pitch the job, not the rescue.

Can your company pass its own PERM labor market test?

Only if you haven't laid off anyone in the same or a related occupation, in the same area, within the six months before you file. If you have, you must notify and consider those laid-off US workers, and if any of them qualifies, DOL won't certify your PERM.

The rule is 20 CFR 656.17(k), and one layoff is enough to trigger it. It is the main reason this pitch works for some employers and not others.

The rule depends on location, not company size. It applies to the "area of intended employment," meaning normal commuting distance from the job. Because 48% of the Microsoft sample sits in the Seattle area, a company that recently cut engineers in Seattle has a problem with Seattle-based roles. The same company may be fine if the role is in Austin, or remote from another metro. How the rule applies to remote roles is a question for your immigration lawyer.

Before anyone sends a message:

1. List every layoff from the last six months by occupation and metro.
2. Decide where the role is based and check it against that list.
3. Have counsel confirm how remote roles count toward the area of intended employment.
4. Budget for the prevailing wage at the level you're hiring, which for Principal engineers is high.
5. Write down that you will sponsor every qualified hire who needs it, and do it before outreach starts.

Executive Order 14431 adds another layer. If the hire also needs an H-1B transfer, your recent layoffs may now count against the H-1B petition as well, not just the PERM.

How do you reach them without screening by visa status?

Target by employer, role and location. Offer sponsorship openly to every candidate, and let the people with approved I-140s tell you who they are. Never filter, rank or word your outreach by visa status, citizenship or national origin.

The Justice Department has been enforcing this all year:

• Compunnel Software Group paid $313,420 over job ads that favored H-1B holders.
• An August 4, 2026 DOJ settlement with a tech company cost $3.2M for preferring visa holders in PERM recruiting.
• AI-written job ads that limited applicants to "H-1B, OPT, or H-4" holders have also drawn DOJ penalties.

$3.2M

The reasoning is simple. Visa stage doesn't appear in any profile. The only way to guess it is from proxies like name, school or country of birth, and guessing from those is national-origin screening. The legal approach and the practical one turn out to be the same.

Here is what each looks like in practice:

• Do: search "principal backend engineers at Microsoft in Austin" and message everyone who fits.
• Do: say in every message that you sponsor green cards for any hire who needs it.
• Don't: write "H-1B holders preferred," "visa candidates welcome," or anything that sorts by status.
• Don't: filter a list by name, school country, or language as a stand-in for visa stage.
• Don't: let an AI tool write your ad or sequence without checking it for status language.

Doing it right costs you volume. You are messaging a whole population (about 12,900 current Microsoft engineers by keyword) to find the few who have an approved I-140, a reason to leave, and the right skills for your role. You won't know who they are until they reply. That is weeks of sourcing for a single req, against a deadline set by whenever DOL decides to lift the freeze.

Building that population is where Refolk fits. You describe the people you want by employer, title and metro in plain English, and you get a ranked list back. The query never mentions visa status, because no profile contains it.

What should the first message say?

Lead with the role. State plainly that you sponsor green cards for every hire who needs it, then let candidates bring up their own stage. Don't ask about it in the first message.

Something like this works:

I'm hiring a Principal engineer for a storage team in Austin. Your work on [specific project] is close to what the team is building. The company sponsors green cards for any hire who needs it and starts PERM promptly after the start date. Worth 20 minutes?

Then run the process the same way for everyone:

1. Sequence by fit, not status. Message the strongest role matches first. With 40% of the Microsoft sample at Principal level, many of your best matches will be senior.
2. Handle the stage conversation the same for everyone. When someone says they have an approved I-140, send them to counsel for a timeline. Do the same for someone with a pending PERM or no PERM at all.
3. Ask sponsorship questions the same way, at the same point, for every candidate, following your lawyer's script. Keep them out of sourcing.
4. Move fast. Amazon and Meta weren't suspended, and they compete for the same engineers.

FAQ

Does the PERM suspension affect Microsoft engineers' current H-1B status?

No. The October 8 freeze covers new and pending PERM labor certifications at the named employers, including Microsoft and Adobe. It does not cancel or change anyone's current H-1B status. What it blocks is the next step toward a green card through those employers, which is why engineers with pending PERMs are the ones whose plans are stalled.

Can an engineer with an approved I-140 keep their priority date at a new employer?

Generally yes. The priority date carries over unless the I-140 approval is revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, an invalidated labor certification or material error. After 180 days of approval, the old employer withdrawing the petition doesn't revoke it. The new employer still has to file its own PERM and I-140 from scratch.

Can a job ad say the company sponsors H-1B holders?

It can say the company sponsors green cards or visas for any hire who needs it. It can't restrict or favor applicants by visa status, as in "H-1B, OPT, or H-4 only" or "H-1B preferred." DOJ penalized Compunnel $313,420 over ads favoring H-1B holders and settled for $3.2M on August 4, 2026 over preferring visa holders in PERM recruiting.

Do recent layoffs stop a company from sponsoring a Microsoft engineer?

They might. Under 20 CFR 656.17(k), a layoff in the same or a related occupation, within normal commuting distance, in the six months before filing means you must notify and consider those workers. If one of them qualifies, DOL won't certify. Because the rule is tied to location, a role in a metro where you haven't cut anyone may still work. Confirm with counsel, especially for remote roles.