What the H-1B Crackdown Means for the Future of AI Tech Talent
TechTarget, Friday, October 16th, 2026
U.S. visa restrictions, including PERM suspensions for Microsoft and major IT services firms, threaten the pipeline of foreign AI talent.
The Trump administration has raised H-1B fees, introduced a wage-weighted lottery and, on Oct. 8, suspended Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the PERM labor certification process.
PERM is the first step in most employer-sponsored green cards, though the suspension does not revoke H-1B status, and Microsoft disputed the claim that it laid off about as many U.S. workers as it obtained H-1B visas.
Georgetown's CSET found that 70% of leading U.S. AI researchers from 2010 to 2021 were foreign-born or foreign-educated.
The article examines what tighter rules mean for employers competing for AI skills.