US green card restrictions could block Irish skilled workers from moving to America

Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith has warned the White House against restricting the route to permanent residency for highly skilled immigrants, saying such a move could damage the United States technology sector for more than a generation. His remarks came after the Trump administration said it would bar Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for their skilled foreign workers.

Smith spoke on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Decoded by POLITICO, on the sidelines of the International AI Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

What did Brad Smith say?

Smith argued that discouraging skilled immigrants risks the well-being of Americans, and said the policy could put "the wealth and standard of living" of people across the country at risk.

He also pointed to the six Americans who were honoured by the president with technology and science medals, noting that five of the six had come to the United States as immigrants. According to Smith, those five individuals and their companies together have a market value equal to more than 25% of the market value of the total S&P 500.

Who is affected?

The measures described in the interview target highly skilled foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States. The Trump administration said it would bar Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for their skilled foreign workers. The source does not name the other seven companies or set out the details, timing or legal basis of the restriction.

Smith noted that the White House chose to target his company's foreign workers on the same day that the president awarded a medal to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, described as a former H-1B skilled visa holder from India.

What this means for skilled workers

Highly skilled foreign workers and their employers in the United States should follow further announcements from the White House, as the source gives no start date, application process or transition rules for the green card restriction. The source does not state how the measure would affect H-1B skilled visas or existing applications.

No timetable for the policy has been announced in the statements reported here.