Immigration lawyers advised Business Insider that visa holders who work at Microsoft, Adobe, and other named technology companies, such as H-1B, should seek legal advice as soon as possible and clarify their status in light of the relevant suspension measures.

Lawyers stated that individual cases may vary; they are providing general advice without knowing the specific circumstances or status of their clients.

Seattle's commercial immigration lawyer, Tahmina Watson, said, "Now is the time for immigration, especially high-skilled immigration, to really pay attention to the law." She added, "The situation is changing very quickly."

Business Insider had conversations with 8 immigration lawyers on Thursday, following the announcement released that day. This media outlet's ongoing series " H-1B Fallout : 1 Year Later " focuses on how foreign employees are coping with the rapidly changing immigration environment in the United States.

Attorney Loren Locke from Atlanta Locke Immigration Law said, "Most people can either wait it out or have the time to look for a new job."

Vice President JD Vance said at a press conference on Thursday that Microsoft has abused this system by laying off American employees and replacing them with foreign workers; he also mentioned that these foreign workers earn lower salaries. “If you do the math, for every American employee that Microsoft lays off, they are replaced by a semi-foreign contract worker,” said Vance.

A Microsoft spokesperson referred to Business Insider to a blog post published by the company on Thursday. The post stated, "The vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are American." The company also mentioned that the compensation paid to H-1B employees is "the same as that paid to other employees performing comparable work."

Labor Minister Keith Sonderling stated at the press conference that the government will not accept any new PERM applications, nor will it process any pending applications from these companies. In addition to Microsoft and Adobe, these companies also include technology outsourcing firms Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.

The importance of understanding one's own identity status

Boston immigration lawyer Matthew Maiona said that after suspending new and pending PERM applications, the Trump administration has left a small number of H-1B visa holders in a state of uncertainty.

Maiona says that if an employee of Microsoft or Adobe has been working with a H-1B visa for 6 years, then under this new suspension measure, they could theoretically be required to appear in immigration court.

He said, "If you are not eligible for another non-immigrant visa category, you might run into trouble. You may have to leave the United States."

However, Locke indicates that employees will only face the potential risk of deportation if they have exhausted their H-1B qualifications and are unable to obtain an extension or other legal basis for remaining in the United States; there are several such legal bases available.

She said that although the H-1B visa is legally valid for a maximum of 6 years before it expires, if the employee has made sufficient progress in applying for a green card, the visa can still be extended after those 6 years.

Locke said, 'If the goal is to target the employees of H-1B, that's not ideal, but it's not really about bringing them down completely either.'

Boston immigration lawyer Todd Pomerleau stated that given the uncertainties regarding the scope of application and the manner of enforcement of the suspension measures, "anyone concerned about their immigration status needs to seek qualified legal advice."

"We will start to see lawsuits"

Some immigration lawyers interviewed by Business Insider stated that they expect the measures taken by the Trump administration to be challenged in court, on the grounds that these suspension actions exceed the statutory authority of the Department of Labor.

The co-head of immigration and global mobility at the Seattle Buchalter law firm, Kripa Upadhyay, said, "I expect that by next week we will start to see lawsuits."

The person in charge of immigration law, Duane Morris LLP, stated that federal regulations only allow the Department of Labor to unilaterally suspend employers' use of the PERM program for 180 days.

He said that this would let employers know that an investigation was underway; after the investigation is completed, if any misconduct is found, the government has six years to decide whether to put that employer on a blacklist.

And even so, Chiappari says that the government can only put employers on a banlist for a maximum of 3 years.

Among the lawyers interviewed by Business Insider, few were surprised by this measure. Most believed that it was just another action by the Trump administration to continuously target foreign workers.

Upadhyay said that just the day before, she had talked to a Microsoft employee who held a H-1B visa, and this employee's spouse also held a H-1B visa.

This employee's H-1B extension is about to expire, and now they are faced with an "almost impossible decision": to return to their home country and leave behind their spouse and two children who are US citizens.

Upadhyay recalled that this employee asked, "I still have children to support. What should I do now?"

Upadhyay It is expected that in the future, more such calls will be received.