New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The United States government has announced it will no longer allow a number of tech giants including Microsoft and Indian IT majors to sponsor H1-B visa workers seeking green cards, in a massive blow to thousands of skilled Indian workers seeking tech jobs and permanent resident status in the country.

The announcement, which impacts workers from around the world and not just India, came during a press conference on visa fraud addressed by US vice president J.D. Vance, labour secretary Keith Sonderling and others including US Attorney General Todd Blanche and Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

"Our message to Microsoft is: you're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American work...